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Tessamae's Ketchup OK?


Brighty

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29 minutes ago, ArtFossil said:

It has date purée (organic dates and filtered water) and it's fine. As far as I know, using a date or some fruit juice or something like that to flavor a savory dish or make a savory condiment is fine. (And this is the closest I ever get to a dates, which I don't like).

When I use it, it's perhaps a teaspoon to a tablespoon and I find it distinctly unsweet.

See this thread: 

 

My primary challenge is: the book states not to use dates to sweeten the ketchup, but then a ketchup that is offered as "Whole30 approved" contains the very ingredient the book tells you not to use.

 

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I understand, mkukelia. But "the book" also says:

Quote

Ketchup: make your own All commercial ketchups contain added sugar in some form, with the exception of Tessemae’s (the only Whole30 Approved ketchup). Otherwise, you can substitute salsa, or make your own with our recipe . Note, don’t expect these to taste super-sweet like your old ketchup. Whole30 ketchup tends to have more of a vinegar tang than a syrupy sweetness.

So, the recommendation is to make your own. That's never going to happen with me. So I used Tessamae's on my Whole30. 

When I run into small inconsistencies like this, I fall back on the spirit of Whole30 and the rules and recommendations as a whole. Date purée may not be as good a choice as apple cider vinegar but it's still compliant in this context. 

Please don't post your questions in multiple forums as those reading won't be able to get the benefit of the full thread. :)

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Thank you for the clarification and I am sorry for the double post...it just seems the older posts do not get as much response.  The most challenging part of this plan for me is the contradictory information between the book and other Whole30 Approved sources when you are trying to follow the plan to the "T".  One minor slip up...even by accident and you're recycled back to day 1.  With the amount of confusion generated by the conflicting literature put out by the plan, it's a wonder everyone isn't back at day 1.

Quite frustrating I must say.  Not so sure I want to do this anymore...<_<  Thanks again

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What is conflicting? Eating something whole30 approved or compliant doesn't set you back. The whole30 approved stuff is partly to give people options if they don't have time/resources/ingredients to make things. They are not required. I personally don't see what's contradictory about saying "if you make your own ketchup, try it without sweetener, but if you need to buy some, here's our best recommendation for that scenario." Complex, maybe, but not contradictory.

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16 minutes ago, mkukiela said:

Thank you for the clarification and I am sorry for the double post...it just seems the older posts do not get as much response.  The most challenging part of this plan for me is the contradictory information between the book and other Whole30 Approved sources when you are trying to follow the plan to the "T".  One minor slip up...even by accident and you're recycled back to day 1.  With the amount of confusion generated by the conflicting literature put out by the plan, it's a wonder everyone isn't back at day 1.

Quite frustrating I must say.  Not so sure I want to do this anymore...<_<  Thanks again

A slip up that would set you back to Day 1 would be eating something off plan and even then you get to decide whether to restart are not. See http://whole30.com/2014/06/really-start-whole30/

As for response time, every one here, including the mods, is a volunteer, so it may take a day to get a reply. Often you can find your answer by Googling Whole30 + your query  

Dont get discouraged! Do the best you can but also don't overthink this. It takes a lot of mental effort the first week or two to read every label and to THINK about what you're eating but that's part of the challenge--and the benefit--of this program. If you persevere, you'll reap the rewards. 

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2 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

I replied to this in your other thread. 

 

42 minutes ago, slc_melissa said:

What is conflicting? Eating something whole30 approved or compliant doesn't set you back. The whole30 approved stuff is partly to give people options if they don't have time/resources/ingredients to make things. They are not required. I personally don't see what's contradictory about saying "if you make your own ketchup, try it without sweetener, but if you need to buy some, here's our best recommendation for that scenario." Complex, maybe, but not contradictory.

slc-melissa

As I wrote in my original post:

The book "Whole30 The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom" states on the page of their ketchup recipe: "Don't expect  the familiar 'Heinz 57' from this recipe-grocery store ketchup is thick and sweet thanks to sugar...We could use date paste to make our ketchup sugary, but that's not really in line with the spirit of the Whole30."

If something is not in the spirit of the whole 30...I think it's out!  Yet dates are included in the ingredient list of Tessamae's organic ketchup which is in the Whole30 Approved kit on their website.  This is but one example.  I find this type of contradictory information frustrating.

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Well, like I said I don't think it's contradictory. 

You could do a technically compliant whole30 eating nothing but Lara bars, bacon, and tessamae ketchup. Certainly not in the spirit of the whole 30 either, nor recommended, but doable.

It's a broad framework, yes, but people need to make their own decisions. There is not going to be a rule for every little thing. 

 

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Perhaps this is not for me...As I read the book and poised myself for strict adherence over 30 days to a new way eating, I expected the rules to be as clear cut and as the stringent as the expectations the text purportedly girds you for.  To me this not the case.

Thank you for your contribution

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My wife had heard of the plan and bought the book about a year ago and wondered if I would want to try it with her.  NO CHEESE!!!  I thought, but as the year went by and I continued to eat unhealthy I found myself nearing wits end.  I knew this year was going to be a change year for me and instead of Weight Watchers, Atkins, or some other plan I was hoping for a move toward a lifestyle shift.  I always thought it would be more vegetarian inspired eating plan my wife would want to move toward; but anyway I relented and I read the book during the holidays and felt I wanted to know how myriad foods were affecting me and in which ways.  I am an avid home-brewer and recent winemaker, so I believed this was going to be a bit of a challenge for me.  However I committed, and felt if I was going to do it, I was going to give it 100% effort.  Being the "all or nothing" person I am and working 12 hour days/nights I wanted to take the rules and follow them right down to the letter.  I cut out all of my supplements be cause they all contained ingredients ending in ---ose and almost stopped my daily low-dose aspirin until I read the part about a doctor's prescription trumping all rules.  Yet, if I had to cut corners due to my schedule, I would do so with compliant products instead of making my own.  That is where I fear I am running into too many gray areas.  At least (I should say) too many for my personality.  I wanted to do everything correctly and in the spirit of the program.  In this way I feel I have failed.

I will likely continue eating this way for the rest of the 30 days for my wife's sake, but for me I may need something a bit more concrete and assured for my reset.  As good as this plan may be physiologically, my sense is...If you do not believe in it, your success will be measures less than if you had.  Thank you for listening and helping.

 

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Well, I think it sounds like you have succeeded so far!. It sounds like you are reading labels, thinking things through, approaching from a committed standpoint, and through a tough schedule as well!  The spirit of the program is not to crush people into food austerity, but to push a "reset button with your health, your habits, and your relationship with food." I think you are doing that in spades (and correctly.)

I would highly encourage you to continue with the program, I think you will see benefits. 

Since I don't share your all-or-nothing personality, you probably can't share my "eh, shrug" attitude towards the ketchup. What about, for you, when you need a pre-packaged product, if you look at the ingredient list, you ask "would i make this at home with these ingredients." If yes, you're good to go. If no (date paste, for instance), skip it for the rest of the 30 days? That way you're doing the exact mkukiela's whole30 you want.

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To add to the EXCELLENT advice of @slc_melissa please keep in mind that there are Whole30 RULES (no sugar! no legumes! etc) and then there are recommendations. If you do not follow the Whole30 rules, you are not doing a Whole30. But the recommendations are just that--recommendations, and the more you observe them, the better your results will be. 

The rules are here. But I will summarize them:

  • Eat real food.
  • Do not consume: added sugar (real or artificial)m alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, carrageenan/MSG/sulphites, do not recreate backed goods, junk foods or treats with "approved" ingredients.
  • Do not step on the scale or take body measurements.

The rules are black and white. The recommendations are . . . recommendations. You're an intelligent person and I feel confident you can understand the difference.

You have the tools you need to succeed. It's up to you to use them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey ArtFossil & slc_melissa,

Thanks for your encouragement in what I believe was a day's extension of the "kill all things" mode.  I guess I was just cantankerous and frustrated.  Happy to report I'm on day 15 and have gone down a belt loop size and am feeling good about my prospects.  Made my own mayo last night (was a breeze) and will try my own ketchup in the future.  I am having some difficulty with elimination and sleeping.  But hopefully this will resolve in days to come.  Looking forward to succeeding in the second half...

Take care

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FWIW I bought this ketchup last week, it is not sweet at all. More like very toned down BBQ sauce IMO. I don't eat regular ketchup, and I can take or leave the Tessemae's one. But my wife who loves ketchup does not like the Tessemae's at all.

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Great to hear @mkukiela!  Keep up the good work.  Some people find a magnesium supplement can help with both elimination and sleeping.  I occasionally take natural calm before I go to bed (the completely unflavored version), which is a powder you mix in to water.  (Look at the dose and go real easy the first few times you take it.)  There are also other types of magnesium supplements, or I have heard that Epsom Salts can be a thing.

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16 hours ago, browneyedbeauty said:

FWIW I bought this ketchup last week, it is not sweet at all. More like very toned down BBQ sauce IMO. I don't eat regular ketchup, and I can take or leave the Tessemae's one. But my wife who loves ketchup does not like the Tessemae's at all.

The Tessamae's seems to work well in our meatloaf, but woke my wife's sugar dragon when she used it as a topping.  We now use salsa as a condiment on it.

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