Slash Calories with This Condiment, a Top Choice Over Mayo!

In the kitchen, it’s the sauces that make all the difference. A somewhat sad salad, overly bland fish, or steamed vegetables lacking excitement can be transformed with just the right sauce. However, as soon as we start watching our weight, suspicions around sauces quickly arise. Despite being a source of culinary pleasure, they are often accused of being diet saboteurs. In restaurants, we might ask for it on the side to avoid drenching our lettuce or fish fillet. We hesitate to dip our fries or to scrape our plates clean with a piece of bread, convinced that our scales will not forgive us.

Why such wariness? Because they are notoriously fatty. This isn’t completely a myth, to be honest. Some sauces don’t skimp on the fats at all. Consider the rich hollandaise sauce, a mix of butter and egg yolks, or Alfredo sauce, heavy on both cream and parmesan. Then there’s mayonnaise, a staple in dishes from deviled eggs to chicken sandwiches to celery remoulade. Unless you opt for a lighter version, mayonnaise packs nearly 700 kcal per 100 grams—a highly caloric base on its own, which is best not diluted with oil for a dressing…

Fortunately, there are less harmful condiments for jazzing up homemade sauces. Take mustard, for example. “It’s among the least caloric products,” Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen notes on Instagram. He gives a special nod to mild mustards, which contain only about 130 kcal per 100 grams, compared to 130 to 150 kcal for other types. “When you use 20 grams, it’s just 25 calories,” points out the nutritionist. That’s negligible, especially when compared to the same amount of mayonnaise, which contains six times more calories. Plus, the sharp, spicy flavor of mustard encourages moderate use.

If you’re looking to “sauce” light, swap out the mayonnaise tube for a jar of mustard. It’s an excellent way to add zest to your dishes without burdening your meal with extra calories!