Choosing Healthier Condiments.

Hidden calories, fat , sugar & sodium in condiments 

Choosing healthier options.

With the summer season now upon us the smell of BBQ is soaring threw the air. Picnics, parties, sunday brunches, pot lucks, camping etc seem to be apart of everyone's week. These celebrations often bring a lot of high calorie, high sugary, high sodium & oil. The ones that sneak up on us the most in my opinion are all the condimemts. We add condiments to almost everything, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, salad, chips & veggies. These culprits are our well known items like, ketchup, relish, mayo, salad dressings, dips & BBQ sauce. 

Here are some examples of our most favorite choices, but not our best choices.

Ketchup is high in vitamin A, vitamin C & potassium, low in calories & fat which we often think is a great choice but high in sodium & sugar.

Relish is high in vitamin A but also high in sodium & sugar

Mayonnaise  has nothing really to offer except fat & sodium 

Raspberry vinaigrette you would think would be a good choice but also high in sodium & sugar

Caesar dressing nothing but fat & sodium.

Fat free style French dressing high in sodium & fat

BBQ sauce-(a repeat in information) high in sodium & sugar. Not surprising but no sat fats.

These choices are fine in moderation but first our portion sizes are never just one squirt or 1 tablespoon which is one reason they are not the best choice. Number one reason being these condiments just do not offer enough nutrients and as mentioned above loaded with hidden sugar, fat etc plus they are also loaded with perservatives. Homemade versions of these would be a better choice. But to really switch things up here are my suggestions to healthier choices. 

Healthy Alternatives

To keep condiments from sabotaging your healthy eating efforts, the key is to make healthy choices and be mindful of portion sizes. Try these substitutions:

**List of Better choices**

Tzatziki-low in calories, carbs, sodium, sat & trans fat plus no added sugar. Loaded with healthy ingredients & great for dipping veggies & almost anything else in.

Hummus-low in calories, carbs, sodium, sat & trans fat with no added sugar. Great for spreads and dips.

White vinegar-no sodium,carbs,sat or trans fats. Add a few drops to French fries.

Pesto-a great replacement for cheese, dips & spreads

Mustard-low in calories with no sat or trans fats. Very high in manganese, selenium, thiamin high in magnesium, phosphorus, but Very high in sodium. Because this contains many nutrients is why I think it's a better choice. Use in moderation though. 

Salsa-nothing but healthy low calorie & high nutrients yummy goodness. Great substitute for almost anything.

Guacamole- high in healthy essential fats that our bodies need. Great great sub for mayo.

My homemade salsa recipe 

Quick, easy with no hidden ingredients just wholesome goodness.

Ingredients: 

2 large tomatoes

1/4 small red onion

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/2 jalepeno pepper

2 garlic cloves

Method

Add in this order--hand chop garlic, onion, jalapeño, tomato then cilantro and add to a mixer. Choose the chop button and chop for a few seconds then serve. Hand chopping the ingredients in large chunks before placing in mixer helps the ingredients to chop better without it turning into a purée. Unless you prefer your salsa not chunky then choose the purée button. 

Enjoying food for any occasion doesn't mean we need to skip all the good stuff. it's about choosing the healthier ones to eat and knowing which ones to eat in moderation. 

Happy summer and may you be Nutritionally Well. :)