As we get older, we are FINALLY learning how important it is to read the labels on the things we eat and drink. I’m trying to stay low-carb and watch my sodium. My husband is a Type II Diabetic and must watch his sugar (or, more accurately, I’M watching his sugar.)
To this end, I’m embracing products we find that make our lives easier. I’m trying to find substitutes that are healthier as we go.
“Sugar-Free” –
The G. Hughes Smokehouse Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce was a huge find for us. I got two more bottles while we were out today, and discovered that the company also makes sugar-free teriaki sauce, sugar-free stir-fry sauce, and sugar-free honey mustard. I bought all three today to add to our pantry. As we were checking out, the lady at the register told me they also offer Sugar-free Ketchup, so that’s on the list for next time. I also found their website and will go back and see if I’m missing other wonderful things.
Other products we’ve found are Sugar-Free Maple Syrup. My husband is using this in his morning coffee, instead of the two spoonfuls of sugar he has always used. ZERO soft drinks are so much better than the full sugar pop he has always insisted on.
“No Sugar Added” – This is another beautiful phrase, because it allows me to substitute more things my husband has been missing. They are not sugar-free, and you have to read the labels carefully, but there are more and more good products out there. A recent example for us is Marketside No Sugar Added Blueberry Streusel Muffins. These contain 2 grams of sugar per muffin. (The apple fritters my husband was insisting upon were 22 grams per fritter.) I breathed a sigh of relief on the way home from the store today when he told me he had thrown out the last of the fritters today. We bought two containers of the no sugar added muffins today, but I was really trying to keep my lips zipped as much as possible, encouraging, rather than condemning. HOOOORAAAAAAY!
“Low Carb” – this is very important to me. I’m almost to an interim weight loss goal and I’m checking everything I eat and drink, listing all I plan to eat on MyFitnessPal.com before I start the day. You have to be super careful here, though, too. “Low carb” seems to be a relative term. I’ve picked up several things labeled that way, and then read that they’re much too high in carbs for what I’m doing. I also have to really pay attention to the sodium content, as I have blood pressure and water retention considerations.
One place we are really happy with is Stu’s Clean Cookin’. They have a website that lists everything they offer, giving full information on the nutrition content of each frozen meal. They also divide their offerings into categories to make finding things easier, such as low carb. I can go online, read through the offerings, making a list for me, another for my husband before we go to their store. We have our order ready so shopping is quick and easy.
(We made a mistake the last time we were in there. We grabbed some BBQ’d ribs in a big foil package. They were easy to heat up and delicious, but the BBQ sauce obviously wasn’t for us, as our blood sugar numbers were up the next morning. OUR fault, not theirs.)
We’re learning as we go – even though being older than dirt, one would THINK we would have learned before now. We’re tweaking things, learning about new products and new ways to cook things that are healthier and healthier. It feels good that we’re not TOO old to learn how to be as healthy as we can be.
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