IN RECENT months sugar has hit the headlines as the new baddie on the food front.

Always held up as a nasty in the fight against tooth decay, sugar has now also been linked with more serious issues such as heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers.

It stands to reason that reducing sugar in your diet is a sensible thing to do but it’s important not to panic.

The danger here is ‘added sugar’, the extra sugar manufacturers add to sweeten food, and not the natural sugars you find in dairy products, fruit and vegetables.

There are some easy ways to ditch harmful sugars from your family’s diet and this week in our Eat Better Feel Better column, we’re sharing a few of them with you.

Firstly, look out for ‘hidden sugars’ – the kind of ingredients on labels that actually mean sugar, like cane sugar, honey, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, glucose, crystalline sucrose and nectars. Try to go for products with 'no added sugar'.

Fizzy drinks should be the first thing to go – swap them and squashes, cordials and energy drinks for water, lower-fat milk, or diet, sugar free or no added sugar drinks.

You could try adding your kids' favourite fruit to water to make their very own flavoured water.

And when it comes to breakfast time, swap sugary cereals for plain porridge (or porridge with fruit), plain wholewheat biscuits or plain shredded wholegrain.

Don’t miss the Evening Times Eat Better Feel Better column every Thursday. As well as providing recipes for healthy, balanced dishes that can be made at home, we’ll be including tips on how to save money and get the kids involved in cooking. Discover more online at eatbetterfeelbetter.co.uk and eveningtimes.co.uk

This week, in keeping with our ‘cut out the added sugar’ theme, we’re focussing on a very simple but tasty alternative to sugary breakfast cereals – Fruity Porridge.

Fruity Porridge

Ready in 10 mins

Serves 4, costs less than £2

Cooks in 5 mins

Ingredients

10 Dried Apricots (80g)

2 Apples (200g)

1 Pint Water (600ml)

7 Tablespoons Porridge Oats (100g)

Method

Chop the apricots. Wash, peel, core and chop the apples.

Mix the apricots and apples together.

Pour the water into a saucepan and sprinkle on the oats. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously for 1 minute.

Add the fruit mixture to the pan and simmer, stirring for about 3 minutes or until the porridge is thick.

Serve hot.

Alternatively, if you don’t like apricot, replace it with one of your favourite fruits, or simply make the porridge or add a fruity topping, such as sliced banana or chopped strawberries.

Don't peel the apple. Porridge can be easily cooked in the microwave - take care to stir frequently.

Cost Saver Tip: Can be made with any fresh, seasonal, frozen or dried fruit, so choose whatever is on offer.

Tips for Kids: Use their favourite fruit. They may prefer it made with milk instead of water.