Sugar in canned tomato sauce

I'm usually good with reading labels. Always thought tomato sauce was safe. I just realized the brand I purchased has added sugar
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  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    whats wrong with that o_O
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    If you are watching for added sugar, reading labels is key. I always choose the brands with the lowest added sugar. Who needs the empty added calories in something like tomato sauce? I save them for another time :)
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    As in pasta sauce? It's pretty common to add a little sugar to tomato sauces to bring out the flavour.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    lalykamp wrote: »
    I just started my keto journey and sugar is not going to help. Correct me if i'm wrong
    You're not wrong.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    As in pasta sauce? It's pretty common to add a little sugar to tomato sauces to bring out the flavour.
    A non-sugar alternative is sweet basil. Canned tomato sauces have quite a range of added sugar. Choosing the least added sugar is a good place to start. Adding ones own is always possible but removing what is already there isn't.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    If sugar is of that much importance then as above, get savvier at reading labels or make your own sauce, tomato sauce can be knocked up pretty quickly.
  • lalykamp
    lalykamp Posts: 7 Member


    Then why are you having tomato sauce.....far too many carbs[/quote]

    Yeah now that I know I politely left it for the next person to use
  • Anon2018
    Anon2018 Posts: 139 Member
    Rao's makes really good tomato sauces that's decent for low carb lifestyles!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    They pretty much all do. Get canned chopped or crushed tomatoes and make your own reduction if that fits better for you.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    Generally, I buy several flats of campari tomatoes and let them ripen on the counter and use them for sauce, or chopped or quartered. (Best sauce ever is to dump some in the blender / food processor with a onion and garlic and then add some salt and pepper and butter / olive oil to sauce pan and cook on medium low a few hours) They taste so much better than canned. If you have Aldi's or Trader Joes - none of their canned tomatoes have sugar in them...
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  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    edited October 2017
    lalykamp wrote: »
    I just started my keto journey and sugar is not going to help. Correct me if i'm wrong

    Then why are you having tomato sauce.....far too many carbs

    Seriously. Tomatoes have carbs. Botanically, they're fruit -- because of the seeds, but it's not like they have no carbs. They're certainly not a protein and fat-filled piece of produce.

    If I were to do keto, I would never have thought that tomato sauce would be OK in the first place.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    My slim happy keto co-worker who also uses mfp to track his food describes his comfortable keto meal plan as "Breakfast: Bulletproof coffee. Lunch: green salad . Afternoon snack: 24 almonds."

    The salad needs to be weighed to deliver no more than whatever your budget of carbs is. Don't put any carbs in the coffee and the almonds don't have carbs.

    Download an app to track your net carbs from foodfastfit.com It works on my pc and it might work on your phone Read the instructions carefully.

    If you take your carbs in the green salad, you can and should garnish it with an oil and vinegar dressing.

    If you need more food in the evening, figure it out. He didn't tell me what he did in the evening. He likes to walk for exercise. As long as his energy demands don't exceed his fat metabolism, he claims to be able to go 'forever', but that's an exaggeration.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    It's doubtful that a brand with added sugar has more sugar than one that doesn't. Adding sugar is a shortcut to flavor. Brands without added sugar reach the sweetness they need by cooking more water out of the sauce. But sugar is sugar whether it comes from sugar cane or from tomatoes.
  • drgnfyre
    drgnfyre Posts: 45 Member
    Yea tomato sauce isn't good for keto. That being said, it's good that you are reading labels. They put sugar in many many foods now. I find cooking my own stuff from scratch is the best way to do keto. I can control what goes in it.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Many jarred tomato sauces have little or no added sugar in them now, though some still do. They'll still have a decent amount of sugar on the label, because tomatoes naturally have a fair amount of sugar in them.
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  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    amyepdx wrote: »
    JRSINAZ wrote: »
    It was an eye opener for me to realize the added sugar to pasta marinara sauces so they taste good. No more

    Italian grandmothers have been putting a pinch of sugar in their sauce forever - since there is about 70 calories in 1/2 of a cup of marinara, I don’t see a problem.

    Italian grandmothers usually start with some raw plum tomatoes and go from there :)

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  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    If you are just beginning (which I would imagine since this is post 7 for you) then figuring your TDEE, setting a reasonable calorie goal, and thinking about an exercise regimen should be your first orders of business. Evaluating sugar in a can of tomato sauce is not what I would call a high priority at this juncture.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Maxxitt wrote: »
    amyepdx wrote: »
    JRSINAZ wrote: »
    It was an eye opener for me to realize the added sugar to pasta marinara sauces so they taste good. No more

    Italian grandmothers have been putting a pinch of sugar in their sauce forever - since there is about 70 calories in 1/2 of a cup of marinara, I don’t see a problem.

    Italian grandmothers usually start with some raw plum tomatoes and go from there :)

    Really? That would have been news to my first generation American Italian grandmother. And she learned from her mother how to make sauce.

    My first generation mother-in-law? Also used tinned. They're much more reliable and fresher.

    I will say that neither put sugar in their sauce as they both cooked it LONG.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Maxxitt wrote: »
    amyepdx wrote: »
    JRSINAZ wrote: »
    It was an eye opener for me to realize the added sugar to pasta marinara sauces so they taste good. No more

    Italian grandmothers have been putting a pinch of sugar in their sauce forever - since there is about 70 calories in 1/2 of a cup of marinara, I don’t see a problem.

    Italian grandmothers usually start with some raw plum tomatoes and go from there :)

    Actually, out of season tomatoes lose out to tinned because they have better flavoured. There's zero wrong with tinned and many an Italian and chef is more than happy to use them. Tinned tomatoes, the only thing added is some citric acid, at least in the UK. Same goes for passata. Of course tomatoes with other things added like garlic are obviously the exception.

    This. (Same in the US.)