Sauces

Use the same criteria you use for selecting any other food. What is going to be the added carbs to your total food intake by adding that sauce. Tomato sauces for example add about 4 carbs per serving depending on how the sauce was made, sometimes more. Franks Buffalo Wing sauce on the other hand is naturally zero carb.

Sauce are great for moistening foods that you might otherwise have trouble with like chicken. Yogurt based sauces add protein too while keeping carbs relatively low. Mayo is zero or low carb (I don't remember off the top of my head, I think zero), so that is a good base too, but if you are watching fat be careful with how much you add. The more I read about low carb diets the more I am becoming of the opinion you shouldn't worry about fat.

Gravies are particularly dangerous because the typical thickeners for gravy are flour or corn starch, both carbs. You just have to read labels or the recipe and figure out the source of sugar, starches, and other carbs.

I'm with you on the low carb approach and not worrying so much about fat. My chiropractor wanted me to go on a simple no white diet where anything white (except Duke's Mayo) is avoided. Fat was not the problem, but carbs were. I thought about doing that but opted for the surgery and will base my eating off of that diet plan.

I'm not looking for things that will be a cheat; but things that are ok and enhance flavor.

Well essentially after VSG you should be on that same diet your chiropractor recommended. No white for sure. Meat and leafy green vegetables. No sugar/No carbs. Mayo is fine, that's not the kind of white they are talking about, that is mostly from egg whites and has no carbs.

There are a number of low carb web sites and many of them have special sections for sauces, if you google low carb sauce recipe you will probably find a bunch. Something I like to do and have found a plethora of great recipes is go on to pinterest.com and search for low carb and you will see a bunch of good stuff there too.

Hey; thanks for answering again. I like pinterest as well. Pictures always help!

I use salsa that doesn't contain any form of sweetener as a replacement for salad dressing and on really dry meats occasionally. Virtually all commercially prepared sauces have sugar in them and all commercially prepared salad dressings except Newman's Own Original Oil and Vinegar are made with sugar, honey etc.

I'm more concerned about sugar than complex carbs.

I'll check out the Newmans brand. I agree with you about sugar being the issue.