Low Calorie/Sugar Dips and Sauces

Supermatch

Supermatch

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Does anyone here have any recommendations on low cal/low sugar dips and sauces that they're a fan of, be it store bought or DIY?

Finally got slapped with the type 2 diabetes label. A big hurdle for me is that I HATE the taste of most vegetables, but I can sit and eat raw bell peppers and broccoli all day if there's something I can dip them in! Same for cooked veggies - hate things like succotash, but ate a side of it without complaint at a restaurant the other day when the taste was disguised by a creole gravy of sorts. Big fan of things that are spicy, citrusy, or onion/garlic tasting especially, but unfortunately most creamy dressings I find like chipotle ranch are too loaded with calories and sugar.

I'm also a big fan of hummus, so if anyone has a killer DIY hummus recipe that I can make in the food processor, that would also be appreciated!
 
I have LADA, latent autoimmune diabetes, which is similar to type 1. Can't help you much with sweet dips and sauces, but here are some things I do for my 'beetus.

I like the dip made out of sour cream and Hidden Valley Ranch powdered seasoning mix for vegetables. It is low carb, not sure about the calories as I don't worry about them. I microwave a lot of vegetables, in a Pyrex dish w/lid, seasoned with just butter and my steak seasoning rub on it. Had broccoli fixed that way tonight. Also try roasting vegetables in the oven with olive oil or butter and seasoning.

Do you like dried beans? They have a low glycemic index and a lot of fiber. I fix a lot of dried pinto and lima beans and found that they barely even affect my glucose levels. They could also be blended into a "hummus" style dip and seasoned to your taste.

Watch out for substituting "diet" drinks with artificial sweeteners, for regular sugared ones. I cut out sugared drinks and sweet tea and tried using Splenda to sweeten my tea. After using it for a while, I noticed that I was developing some insulin resistance and having to use more and more insulin to control my glucose levels. I cut it out completely and everything went back to what it was before using it. I have since talked with my doctor and diabetes dietician and they both said that new studies are finding what I found and the sweeteners are not good for diabetics.

If your insurance will cover it, check into getting a continuous glucose monitor. It will allow you to see how different foods affect your glucose levels so you can adjust accordingly and will help to reduce your A1C. I was able to reduce mine by over 2.5 points in 6 months using one.
 
When the mood strikes, I like to mix equal parts mayo, sour cream, and sriracha.

Hit it with a little lime zest, if you're feeling fancy.
 
beamernc said:
I have LADA, latent autoimmune diabetes, which is similar to type 1. Can't help you much with sweet dips and sauces, but here are some things I do for my 'beetus.

I like the dip made out of sour cream and Hidden Valley Ranch powdered seasoning mix for vegetables. It is low carb, not sure about the calories as I don't worry about them. I microwave a lot of vegetables, in a Pyrex dish w/lid, seasoned with just butter and my steak seasoning rub on it. Had broccoli fixed that way tonight. Also try roasting vegetables in the oven with olive oil or butter and seasoning.

Do you like dried beans? They have a low glycemic index and a lot of fiber. I fix a lot of dried pinto and lima beans and found that they barely even affect my glucose levels. They could also be blended into a "hummus" style dip and seasoned to your taste.

Watch out for substituting "diet" drinks with artificial sweeteners, for regular sugared ones. I cut out sugared drinks and sweet tea and tried using Splenda to sweeten my tea. After using it for a while, I noticed that I was developing some insulin resistance and having to use more and more insulin to control my glucose levels. I cut it out completely and everything went back to what it was before using it. I have since talked with my doctor and diabetes dietician and they both said that new studies are finding what I found and the sweeteners are not good for diabetics.

If your insurance will cover it, check into getting a continuous glucose monitor. It will allow you to see how different foods affect your glucose levels so you can adjust accordingly and will help to reduce your A1C. I was able to reduce mine by over 2.5 points in 6 months using one.
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I can usually tolerate veggies if they're drowning in butter, but I need to keep an eye on the overall calories as well. One of my go-to's used to be butter, anchovy paste, garlic, and lemon juice as a sauce to brush on the veggies while they're roasting.

I'm not normally a bean guy, but interesting thought on blending them into hummus.

I am 100% guilty of drinking WAY too many artificially sweetened drinks. I probably go through at least a couple cans of diet coke/zeros a day for my afternoon caffeine fix. Going to need to find an alternative here.

CZfool68 said:
Mustard. Lots of very good difference mustards out there.
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Big mustard fan as well here, but the ones I'd consider just dipping straight veggies into are all packed with sugar. Certainly an option as a sauce though, since its my go-to for things like pork anyways.

kcult said:
When the mood strikes, I like to mix equal parts mayo, sour cream, and sriracha.

Hit it with a little lime zest, if you're feeling fancy.
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Sounds good, but need to watch the calories for now. I may have to try the seasoning into a lower calorie Greek yogurt trick to see if its palatable.

Ferrisfan said:
Tzatziki is low carb, and can be low calorie is you don’t add olive oil.
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Good one that I hadn't thought of, even though my wife will probably destroy the bowl herself before I even get a chance at it (like she just did the two sheet pans of veggies I made the other night...)
 
do you like vinegar ok? Sliced cucumber and onions in vinegar is something my grandmother made that I like as a snack.

just cut em up, throw them in some Tupperware with a little dill and let it sit in the fridge.
 
DaveInCLT said:
do you like vinegar ok? Sliced cucumber and onions in vinegar is something my grandmother made that I like as a snack.

just cut em up, throw them in some Tupperware with a little dill and let it sit in the fridge.
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And black pepper.
 
DaveInCLT said:
do you like vinegar ok? Sliced cucumber and onions in vinegar is something my grandmother made that I like as a snack.

just cut em up, throw them in some Tupperware with a little dill and let it sit in the fridge.
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Yep, I make cucumber salad with onions quite a bit in the summertime, need to do it more frequently.
 
Two other thoughts in addition to the humus and tzatziki mentioned above.

Peanut butter (in moderation) especially with celery and pimento cheese are two other decent options
 
DaveInCLT said:
Two other thoughts in addition to the humus and tzatziki mentioned above.

Peanut butter (in moderation) especially with celery and pimento cheese are two other decent options
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As much as I love pimento cheese, I could probably eat about 10k calories worth in one sitting! It's one I hadn't thought of though, I'll have to buy a tub of it and force myself to use it sparingly.
 
Ponzerite said:
Watch the peanut butter, some of it has a LOT of added sugar. Don't ask me how I know.
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Same guy who added all the sugar is probably the same guy that thought making 1 TBSP a serving size was a good idea.
 
Supermatch said:
Same guy who added all the sugar is probably the same guy that thought making 1 TBSP a serving size was a good idea.
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I use a table spoon to eat it, who doesn't? I mean I dip it right out of the jar with a tablespoon and into my mouth.

A TBSP!? SMH
 
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What are your numbers if you don't mind me asking? You need to investigate a low carb life style. I was just over the threshold into type 2 land and kicked it by going low carb, zero sugar.

Look for Keto Friendly or low carb items at the grocery. There are more each week. Back when I started there wasn't much of anything. (don't fall for "lower sugar or no sugar added")

Our son recently had acute Pancreatitis. He only has about 10% of his pancreas left. We went with him to his first couple of Endocrine appointments and she started talking low carb, I told her we have been Keto for a long time, she responded "perfect".

PM me if you want, I can likely give a little guidance. Your diet is about to change drastically. You can embrace it or fight it.
 
Sp00ks said:
What are your numbers if you don't mind me asking? You need to investigate a low carb life style. I was just over the threshold into type 2 land and kicked it by going low carb, zero sugar.

Look for Keto Friendly or low carb items at the grocery. There are more each week. Back when I started there wasn't much of anything. (don't fall for "lower sugar or no sugar added")

Our son recently had acute Pancreatitis. He only has about 10% of his pancreas left. We went with him to his first couple of Endocrine appointments and she started talking low carb, I told her we have been Keto for a long time, she responded "perfect".

PM me if you want, I can likely give a little guidance. Your diet is about to change drastically. You can embrace it or fight it.
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My A1C crept up to right around 7.0. Unfortunately, my thyroid hormone replacements following cancer in my 20's have kept my TSH values in a range (to combat the likelihood of recurrence) that made me very predisposed to insulin resistance.

While I can reduce overall carbs, I need to be careful. Long story short, when I try to completely eliminate carbs/sugars (e.g. carnivore diet or extremely low carb keto), I end up with bowel blockages and other GI issues (found out the hard way). Additionally, I have no gall bladder, so I have to be careful on overall fat intake as well, as going overboard there has me parked on a toilet. I have found that breads and pastas have a tendency to spike my sugars for hours after eating, whereas jasmine/basmati rice do not (I can be under 150 2 hours after rice and beef, but give me a piece of pizza and I'll still be up over 250 3-4 hours later). Historically, if I can stick mostly to rice, meat, veggie, the weight comes off very rapidly and numbers improve quickly, including liver enzymes which have always been a problem for me dating back to my early teens.
 
Supermatch said:
My A1C crept up to right around 7.0. Unfortunately, my thyroid hormone replacements following cancer in my 20's have kept my TSH values in a range (to combat the likelihood of recurrence) that made me very predisposed to insulin resistance.

While I can reduce overall carbs, I need to be careful. Long story short, when I try to completely eliminate carbs/sugars (e.g. carnivore diet or extremely low carb keto), I end up with bowel blockages and other GI issues (found out the hard way). Additionally, I have no gall bladder, so I have to be careful on overall fat intake as well, as going overboard there has me parked on a toilet. I have found that breads and pastas have a tendency to spike my sugars for hours after eating, whereas jasmine/basmati rice do not (I can be under 150 2 hours after rice and beef, but give me a piece of pizza and I'll still be up over 250 3-4 hours later). Historically, if I can stick mostly to rice, meat, veggie, the weight comes off very rapidly and numbers improve quickly, including liver enzymes which have always been a problem for me dating back to my early teens.
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Ok, sounds like you got this.
 
Went to the grocery store last night and picked up pimento cheese (nutrition facts basically matched a typical salad dressing, so thanks for the recommendation), a trio of hummus, some full fat Fage greek yogurt since it had the lowest carb count of any there, some onion soup mix packets, and a clearance container of "spicy ranch" seasoning powder. Will try mixing up some dips and see how they go.

They did have some zero sugar BBQ sauces and stuff that I saw, but they all had sucralose in them, and I'd like to see what cutting back on the artificial sweeteners does for me since I'm normally an energy drink/diet soda fiend.
 
Have not had much luck on the dip front, but did find a sauce that I like. It's not low calorie, but is low sugar/carb, and it makes vegetables I hate palatable to me, even brussel sprouts:

-Butter
-Garlic
-Onion
-Chicken stock
-Fresh Dill
-Heavy cream
-Fresh lemon

Sautee garlic and onions in butter, deglaze with chicken stock, add your lemon juice, fresh dill and heavy cream, let thicken. Was awesome on fish, but I used it on asparagus and brussels as well. Not low calorie with the cream and butter, but I'll take a tablespoon or two of that sauce on a bowl full of veggies vs. chowing down on a second helping of food or grazing in the pantry for something even worse.

So far I have managed to go 2 1/2 weeks with no "bad" carbs, i.e. sugary foods/drinks, bread, pasta, or pizza. Carb sources have been limited mostly to fruits/veggies and a low carb tortilla (5g). Going to hit up Puckerbutt this weekend to browse for some new hot sauces and see if they have anything to add into the mix.
 
Turns out the no sugar added Sweet Baby Rays is actually pretty good. Also found this other one at the Charlotte Farmers Market. Nice kick to it, sort of straddles the line between hot sauce and BBQ sauce with reapers, scorpions, ghost, habanero and jalapeños. They use Stevia to sweeten. Not cheap at $12/bottle, but they do a 3/$30 deal so I’ll grab a few the next time I’m there.

IMG_1134.jpeg
 
Ferrisfan said:
Tzatziki is low carb, and can be low calorie is you don’t add olive oil.
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Costco has a great one we like. It has one carb per serving. Tastes great.

Also check out Walden Farms products. They have some great sugar free options. We buy ours at Harris Teeter.
 
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Honestly, hot sauce is pretty much no calories, Sriracha, mustard, sugar free ketchup, popcorn seasoning, Stevie, etc
 
The Root said:
Honestly, hot sauce is pretty much no calories, Sriracha, mustard, sugar free ketchup, popcorn seasoning, Stevie, etc
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Careful, Sriracha is loaded in sugar, second ingredient. Basically adult ketchup made with peppers instead of tomatoes.
IMG_3583.jpeg
 
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I'm T1D, got diagnosed in 2015. They make ketchup with stevia. Stevia is a natural low calorie sweetener. It's not a chemical and it doesn't mess with your insulin resistance, at least as far as I can tell. I also drink "zevia" sodas, food Lion, Walmart and Harris teeter have them. They are sweetened with the same natural stuff. Aspartame gives me headaches and acesulfame potassium does as well, so I avoid those, which rules out almost all diet sodas.
 
Someone gave me a variety case of the Zevia's and they would be ok if they weren't so nasty. I tried most of the flavors and they all had that same nasty after taste, so I threw the rest of them away. I just drink water now with maybe a little lemon juice.
 
beamernc said:
Someone gave me a variety case of the Zevia's and they would be ok if they weren't so nasty. I tried most of the flavors and they all had that same nasty after taste, so I threw the rest of them away. I just drink water now with maybe a little lemon juice.
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Some are better than others. There's a couple other companies that make similar stuff thats better. Virgils and green cola.
 
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