Selecting Pickles and Canned Tomatoes
 

Hi All,

All the pickles and canned tomatoes I have come across have had some carbs. When making selections, do I just look for ones with no added sugar? Are there any other ingredients I need to watch out for? What about selecting salsa and salsa verde, do I just look for no added sugar?

Thanks!
Scarlett

There will always be carbs in them as you are starting with vegetables. Definitely look for no added sugars. You can count them as part of your veg (remember tomatoes are occasional which in this forum concensus seems to be that means one cup 2x / week.) I have seen some say pickles are "free" but just like WF, you need to be reasonable with them. Even "no carb" products have carbs (less than 1 carb does not have to be shown on label.) So eating them does add up.

I am not a big fan of Kosher pickles but love the No Sugar Added ones by Vlasic and Mt Olive!

I use a little salsa on my IP omlets.

What brand salsa are you using? I checked the jar that was already in my fridge (El Paso I believe) and I wasn't sure about it, so I looked up some homemade recipes. But in a jar is a lot easier and will stay fresh longer.

Thanks JLUS! that's what I was thinking, just wanted to make sure. I hadn't eaten any pickles yet, but I love the mini Kosher dills that stay in the fridge. I'm going to make Chili later in the week, so I just wanted to consider my tomato options.

The salsa I have is Chi Chi's and the ingredients list shows NO addition of any sugars. Two tablespoons = 2 carbs.

I am maybe a little "loose" with tomatoes in that I may have a small amount on a salad a couple times a week instead of having one whole cup in a meal. Or I may have a couple tablespoons on an omelette a couple of mornings. Not certain how this will be viewed, but it seems to work for me and I am still loosing.

I do the same thing with tomatoes. I use pace chunky salsa on my omelets. Very yummy! I do try to limit them some, but I don't have them just twice a week. Some weeks I do, but others I have little bits spread out through the week.

My favorite pickles are the sugar free bread and butter pickles that are sweetened with splenda. Very good! I also like the vlasic dill spears. Those are my go to snack pickles.

our tomatoes are starting to ripen..we got 4 REALLY large beautiful heirloom Brandywine tomatoes last weekend....and I so enjoyed them...sliced thick with OO drizzled on them....YUM...I can live with out the red-ish store things. Even the ones at the farmers mkt and roadside stand pale compared with one that is still warm from the sun....

This is going to be the one thing that gets me off plan a few times (more probably) before it's all done. Really.....:^::^:

Originally Posted by JLUS:
There will always be carbs in them as you are starting with vegetables. Definitely look for no added sugars. You can count them as part of your veg (remember tomatoes are occasional which in this forum concensus seems to be that means one cup 2x / week.) I have seen some say pickles are "free" but just like WF, you need to be reasonable with them. Even "no carb" products have carbs (less than 1 carb does not have to be shown on label.) So eating them does add up.

I am not a big fan of Kosher pickles but love the No Sugar Added ones by Vlasic and Mt Olive!

Yes, there has been debate about pickles and other veggies being "free".
Pickles are not "free". They are made from cucumbers that are clearly listed on the select veggies list-- 4 c per day total.
The only veggie IP lists as free is lettuce. Some coaches tweak the program with "home rules" which definitely causes confusion here
Follow the sheet!

Originally Posted by shrinkingsusie:
What brand salsa are you using? I checked the jar that was already in my fridge (El Paso I believe) and I wasn't sure about it, so I looked up some homemade recipes. But in a jar is a lot easier and will stay fresh longer.

Just be sure your salsa has no added sugars in the ingredients list. There will be sugars on the nutritional label from the naturally occurring sugars in the tomatoes.
Homemade is always fresher!

With pickles and canned tomatoes I always try to look for less sodium added ones. Most pickles do not have added sugar, except the sweet varieties. When it comes to tomato products (canned and salsa) I prefer some of the organic ones. I use salsa frequently in very small quantities and it doesn't seem to affect my weight loss.