Healthy Food Choices: Condiments

Condiments, like ketchup and mustard, add flavor and variety of dishes at home and in restaurants. Learn some tips for buying condiments in this healthy shopping video.

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Contains antioxidants
High in sodium & sugar
Mustard
Mayonnaise is high in fat
Cocktail sauce instead of tartar sauce

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Michelle Cooper has been a registered dietician for more than 10 years. She currently works for the state of North Carolina for the New Hanover County School District in the Child Nutrition Department as the supervising registered dietician on staff. She specializes in child nutrition, child fitness and overall child health. She enjoys her job because it allows her to be a pivotal piece of child development.

MICHELLE COOPER: Next, we're going to talk about condiments. The three most popular condiments are ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. Ketchup because it's made from tomatoes, it's high in lycopene, an antioxidant nutrient; however, it's also high in sodium and sugar. So if you're going to use a lot of it, you may want to get a low-sodium or low-sugar brand of ketchup. Mustard is an excellent choice for condiments. It has not fat, no sugar and not much sodium. You can use this liberally and not sparingly. Mayonnaise, however, is high in fat. So when choosing this condiment, you want to get the light or low-fat or even fat-free version. Another healthy alternative would be using cocktail sauce instead of tartar sauce, which contains mayonnaise so it's high in fat. So to sum it up, when using ketchup, use it liberally but if you're trying to restrict the calories you might want to get a low-sugar or a low-sodium brand. However, I do like the fact that it has lycopene, an antioxidant nutrient in it, and it is made from tomatoes. Mustard, of course, you can use liberally because it has low fat, low sodium and no sugar. Mayonnaise, you may want to look for a light, fat-free or low-fat version, and when using a sauce for you seafood opt for the cocktail sauce over the higher fat tartar sauce.

Healthy Food Choices: Condiments Video

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