I really need to clean up but at the same time I really need to get this off my chest and hope someone can benefit from this, so Im going to try to keep this short…
Salad dressing has a bunch of bull@@%$ in it that we don’t need. It can say no fat, less fat than “xyz”, low calorie advertised on the front label, and when you check the numbers on the nutritional label it all pans out, BUT what it may be more beneficial to focus on is the ingredients! I was looking at different salad dressings online and for one, they showed the link to the nutritional label but there was no way to see the ingredients…hmmm.
Anyway, I was one that once thought that it would be OK to pick the best of all evils and go about my way but there IS an alternative. Look into cooking sauces and tomato sauces- just make sure tomato doesn’t raise your BG! I had to check mine after eating a salad with tomatoes and this added dressing. It was 146 1 hr after eating and 107 after 2hrs. after so I feel secure in eating these tomato based sauces. So check yours and see if you can handle tomato bases.
On to ingredients…
the Middle Earth Organics brand of “Organic Tomato and Grilled Eggplant Sauce” has: organic tomatoes, organic eggplant, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic onion, carrot, organic celery, and sea salt
Nutritional info (all per 1/2 cup)
Calories 69/ from fat 42
Total Fat 4.8g/Sat.7g
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 213mg
Total Carb 6g
Fiber 1.3g
Protein 1.1 g
Lets compare this to Walden Farm brand Italian salad dressing. I copied and pasted the ad for it…
Walden Farms Italian Salad Dressing will add zest to any of your salads. Bring the taste of Italy into your home without any of the carbohydrates. This salad dressing is calorie free, carb free, fat free, gluten free, and cholesterol free. It’s perfect for dieters and people with diabetes. 12 fl. oz (355mL)
Perfect for people with diabetes or anyone that is trying to eat healthy.
Carbohydrate Free
Calorie Free
Fat Free
Gluten Free
Cholesterol Free
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 Tbsp. (30ml)
Servings 12
Calories 0
Calories from Fat 0
- Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000
calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher
or lower depending on your calorie needs. Amount/Serving % Daily Value* Amount/Serving % Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 250mg
Wow this dressing really sounds great especially for us diabetics! Lets look at the ingredients…
Ingredients*: Purified Triple Filtered Water, Cider Vinegar, White Vinegar, Salt, Minced Garlic, Minced Onion, Cellulose Gell, Oregano, Natural Spices, Natural Flavors, Lemon Juice, Red Bell Pepper, Black Pepper, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Sodium Benzoate (To Preserve Freshness), Sucralose, Food Color
*Contains trace calories
So lets see first few ingredients look pretty good, then theres…
Cellulose Gel- raises blood sugar, dont people pop these pills when their blood sugar is too low? hmmm
Xanthan Gum- corn SUGAR
Sodium Benzoate- a salt, and has been shown (when added to vitamin C) to cause a cancer-causing substance, this is also linked to hyperactivity
Sucralose- this is a sugar derivative it is also what we call “Splenda” and too in one small study this has been concluded about Sucralose…"One small study of diabetic patients using the sweetener showed a statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba1C), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels and is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients. According to the FDA, “increases in glycosolation in hemoglobin imply lessening of control of diabetes.”
Its very interesting that this product marketed toward diabetics contain a lot of sugar and harmful additives. I don’t even feel like dissecting mainstream brands like Kraft! I think they have the gall to actually use HFCS in their brands.
.
For those that would like to make your own, I just found this site and the ingredients look pretty good (no sarcasm implied this time lol)…
