would low-fat, reduced salt tomato sauce count as a veggie? It is not listed in the book - but V8 juice is - so it should be ok - right???

Ahhhhhhhh That does it I have got to get a picture of my puggies on here! everytime I read your posts I am too distracted by the cutie to respond!

Technically? Maybe.. But you'd have to consume a lot of it for it to count at one veggie...

Sounds like a question for the COD..

Since it's not in the booklet, I would avoid it when possible. However, it is allowed on maintenance, and in my maintenance book it says that 1/4 cup light (low sodium and low calorie) pasta sauce counts as a veggie, 1/4 cup marinara sauce counts as a veggie, and 1/4 cup pizza sauce counts as a veggie. I believe low fat tomato sauce is also listed in a few Carb Craver listings, so it probably wouldn't kill you to have some and count it as a vegetable. Just keep in mind that low sodium and low fat don't mean NO sodium and fat, and so regular, fresh veggies will help you lose weight faster than processed sauces and the like. I find that generally rules can be bent as long as you're smart about it and don't overdo it

For a good alternative, I use Del Monte's low sodium diced tomatoes and throw in a handful of salt free italian spice blend. Depending on the recipe, I either just use the tomatoes as-is, drain the juice a bit and cook them with whatever I'm going to use them for, such as a topping for fish..

If I need a spaghetti sauce, I put them in my handy dandy food chopper and puree them and then heat up as you would a normal marinara sauce.

The tomatoes have about 50 mg's of sodium, so you may want to add in a pinch of salt alternative (NoSalt/AlsoSalt) or the lite Morton's.

Used as a topping for fish or poutry, they count as a veggie, according to the LAWL cookbook..

yea I was going to say, you should make your own. I have a really good recipe that counts as just a veggie...... I will try to get it on here.

looking forward to your recipe!

My book (gold) says 1/4 cup no salt added tomato puree is a veggie. Puree is a sauce-like consistency in my interpretation.

hmmm...i'm on gold and the only tomato my book mentions is 1 sm or 4 cherry...actually my kids have been asking for spaghetti and i was going to count it as 1P cc..to me though i think that it makes more sense as 1S, 1V instead of 1P

ps.. try dreamfields pasta - it's WONDERFUL!

I'm w/RaceGrl on this one!