Healthiest And Worst Condiments

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Small changes produce big results when you do them consistently. Substituting healthier food choices even with something small like condiment choices will ultimately pay dividends. Try it for a week or two and see what difference you notice!

Unhealthy Condiments

MAYO: With processed refined soybean oil as the main ingredient in most mayos, there’s nothing healthy about mayonnaise.  It causes internal inflammation and harms your omega-6 to omega-3 balance with excess omega-6 fats.  If you can find a mayo made with 100% olive oil instead of soybean oil, this would actually be a healthy choice. Note: Have you stopped using inflammatory oils such as soybean, corn, canola, safflower and peanut oil? Replace them with olive, avocado, flaxseed or walnut oil.

KETCHUP: Is made from tomatoes so it does contain the beneficial nutrient lycopene.  Unfortunately, ketchup has a high percentage of sugar, and most brands are made with nasty high fructose corn syrup.

BARBEQUE SAUCE: BBQ sauce is actually worse than ketchup because it has higher levels of sugar or high fructose corn syrup and lower levels of actual tomato.

SALAD DRESSING: Most contain high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil or unhealthy canola oil as the main ingredients. Most “fat-free” salad dressings are simply loaded with extra sugar. Remember that you need a good fat source to go with your salad to help absorb the vitamins and minerals in your veggies, so fat-free dressing is not a good option. Even most salad dressing brands that claim to be “made with olive oil” only have small amounts of actual olive oil, while unhealthy soybean or canola oils are the main oils used.  Instead, follow my healthy salad dressing recipe if you want a lean healthy body.

How to Make Salad Dressing in 2 Minutes

Making homemade salad dressing is easy. Here’s all you need to know: 3 parts oil to 1 part acid.

An acid can include vinegars (balsamic, pear, red wine, white wine) or citrus juice like lemon or lime. The best part of homemade salad dressing is the fact that the oil and acid actually help your body absorb all the nutrients from the salad. That is why it important to add healthy fat to your vegetables so the fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) can be absorbed into your body. Be sure to choose high quality ingredients. Add additional flavor ingredients like Dijon mustard, garlic, and fresh herbs, sea salt, and cracked pepper.

Lemon Dressing (in 2 minutes)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

Combine ingredients in a mason jar or other container with lid. Put lid on and shake well to emulsify. Pour over salad (less is more), toss to coat, and serve immediately. Store leftovers in fridge, bringing dressing to room temperature before use. Dressing can easily be halved or doubled (12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup).

Healthy Condiments

MUSTARD: First, it has no added sugar. Also, mustard seed itself is a source of powerful antioxidants.  In addition to the antioxidants in the mustard seed, most yellow mustards also contain turmeric (one of the healthiest anti-cancer spices) and paprika, which both contain powerful antioxidants as well!

GUACAMOLE: Lots of healthy fats that satisfy your appetite and regulate hormone balance, lots of fiber, and plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

SALSA: It almost never has added sugars if you get a good brand.  Salsa is mostly just vegetables so it’s hard to go wrong. And if you’re a ketchup lover and want to reduce your sugar intake, just try salsa instead for a much healthier option. Salsa on a burger is just as delicious as ketchup on a burger. Just remember that the corn chips that people generally cram down their throats with salsa are not even close to healthy. Corn chips are almost always fried in a heavily refined omega-6 oil such as corn or soy oil, and are inflammatory. Plus, most corn used for corn chips is genetically modified. Organic corn chips are a small step in the right direction, which ensures it’s not GMO corn).

HUMMUS: Mostly just chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, hummus is easily one of the healthiest condiments or as a separate snack by itself. The main thing to look for when buying a good hummus is to make sure it’s made with olive oil and not soybean or canola oil.  Unfortunately, most brands use cheap soy or canola oil, but if you’re a label reader, it’s easy to find a brand that uses solely olive oil.

PESTO: Generally a mashed mix of garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil, and grated cheese, pesto a great source of healthy fats and also powerful antioxidants, mostly from the garlic and basil, but to some extent from the pine nuts and olive oil, too. Pesto goes incredibly well with sandwiches, on meat dishes, or surprisingly, even on eggs.

Charlene McCullough, CN, is the owner and practitioner of Natural Health Pathways located in Sudbury, MA. She is Certified, Advanced Clinically Trained, and teaches Nutrition Response Testing. Charlene is also Level 3 advanced trained in muscle testing with Cellcore, and has a Masters in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. Visit www.naturalhealthpathways.net

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