Condiments or condiment substitutes?

[dudemanrod]

I tried searching the forums for these to see if it has been discussed before but I couldnt find anything.  If this has been discussed please direct me to where.

 

On the Paleo/Primal diet, what condiments can you have and use?  Are there paleo friendly ketchups, mustards and mayos?  What else can I use?  I love dressings and I am pretty sure those cant be eaten but please correct me if I am wrong. 

 

Thanks!

[Raincloak]

Vinegar is sometimes made with grain, so depends how strict you want to be, but I personally see no problem with plain mustards which are just mustard seed and vinegar.

 

Most ketchups, BBQ sauces, relishes, and indeed most condiments you'll find in the sandwich section, are predominantly sugar (and/or corn syrup).  Not paleo.  Also most commercial mayo is made with vegetable oils, also not paleo.  Jams and jellies, even those sweetened with "fruit sugar" (eg white grape juice), are highly sugary so keep them to a minimum.  Obviously, any kind of sweet syrup, whether it's honey, maple, agave, coconut, or etc. should be strictly limited.

 

You can mix up your own condiments, or read labels carefully to find stuff that fits your requirements.  Homemade pickles, mayonnaise, and dips are actually quite easy.  Salad dressing may require a little honey or sugar, depends on what kind of dressing you're making.

 

And to be honest, if the rest of your diet is "clean," you probably don't need to sweat a drizzle of ketchup now and again.  If you're trying to kill a sugar addiction or an allergy/sensitivity, you're best off staying away from storebought condiments for the time being, since a small taste can set people off.  But they're small compared to the bulk of your diet.

[stevembk]

I am slowly filtering out all of my old condiments. I plan on using guacamole for burgers. Salsa and hot sauce(tabasco) for chicken and fish.

 

I am still doing the dairy thing but i prefer Fage greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.

[dudemanrod]

Yeah, I figured I would slowly get away from them.  I love mustard.  I recently discovered stone ground mustard that I have been using just because I like the taste.  I havent started eating Paleo yet, but I am working out the details for when I do start.  Trying to slowly cut back on the extras.  Having my last soda on the 16th.  No more sweetened coffee creamer a week after that.  Then on April 1st I will go Paleo/Primal for most of my diet.  Eating 150g of carbs a day and slowly cutting that back. Good thing is I am not a huge fan of sugar, well other than in soda and foods but I dont think I am an addict.  I guess we will see when I start this.  Thanks for the info!

[Raincloak]

Wow, you're waiting three weeks to give up sugared beverages?  Definitely pacing yourself there   I suggest you make sure to work out some go-to recipes, so you don't fall off the diet for lack of cooking skills.

 

If you are an habitual soda drinker and you use corn syrup goo in your coffee, then you are probably addicted to sugar whether you realize it or not.  Drinking sugar gives you an even faster systemic reaction than eating it.

 

I actually wouldn't say you should necessarily try to quit carbs and sugar at the same time; you might find that starchy vegetables are valuable to you on a paleo diet, especially if you're getting off a sugar habit.  But that's up to you.

[allirep]

i recently bought this book and love it.  it is primal not paleo - but the recipes seem easily adjustable to me. i am a big fan of homemade marinades.

 

store bought condiments have sugar everywhere.  you will need to decide where you draw the line. i refuse to by BBQ sauce or marinade from a store.  but i found a hot sauce that seems to be relatively simple and devoid of strange ingredients. 

 

it takes some work - but you can make homemade versions of all kinds of great things. heck there is a paleo recipe for Sriracha sauce.

[Georges]

I found a lot of condiment recipes in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. (I bet there's some in the earlier How to Cook Everything.)  If you grab one of those from the library and look over the condiment/dressing section, you can decide which are worth making at home.  Almost everything you find in the store is going to have non-paleo ingredients and/or nasty chemical preservatives.  The good news is that as you start eating cleaner (whether it's paleo or not), you start to enjoy the taste of the individual foods more... eventually, a lot of condiments will just taste too sweet/salty/non-food-like.

[dudemanrod]

I actually love to cook, so I am excited because normally I will take easy over taste because I live alone but since most easy premade stuff is not Paleo/Primal.... I cant take the easy way out.  The soda thing is more like 2 weeks.  I have found I stick with things a lot better if I give myself a countdown.  I have given up soda for 11 months before for no reason other than I wanted to lose weight and I knew it was all empty sugars and calories.  Thanks for the links Allirep.  I see they have a Kindle edition of the recipes. 

[Skiley]

I make a double batch of homemade mayo from the Well Fed cookbook. I use it for mayo and as a base for homemade salad dressings. I love it and will be figuring out even more ways to use it!

[Cosmixkey]

Thanks OP for this! I've been asking myself the same question, guess I'll have to find recipees to dip my veggies from time to time to change tastes on my veggies.