Pickled obsession

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Kelly_2013
Kelly_2013 Posts: 117 Member
Okay...

My biggest craving/obsession are things like pickle juice, banana peppers and banana pepper juice, pickled bologna so on and so forth... Anyone have any idea on healthier things to replace with?

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  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    What makes them unhealthy for you? Aside from being high in sodium (if you don't take the low sodium option) there's nothing wrong with them.. It's vegetables with vinegar and salt (well not the bologna, but I personally don't eat meat so I just eat pickled veggies)
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I love pickled veggies. Maybe if you are worried about the store pickled stuff make your own? That way you can control the sugar and salt level? I love some quick pickled veggies on sandwiches and stuff. I found this on some diabetes web site....although I use the full salt regular recipes myself.

    http://www.diabetes.org/mfa-recipes/recipes/2014-07-08-low-sodium-sugar-free-pickles.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

    Never hurts to experiment, though.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    If it's the sodium you're worried about, have you tried including more vinegar in your diet? I also love pickled everything so when I've had enough sodium I often put vinegar on things like vegetables.
  • Kelly_2013
    Kelly_2013 Posts: 117 Member
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    I absolutely love white vinegar as well... Ugh as embarrassing as it is to type this... I would sometimes pour me a small amount and use a spoon to sip it like soup *Smacks forehead* so I figured that wasn't good for my teeth or my stomach so I quit keeping it at home. The Sodium is pretty much my main concern because the calories are very minimum. At least for the banana peppers and pickle juice.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    I pickle my own things, and I am salt sensitive, so I replace with no-salt (I need the potassium too).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Kelly_2013 wrote: »
    I absolutely love white vinegar as well... Ugh as embarrassing as it is to type this... I would sometimes pour me a small amount and use a spoon to sip it like soup *Smacks forehead* so I figured that wasn't good for my teeth or my stomach so I quit keeping it at home. The Sodium is pretty much my main concern because the calories are very minimum. At least for the banana peppers and pickle juice.

    You could also check out naturally fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut. I find them more filling than pickles so it helps me eat less of them. They still have sodium, but some brands have less of it than pickles do.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,986 Member
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    Kelly_2013 wrote: »
    I absolutely love white vinegar as well... Ugh as embarrassing as it is to type this... I would sometimes pour me a small amount and use a spoon to sip it like soup *Smacks forehead* so I figured that wasn't good for my teeth or my stomach so I quit keeping it at home. The Sodium is pretty much my main concern because the calories are very minimum. At least for the banana peppers and pickle juice.

    Not good for teeth, possibly, but your stomach is more acidic than household white vinegar.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    Sodium is only one issue to consider. Cultures that eat a lot of pickled vegetables have a higher rate of gastric cancers. Some of the studies I've seen suggest this may be due to the microbes involved in the fermentation process. I eat pickles occasionally, but not as a daily thing.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,394 Member
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    My mouth is watering so bad right now.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    DH has IBS so I get him naturally fermented sauerkraut from Trader Joe and goat milk kfir. He also eats sour dough bread. Does any of that help you?

    He didn't like kombuchi.