Sugar-Free Sweet & Sour Sauce! (sugar-free, fat-free, contest prep friendly!)
One of the things most people miss when it comes to clean eating and avoiding processed foods/added sugars are condiments and sauces.
If you’re like me and eat a diet made up of lean protein sometimes things can get a little bland…and dry, so I’ve learned to become very creative when it comes to no/low calorie condiments and sauces, and this time it paid off!
I remember in my first year of University I had a roommate who made a sweet and sour meatball sauce with ketchup, grape jelly, and onion soup mix. I know it sounds crazy, but it was SO simple and so delicious, so I was thinking.
What if I could recreate it, but with “diet”-friendly ingredients?
I’m still amazed at how delicious it is!
I made it twice this weekend, totally hooked!
Ingredients:
-Walden Farms raspberry, strawberry, or apricot spread (I used raspberry) or alternative sugar-free jelly of your choice
-Sugar-free ketchup
-brown Sugar Twin
-vinegar (I used malt)
-grainy mustard
-spices: onion powder/seasoning salt/garlic powder/pepper
Method:
In a non-stick pan add equal parts sugar-free jelly, sugar-free ketchup, and grainy mustard (about 1 tbsp of each for each serving). From there it’s really a preference game, add the brown sugar-twin, vinegar, and spices to taste. I like my sauce sweet and a little tangy, so add a lot of vinegar. The best part is if you go too far in one direction (i.e. it ends up too tangy or too sweet) it’s an easy fix by adding more sugar twin or more vinegar. The base of the sauce and the consistency is developed from the jelly and ketchup and the gelatin in the ketchup creates an amazing saucey texture like true sweet and sour sauce!
Calories:
I would say the calories in this sauce are “negligible” as the only true calories are coming from the sugar-free ketchup, which divided amongst serving usually adds minimal calories in the form of carbs. 1 tbsp of sugar-free ketchup has only 1 g of carb and the rest of the calories would be trace from the vinegar and mustard. Totally diet-friendly and KY approved!
Tips:
Try serving this on meatballs or sautéed ground chicken for a “deconstructed” meatball (because who has time for meatballs) with a bed of rice and side of veggies. You won’t be disappointed!
Try it out and tag me in your creations, let me know what you think!
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