I am a condiment queen. Always have been. Now I am doing my best to stay on this restrictive Keto diet. The one where I have to rethink EVERY SINGLE ONE of my food choices. Anyhow, condiments don't get a free pass simply because they are generally used in moderation (although not for me because like I said earlier I am the Queen so I always go heavy on the condiments).
I thought it may be helpful to others and myself if I put together a bit of a list of the best condiments to utilize when making a go at Ke-to.
Lemon plus oil
I'm going to start off with my favorite. Lemon juice and avocado oil. This is my favorite because it is really good for your body and it can be varied indefinitely. Add any herbs and spices, in practically any combination, and ratio to the mixture easily create a marinade or dressing in minutes. Soaking vegetables like tomatoes onions and cucumbers in this mixture makes for a tasty snack. I often whip it up with crumbled feta cheese, after a short time the cheese melts into the mixture and it is an incredible flavor burst. Completely Keto friendly and easy to whip up on the spot. You could always swap apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar for the lemon and play around with keto friendly oils to get a similar result.
Vinegar especially:
Braggs Organic ACV (Apple cider vinegar)
Balsamic
Oils
Avocado oil is my absolute favorite oil of all time to cook with.
Sesame oil packs a punch and I have been known to consume a spoonful at a time. It's perfect for adding an Asian kick to whatever it is going on or in.
Coconut oil
Mayo
(from a keto friendly fat such as Avocado oil) or make it yourself. Mayo is really easy to make at home and you can control the ingredients ensuring they are in fact keto friendly.
Keto friendly mayo plus garlic powder to taste makes a delicious garlic-y dip for veggies
Keto friendly mayo plus horseradish to taste for a creamy horseradish sauce.
dill pickles
Cream cheese
Full-fat sour cream
Greek yogurt
Tartar/tzatziki sauce
I always make my own. 1 part keto friendly mayo, one part keto friendly full fat sour cream, lemon juice + dill relish + onion (optional or you can use powdered). You can play with the ingredients and substitute mayo for yogurt, add cucumber in place of the relish to create a cool creamy dip or spread that is great for veggie snacking or an unwich.
Garlic and butter
Perfect on spaghetti squash or attop your steak (steak butter anyone, yum) and can be varied to include a variety of additional herbs and spices including but not limited to... well, nearly anything you can think of (minus sugar, OF COURSE, MINUS SUGAR!)
Galic can be roasted whole in the oven and the pods can be scraped for an absolutely to die for garlic spread.
Avoid anything with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I try to avoid anything with starch and carbs and words I don't know that end in -ose, because those are usually fancy words for sugar. I also steer away from artificial sweeteners and even stevia although I know this is a go-to item choice for some people on keto.
Avocados dipped and spread
Dallop atop tomato slices or spread this stuff on your unwich. Either way, crushed avocados with a variety of interchangeable assorted herbs, spices, and even veggies can be incorporated. You can keep it simple with a squirt of lime some crushed up garlic salt/pepper, or you can beef it up to create a hearty vegetable dip loaded with onions, tri-colored peppers, vinegar, and (my favorite) cilantro.
Salsa.
A staple in my house. You can incorporate any number of veggies into it and make it as flavorful as you like with herbs and spices. My base is always the same few items: Tomatoes, green onions, garlic, cilantro, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. This is also a great mixture to add directly to smashed avocados.
Hot Sauce
Sriracha
Tabasco sauce
Frank's redhot sauce. I personally like to simmer mine and add butter to it. It makes for a much creamier sauce. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it.
Texas Pete
Chululuah
Worcestershire
Curry paste
Ketchup without added sugar
Which can be used to make a cocktail sauce by adding Worcestershire, lemon, and horseradish.
Mustard
Spicy brown mustard
Stone ground mustard
Most any kind of mustard
EXCEPT for honey mustard. Honey is not on the list of keto friendly items.
Olive tapanade and pastes
Again, super easy to chop up any variety of olives which are really keto friendly, by the way. Add this to cream cheeses for a delicious dip.
Caesar salad dressing
Blue cheese dressing
Ranch (packaged ranch you can mix with full-fat sour cream is best to avoid unwanted oils and sugars)
Almond butter
Pecan butter
Coconut butter
Organic, non-GMO is generally the best way to go when purchasing products. Sometimes that is easier to be accountable for yourself if it means whipping some of these sauces up by hand since there doesn't seem to be a large line of keto friendly condiments out aside from Primal Kitchen.
Tajin - A last minute add that is more like a versatile spice than a traditional condiment but still deserves some recognition for the gigantic punch it packs, and it's ability to go on both fruit and veggies and meats alike.