Sugar, Sugar Everywhere!

The most surprising thing so far being on the GAPS diet is that there is sugar in everything.  I knew that we'd be giving up the obvious sweets such as cookies, cakes, and candy, but sugar is added to pretty much every packaged, pre-made food, dressing, or condiment.  I spent a couple of hours at Whole Foods one morning reading labels trying to find some alternative sauces, dips, and/or dressings because my kids love to dip their food.  Frankly, I didn't have too much luck.  No ketchup!  I tried making some, but it wasn't very good.  How was I going to get them to eat?

About the only thing that I did find were Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressings. They use a sunflower oil base and are sweetened with honey and fruit concentrates. I originally bought some to try thinking that it was just for my husband and I to use for salads. I guess that the kids missed dipping because they wanted to try it with their carrot sticks that day. They loved it! They now dip pretty much everything in these dressings. Just about every day they eat a bowl of carrots, cucumber slices, and spinach leaves that they dip in dressing. They also like to dip cutup meat, chicken, and turkey. Our favorites so far are Lemony Herb, Blueberry Basil, and Pomegranate Pear.

It is very difficult to eat out on the GAPS diet, but when we do we usually order salad.  Unfortunately, we haven't found a restaurant yet with any dressing without added sugar.  Even balsamic vinaigrette typically contains sugar!  We have just started bringing our own dressing with us.  This Evriholder Dressing to Go Salad Dressing Container is great for packing lunches or bringing your own dressing with you to restaurants.

One other thing that I was able to find that day at Whole Foods was some spaghetti Sauce.  Yes, most of the canned sauces have added sugar, but the Whole Foods brand 365 Organic Everyday Value Pasta Sauce is sugar free.  I simply brown a pound of grass-fed beef to add to the sauce and serve it over baked spaghetti squash for an easy meal which has become one of the kids' favorites.  Not all of the Whole Foods sauces are sugar free, make sure that you check the labels to find the right one.

I was able to find a couple of other sauce recipes that have worked out well for my family.  I made this Soy-Free Soy Sauce to serve with stir fry.  I made this BBQ sauce recipe for ribs. My family loved it!  I tried to save some of the extra sauce for the kids to eat later that week, but it had a strong vinegar taste by the next day.  It's a great recipe for a special meal, but it doesn't keep well.