Condiments can either help you lose fat by offering healthy nutrients to keep you full, energized, and satisfied … or they can totally sabotage your success.
The following are the top 6 WORST condiments for fat loss, including healthier alternatives for each…
Ketchup is really high in both sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is highly processed so it’s even worse than table sugar. Plus, ketchup is fairly high in calories and most people use at least 3 times the normal 2 tablespoon (tbsp.) serving size. Salsa is a great low-sugar, low-calorie alternative.
I’m currently working on a home-made ketchup recipe that is low in sugar, sodium, and calories, doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup, and is loaded with healthy nutrients. I’ll post it on FITera soon!
If you’re wanting to enjoy the health benefits of a salad, hold the ranch dressing; it’s very high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. In fact, ranch has 180 calories, 20 grams of fat, and 245 mg of sodium in a two tbsp. serving.
Make your own much healthier ranch dressing with 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1 tbsp. of dill. This contains only 2 grams of fat, offers 12 grams of protein, and has just 70 calories!
Also, try tzatziki sauce – it’s much lower in calories, sodium, and saturated/trans fat, it has no added sugar, and is made with healthy ingredients like yogurt, dill, lemon, onion, garlic and olive oil.
A 2 tbsp. serving of butter has more than 200 calories, 23 grams of fat, 15 of which are saturated fat. Although Margarine can be lower in fat and calories, they include trans-fat (man-made processed fats), which are especially bad for you and contribute to heart disease, cancer, bone problems, hormonal imbalance, and even skin disease.
A few good butter/margarine substitutes include applesauce, hummus, and garlic. Applesauce works well when in baking (instead of butter) and adds a sweet flavor. Hummus is another super butter/margarine alternative as a spread or dip. Garlic can be roasted and used to replace butter on whole grain toast. It’s really tasty and it contains antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and a variety of minerals.
Mayonnaise: using just 2 tbsp. of mayo adds 120 calories, 290 mg of sodium, and 10 grams of fat (not the healthy kind). Mayonnaise also contains a lot of artificial ingredients, such as preservatives, additives, and monosodium glutamate (“MSG”).
Try making your own much healthier mayo using eggs, olive oil, lemon juice, and vinegar. Add pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, Dijon mustard, garlic, hot sauce, hummus, or curry powder to make “gourmet” varieties.
BBQ sauce is loaded with sugar and sodium and relatively high in calories as well. To decrease the need for these, try a dry rub and pepper before grilling. Also, click here for my home-made BBQ sauce recipe that’s low in sugar, sodium, and calories.
Teriyaki sauce is usually loaded with both sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and is really high in sodium as well – as much as 700 mg per just one tbsp. Here’s a home-made teriyaki sauce that’s a much healthier option because it’s low in sugar, sodium, and calories…
I hope you found this helpful. Be on the look-out for my home-made ketchup recipe!
