Since deciding I couldn’t continue to poison my children with high fructose corn syrup aka glucose syrup, corn syrup and the like, I’ve been looking for better alternatives that won’t break the bank.

At Fairway in Paramus, which is expensive for produce and many other items, but has the most fabulous bagels in the area at the great price of 79¢ each (but quite often on sale for 50¢) I found moderately priced ice cream by Alden’s Ice Cream which is not only made with real cream and sugar – it’s also organic! A 1.5 quart tub cost about $7.00, which made it much cheaper than the only real sugar alternative at Shop Rite which was $8.00 for 1 quart and is not organic. I made my kids promise that if I buy them really expensive ice cream that won’t automatically kill them when they eat it, that they won’t gobble the container up in a day and a half. They are going through this box slowly, so I’m really happy with the find.

So, what about jelly and cereal? The small jar of grape jam I got (also at Fairway) was way too pricey. Not sustainable. A friend told me to check the ingredients on Trader Joe’s cereals so walked down their aisle, discovering with relief that every one of their cereals uses sugar as a sweetener instead of corn syrup AND is affordably priced starting at $2.49 per large-sized box.

Trader Joe’s also has many flavors of jams and jellies all made with sugar, and none of them listing any ingredients resembling corn syrup. Nice sized jars cost just a bit more than I’ve been paying at Shoprite for the killer version.

Fortunately, there are plenty of grocery stores in northern New Jersey. With a small investment in time and a bit more expense, I’ve already made serious progress towards wiping out corn syrup from my family’s lexicon and our pantry shelves. Exciting!