I get a lot of questions about condiments. And surprisingly enough, condiments were one of the things I missed the most during our “100 Days of Real Food” pledge. They are like the little things you don’t pay much attention to until they’re suddenly gone. So in an effort to answer everyone’s questions in one spot, including what’s real and what’s not and what we use now that our pledge is over, here’s the deal….
Mayonnaise
- First of all, just about all store-bought mayo’s are made with refined oils (like canola oil) even if it says something catchy on the front like “made with olive oil.” Just read the ingredients and you’ll see what I am talking about. And regardless of the oils that are used there are no easy-to-find brands (to my knowledge) that contain 5 or less ingredients, which was one of our real food pledge rules.
- Secondly, you can certainly make homemade mayonnaise yourself, but I am going to tell you right now that it won’t be the same fluffy white stuff you buy from the store. I’ve decided that homemade mayo and store-bought mayo are just two completely different products and – right or wrong – I like and prefer the white fluffy stuff.
What’s the solution?
- You can try to make homemade mayo using unrefined oils and pastured eggs, but most recipes call for raw eggs. I am still on the fence about giving uncooked eggs to my kids so after a few different “cooked egg” mayonnaise failures I honestly just gave up on it. So during our 100-day pledge we basically abstained from mayonnaise all together…gasp!
- Some people successfully substitute plain Greek yogurt for mayo in recipes like egg salad and chicken salad, but I am just being honest here…I’ve tried it and I am not sold on the idea.
- Now that our strict 100-day pledge is over we just buy a minimally processed (meaning: small number of ingredients) organic mayonnaise from the store. Yes, it’s the organic Spectrum brand that says “made with olive oil” even though I know it also contains highly refined canola oil, but occasionally convenience wins around here. With that being said we use the store-bought stuff in great moderation (probably only once a month in dishes like egg salad).
Ketchup
- There is no such thing as “ketchup” without added sweeteners…that’s unfortunately (fortunately?) just what ketchup is.
- There seem to be all sorts of ketchup options these days – both organic and conventional – that are sweetened with everything from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar to agave nectar. First of all, we don’t use agave (more on that another day), but secondly just because the added sweetener appears to be less refined than white sugar please remember that “added sugar is added sugar” and all should be consumed in moderation. And just because we like to use honey and maple syrup (since they are minimally processed and contain trace nutrients) that unfortunately doesn’t give us the green light to turn up the bottle. Bottom line: Sugar is sugar and too much of it is a bad thing.
What’s the solution?
- Clearly you can simply reduce your consumption of ketchup. I know some parents say their kids love to dip anything and everything in ketchup so if that’s the case I would recommend introducing some new and different “real food” dips like hummus, homemade ranch, or even organic low-sodium soy sauce. Just remember even though this condiment may seem innocent ketchup is basically 2 parts tomato/spices and 1 part sugar. That means for every tablespoon of ketchup you eat you are consuming one teaspoon of sugar (yikes!).
- During our 100-day pledge we tried making homemade ketchup with honey (because honey was one of our “allowed” sweeteners), but frankly the end result wasn’t all that great. So now we just buy store-bought organic ketchup made with sugar, and just like I mentioned above with the mayo, we use it in great moderation (probably about once or twice a month).
Barbeque Sauce
- I hate to break it to you, but just like ketchup pretty much all tomato based BBQ sauces contain added sweeteners. And even if you make your own homemade BBQ sauce, which I highly recommend over the store-bought stuff, most call for ketchup as an ingredient.
What’s the solution?
- I may sound like a broken record, but due to the added sweetener issue (see ketchup explanation above) it’s best to simply reduce your overall consumption of BBQ sauce.
- We didn’t have BBQ sauce at all during our 100-day pledge, but I think if I tried hard enough I could probably come up with a pretty decent honey version that doesn’t contain refined sugar. I was never so creative during our pledge though so once we had BBQ sauce again after not having it for so long – I am not gonna lie – it was awesome.
Mustard
- After all that bad news here is the good news…there are actually quite a few “real food” store-bought mustards out there! Several organic yellow and Dijon mustard brands simply contain vinegar, mustard seed, and spices, which is all pretty innocent stuff.
Please feel free to share your “real food” condiment tips and recipes in the comments below!
I did not go through all the comments so I am probably repeating, but- We make our own ketchup and mustard in our house- it is soooooo easy. and although we have to have 5 lb bags of mustard seed in the basement (bought from Amazon.com) its nice to know that I control what’s in it. As far as mayo- I do you yogurt to make tuna fish, chicken salad, etc. the trick is to put a little olive oil in it, just to add that little bit of fat it needs to stick. And frankly who needs BBQ when you have homemade ketchup and local honey.
Claire:
Could you post a link or a recipe of how you make your homemade ketchup and mustard.
And thank you for the tip on olive oil with greek yogurt.
Arik
I just take Pomi tomatoes in a shallow pan, add vinegar (your choice depending on what flavor you like- white is the basic, but you can do cider, etc) and whatever you like for sweetener (honey, raw sugar, etc) then reduce on a low simmer takes about 1/2 hour. Salt to taste.
As far as the mustard goes we buy yellow powder, black seed and yellow seed- we got this from amazon, they are organic and inexpensive. Basically we grind the seed in a coffee grinder, then add room temperature water and white vinegar (this is really the best for mustard) this will give you the basic mustard. If you use hot water you will get a milder mustard, but if you use cold you will get spicy (yum!) also keep adding liquid the seeds will suck it up. Salt pepper to taste.
Also my husband said its also easy to make mayo- oil, egg, and lemon juice- whip. But again have to except that it is basically pure fat. At least it has no preservatives! (aside for the lemons)
Thank you.
Very Kind.
Best.
Happy to hear the report on dijion mustard, my favorite condiment. Personally I’ve been grossed out by store mayo and ketchup since grade school so no big lose!
We make ketchup using just tomato paste, malt vinegar, and curry powder. It’s delicious and doesn’t need any added sweetener
This sounds a lot like German curry ketchup. I’ve never tried it but I want to!
I’ve recently tried avocado mayonnaise and am quite smitten with it! It’s just avocados, EVOO, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Delish, and transforms a BLT into a masterpiece. Recipes are available on many websites, but I used this one:
http://www.food.com/recipe/avocado-mayonnaise-202316
We just found Westbrae Natural Unsweetened Ketchup – still has maltodextrin in it, so doesn’t work for the REAL Food Challenge – but we use it VERY sparingly. I am planning on making my own. As for mayo – we make our own with raw eggs and love it – so much better than store-bought. We get our eggs from a local organic dairy farmer who also raises chickens, so I trust the eggs. We have never had any issues with raw eggs with the kids.
May also want to mention old-timey fermented mustards are quite nutritious, containing probiotics / lactic acid, rather than the storebought vinegar-based mustards.
Love the avocado “mayo” idea — thanks for that one!!
Re raw eggs and home made mayo…after whipping it all together leave it sit on the counter for a half hour. This gives the vinegar in the recipe a chance to kill off bacteria. Not sure if this is a scientific certainty or not, but we’ve made home made mayo forever and have never had a problem. Not sure if lemon juice is as effective or not.
I have stumbled onto an amazing natural substitute for butter, mayonnaise, even sweetener in many cases: coconut oil. There are flavored and unflavored varieties, and I use both, depending on whether I think the coconut flavor will enhance the recipe or not. I am impressed with its flexibility as a substitute for a variety of ingredients.
Coconut oil is awesome on warm bread with just a pinch of salt. It makes an amazing (non-refrigerated) vinegar & oil dressing (which will solidify below 76 degrees, so if refrigerated, it must be allowed to warm up to room temperature before use). I use coconut oil in tuna salad and egg salad and as a substitute for mayonnaise in any recipe. And it adds a nice, subtle surprise to steamed vegetables when allowed to melt over the top instead of using butter.
And in many recipies I find that by including the naturally flavored coconut oil, the amount of sweeteners added can be reduced or eliminated entirely. And since we are talking minimizing the sugars anyway, I prefer to use raw, unprocessed, unbleached cane sugar (or honey). Even when using real sugar, my diabetic family members find that the coconut oil consumption minimizes the sugar spike they would normally have after sugar consumption.
Utilizing coconut oil in place of mouthwash has the double benefit of fresh breath and whiter teeth (Google “oil pull”). I even make my own toothpaste with coconut oil as the base, with essential oils for their antiseptic properties (peppermint, tea tree, etc). My teeth have never been so white.
I love coconut oil! Try it.
Once I discovered pesto, our consumption of other condiments went way down!
Agree with mayo – we use organic olive oil too!
Agree with ketchup – we choose low sodium and limit intake
Agree with mustard – we were surprised to see that almost all mustards are awesome – just watch for tartrazine in some
Regarding BBQ, just wanted to emphasize HOW GREAT homemade BBQ sauce really is!
BBQ sauce from the store is pure evil LOL. I looked in gourmet stores, health food stores, looked at everything in the grocery store. Salt, sugar, fake sugar, isolates, modified oils, colours, msg, you name it!
The great thing is that you can make bbq sauce that tastes BETTER than store-bought easily. Molasses, brown sugar, low-sodium ketchup (or any tomato-based thingie), mustard, maple syrup, spices. You can get creative and mix it up as a glaze or sauce for the slow cooker. Obviously lots of sugar, but “real” and awesome!
Curious why you don’t use agave. My husband really likes agave syrup for breakfast foods on special occasions and it is a lot more expensive than traditional syrup, so I’d love to hear why you stay away. Thanks!
Hi Teresa. This should help clarify: http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/. ~Amy
I cleared out my pantry in January 2012 of all processed foods (more than 5 ingredients). But my favorite condiment is the ‘fluffy’ mayonnaise that I grew up on. (And yes, I do make my own, but it is just not the same… still trying to tweak my recipe to come up with something that resembles the store-bought stuff.) Ketchup was easy to give up… and I had been making my own for the past 5 years. To me, if a friend gives me a french fry with the store bought stuff… all I taste are the chemicals. It is does not taste like tomatoes at all. With some tweaking, I turned my ketchup into a chipotle BBQ sauce. It is flavorful, spicy, and something that friends ask for during the holiday season. I just got into making mustard and really enjoy a stone ground ‘style’ with stout beer. Though my husband won’t use it. His favorite mustard is the plain yellow in the distinctive squeeze bottle with lots of additives. (He will buy that and sneak it into ‘fridge.)
Ugh! You hit on one of my pet peeves–”made with.” They can put one drop of olive oil in–”made with olive oil.” One gram of whole grains–”made with whole grains.”
Thank you for the heads up. I’m going to try making mayo this weekend.
I actually just avoid most condiments all together. As a substitute for mayo, I use avocado and/or greek yogurt, either separately depending on the dish, or blended together, which creates the creaminess of mayo you miss with just the yogurt. Plus you get the yummy avocado flavor as a bonus! I simply shy away from ketchup and bbq sauces, but luckily I LOVE mustard.
There are lots of foods out there that can add the moisture you need to replace the condiments. For example, if I eat a burger, the avocado, grilled onions and cheese are enough, no condiments needed.
I would encourage others to get passed the mind set of “needing” condiments on foods. Sometimes your meal is even better without them when you get creative in the kitchen adding flavors from real foods.
What do you think of mayo made from expeller pressed canola oil (Spectrum brand)?
Hi Marcy. Canola oil is not among the oils we like to use regularly. If you do choose to use it, expeller pressed organic canola oil is what you should look for. ~Amy
Wilderness Family Naturals sells a fantastic organic mayonnaise:
http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/product/dressings-condiments-mayo/Mayo16.php
Ingredients:
Certified Organic, (Raw) Centrifuged Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Certified Organic, (Raw) Unrefined Sesame Seed Oil
Certified Organic, (Raw) Centrifuged Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Certified Organic, Eggs
Certified Organic, Vinegar
Certified Organic, Spices (Ground Mustard, Garlic, Onion & Paprika)
Certified Organic, Evaporated Cane Juice
Sea Salt
I just want to say that I really enjoy your enthusiasm about eating non-processed foods. That being said I’d like to insert my opinion and I hope you don’t take offense, I certainly mean none, but to avoid all condiments except for once or twice a month just seems a bit much to me. I truly believe that moderation is key in all things, and there are actually people out there that take this information about organic, gmo, etc, and basically refuse to eat anything because they can’t afford to buy organic but don’t want to eat the conventional. When I went on my real food journey I went through the same thing, I became obsessed about our food. It seemed that every time I turned around, there was an article saying such and such food was good for you, and then a month later it was bad! It was frustrating. After much thought and prayers I realized something. All of the anxiety that I was having over feeding my family was probably worse than having an occasional treat. We have three girls and are expecting a baby boy soon. We cannot afford to buy organic, however I do buy organic apples and applesauce and if there is good quality organic produce that isn’t grown in Mexico on sale, I will buy it, otherwise we eat conventional, and I wash things very well, and we enjoy our fruits and veggies. We don’t eat organic dairy because we again can’t afford $6 a gallon when we buy 4-5 gallons a week. We eat very little canned or boxed foods, I make our own stock, we raise our own beef, but we buy chicken at the store, we also raise our own free range eggs, but we buy pork at the store. We eat two or less servings of processed meats per week like bacon or lunchmeat, but we enjoy pizza one to two times a month, we enjoy making regular cookies and brownies and cakes, all in moderation, we cook with real butter, but very little of it, and we use olive oil, which is soo healthy! I just don’t buy into all of this hype about food anymore. We buy regular ketsup and and we love it. Ketsup is actually a great source of lycopene for kids, so why limit it so much? And is a tablespoon of real Hellman’s mayo really going to harm you? Perhaps it will, and someday I will have wished that I had been as strict as all of you folks, but I am choosing to live, and do my best, making as much from scratch as possible, but also living life and enjoying a McDonald’s cheeseburger and milkshake every now and then. I just think all of the research is too wishy-washy to truly take seriously, and you also have to consider that our world could not be fed if it were not for large scale meat, dairy, and egg farms, so while choosing natural, free range, grassfed is always a great idea, it is not practical for feeding our world and our growing population. Anyways, I do not mean any offense, I just wanted to share that I think sometimes people get way too concerned about this stuff. Do your best and ask God to take care of the rest
I just want to say that I really enjoy your enthusiasm about eating non-processed foods. That being said I’d like to insert my opinion and I hope you don’t take offense, I certainly mean none, but to avoid all condiments except for once or twice a month just seems a bit much to me. I truly believe that moderation is key in all things, and there are actually people out there that take this information about organic, gmo, etc, and basically refuse to eat anything because they can’t afford to buy organic but don’t want to eat the conventional. When I went on my real food journey I went through the same thing, I became obsessed about our food. It seemed that every time I turned around, there was an article saying such and such food was good for you, and then a month later it was bad! It was frustrating. After much thought and prayers I realized something. All of the anxiety that I was having over feeding my family was probably worse than having an occasional treat. We have three girls and are expecting a baby boy soon. We cannot afford to buy organic, however I do buy organic apples and applesauce and if there is good quality organic produce that isn’t grown in Mexico on sale, I will buy it, otherwise we eat conventional, and I wash things very well, and we enjoy our fruits and veggies. We don’t eat organic dairy because we again can’t afford $6 a gallon when we buy 4-5 gallons a week. We eat very little canned or boxed foods, I make our own stock, we raise our own beef, but we buy chicken at the store, we also raise our own free range eggs, but we buy pork at the store. We eat two or less servings of processed meats per week like bacon or lunchmeat, but we enjoy pizza one to two times a month, we enjoy making regular cookies and brownies and cakes, all in moderation, we cook with real butter, but very little of it, and we use olive oil, which is soo healthy! I just don’t buy into all of this hype about food anymore. We buy regular ketsup and and we love it. Ketsup is actually a great source of lycopene for kids, so why limit it so much? And is a tablespoon of real Hellman’s mayo really going to harm you? Perhaps it will, and someday I will have wished that I had been as strict as all of you folks, but I am choosing to live, and do my best, making as much from scratch as possible, but also living life and enjoying a McDonald’s cheeseburger and milkshake every now and then. I just think all of the research is too wishy-washy to truly take seriously, and you also have to consider that our world could not be fed if it were not for large scale meat, dairy, and egg farms, so while choosing natural, free range, grassfed is always a great idea, it is not practical for feeding our world and our growing population. Anyways, I do not mean any offense, I just wanted to share that I think sometimes people get way too concerned about this stuff. Do your best and ask God to take care of the rest