Condiments & Sauces

One of the categories that appears difficult to deal with when going low sodium is Condiments and Sauces. Everything processed in a bottle generally contain a ton of sodium. When you start looking at the labels, you can't even imagine how you used to eat this stuff.

Let's talk mustard...

The top 3 mustard manufacturers in the United States are Heinz, French's, and Gulden's. I have personally always bought Gulden's Spicy Mustard for the obvious reasons. It comes in a two-pack from Costco and we go through it like water. Or at least we used to...

Then I started doing some research and found Westbrae Organic Stoneground Mustard -- and bingo, it has 0 mg of sodium -- and is supervised by the as well! And it tastes pretty darn good.

Ketchup as a Main Dish

Ketchup is another condiment that is a source of high sodium that most people don't think about. And why should they? I never did -- until recently. Boy was I in for a shock when I checked out the nutrition label for regular Heinz ketchup. 160 mg in 1 Tbsp of ketchup. I could use 1 Tbsp of ketchup on like 2 fries. And really, what are french fries without ketchup? Boring potatoes, albeit fried.

Luckily, Heinz makes a great low sodium ketchup that only has 5 mg of sodium in a 1 Tbsp serving. The only problem with this product is that the bottles are too small. I go through them so quickly that I buy them through Amazon Subscribe and Save in a six pack.

Note: If you are watching your Potassium, this ketchup is NOT for you. It has 170 mg of Potassium in 1 Tbsp.

The Dreaded Soy Sauce

Another condiment that I think we can all agree that is difficult to live without is soy sauce. Soy sauce is definitely on list of banned foods when you are going LoSo. And even more frustrating are all the "Low Sodium Soy Sauces," which are anything but low sodium. Check out these sodium amounts:

1 Tbsp of regular soy sauce could be 3/4 of your allowed sodium intake for the entire day. And the "low sodium" ones aren't much better. These look nothing like low sodium to me.

Thankfully, there is a product out there called Coconut Aminos. In addition to being a soy sauce alternative, it also works for anyone who is gluten free or has a soy or wheat allergy. It is made from made from the fermented sap of a coconut palm tree, which gives it its sweet flavor. It is much milder than regular soy sauce, but works very nicely in a recipe where you just need the soy sauce. A definite word of caution, just because it isn't soy sauce does not mean it is sodium free! Don't pour in an entire bottle. Also, there are different brands of Coconut Aminos out there -- and they have different sodium levels. Even when you see a Coconut Aminos jar calling to you from the supermarket shelf, don't forget to check the label!

Below is a collection of other sauces and condiments which have been life-savers for me, and will be for you as well.

Low Sodium Condiments and Sauces

Check out our other recommended low sodium products.