Healthy Condiments and Sauces

We all have a favorite condiment and chances are it's not the healthiest. Most condiments are loaded with sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fat along with preservatives and processed ingredients. I used to eat mayonnaise on everything and a lot of it. I would even mix it with my ketchup for burgers and fries... all of that indulging eventually caught up with me.

Since I started being more mindful of what I am putting in my body I have found healthy alternatives to some of my favorite condiments. Here's a list of just some of the healthy options that are out there to add some flavor to your meals.

• Sour Cream - I found that plain non-fat greek yogurt is a great alternative to sour cream. It has less ingredients and no fat! You can hardly tell the difference.
• Salad Dressing - Making your own salad dressing is not hard and is an inexpensive option. I found some easy and tasty DIY salad dressings on Wellness Mama. If I decide to buy a salad dressing I try to look for an organic and healthy option. I am a big fan of Annie's salad dressings. The ginger dressing is my favorite. 
• Mayonnaise - Similar to salad dressing, a great option for mayonnaise is to make your own. I never thought about making my own mayonnaise, I just figured I would opt out for the most part. Well I did some research and I found a tasty DIY mayo that is easy and a great alternative to the store bought mayo! You can find the recipe here. 
• BBQ Sauce - I found an easy homemade barbecue sauce recipe that would make for a great alternative to store bought. If I buy BBQ sauce from the store opposed to making my own, I usually get Annie's Organic BBQ Sauce. It has no artificial flavors or preservatives and it only has 4g sugar for every 2 tbsp.
• Ketchup -  I like to watch my sugar intake so I usually buy sugar reduced ketchup, this decreases the sugar per serving to 1g. A lot of these options usually contain an artificial sweetener, if that is something you want to stay away from, Annie's Organic Ketchup would be a good option. It has a little more sugar per serving but no artificial ingredients. As always, you can make it yourself as well. Here's another option I found on Wellness Mama.
• Mustard - There are a lot of great options for store bought mustard. My favorite is Annie's Organic Mustard.
• Whipped Cream - I found a homemade whipped cream recipe when I made my Strawberry Shortcake Protein Pancakes and it was so good! It tasted like the real thing. This is a much healthier option compared to store bought whipped cream. You can find the easy whipped cream recipe here. 
• Salsa - There are a lot of good and organic salsas in the stores but I prefer to make my own. Here are two of my favorite salsa recipes; Nectarine Avocado Salsa and Avocado Tomato Salsa.

Read the ingredients label! If it's a paragraph long and you don't recognize what most of the ingredients are, you should probably put it back. Look for items that are low in sodium, sugar, and have organic ingredients. 

It's always better to make your own condiments and dressings from scratch. You can stay away from preservatives, added sugars, and sodium this way and it usually is a cheaper option!