Carbs in your Condiments?
You’re trying to be carb conscious – avoiding bread, pasta and starchy foods and somehow the weight is not coming off. Are you eating too much, not exercising enough OR could carbs be sneaking up on you in your condiments?
Our food supply is becoming more and more sweet, but is it sweet for our health?
What condiments contain carbs and how significant are they to your food plan?
Ketchup – the majority of ketchup is made with high fructose corn syrup. This is one condiment we love to put on scrambled eggs, hamburgers, potatoes, fries, etc. Just 2 tablespoons of ketchup contains 8 grams of carbs or 1/2 slice of bread. An average serving of ketchup is at least 4 tablespoons or a slice of bread worth on your food.
The Switch? Westbrae is a brand of unsweetened ketchup that hits the spot. You might also consider using hot sauce or salsa on your eggs, or mustard on your hamburger. Over time you’ll save yourself quite a lot of unnecessary sugar in your barbeques.
Barbecue Sauce – made with high fructose corn syrup, molasses, modified food starch, and brown sugar, BBQ sauce contains anywhere from 8-10 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon. If you’re putting BBQ sauce on those ribs it could be anywhere from 40-80 grams of carbohydrate (3-6 slices of bread) since an average amount of sauce is a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup per serving.
The Switch? This one still has carbs but about the normal amount with healthier ingredients. Bone Suckin’ Sauce is made with only molasses, spices and no MSG. It contains 5 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon so you’ll still have to watch the amount but the flavor is clean and they use authentic spices and flavoring.
Sweet Pickle Relish – made with high fructose corn syrup, most sweet pickle relish registers at 5-8 grams per tablespoon so if you are putting a few tablespoons in your tuna it could as much as 1-2 slices worth of bread.
The switch? Consider cutting down on the amount or switching to dill pickle relish which contains minimal carbohydrates.
Other condiments like fat-free dressings can contain sugars, sweeteners and other flavorings and current research shows healthy fats are important in your diet so consider a dressing with olive oil and vinegar and add your own spices.
It’s a process of acclimating your tastes to less sweet, but your health will be sweeter and like one of my clients found out – she was not eating too much or being active enough – she was just eating too many carbs in her condiments!
