What are the best shop bought cooking sauces

[Dwermer]

Hi Folks
Just been diagnosed with diabetes and am trying to adapt to foods I can use
I have a carer who cooks for me and I am looking to get the safest shop bought (Morrisons), cooking sauces

Can anyone suggest safe cooking sauces for me pls

I could buy online, if that is necassary

Thanks for any help

 

[saffron15]

Welcome to the forum. I'm not good on the sauces as I don't buy them. From a health point of view the amount of salt may be a problem. I assume depending on your tastes some maybe a bit sweet. Can you give an idea of your tastes? Are you expecting them to cook a piece of meat or fish and add a sauce or are you looking at stir fry?
I have been to Morrisons but tend to buy on impulse!
I assume as a type 1 you measure insulin according to what you eat.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum
If you are Type 1 then the important thing would be knowing what carbohydrates are in the sauces and as long as you know that you should not need to change what you buy.
Dry rubs or pastes are something that as Type 2 on a low carb regime would look for as they are generally low carb which may not be of concern to you.
If you check on the Morrisons website the carbs will be listed for each product in the nutritional information.
If you would like to say a bit about your diagnosis and what insulins you are taking then people would be able to make appropriate suggestions.

 

[Dwermer]

thanks for reply
Firstly, the nurse has said that they are initially going to treat me with diet control

I generally, use chicken with sweet and sour, korma etc

Today, my carer made a green thia curry from Red Dragon, which actually was better tasting than usual one, which has loads of sugar ie Sharwoods
When I stirfry, I use noodles and the Sharwoods small sauce pouches

Also bought a tikka masala .. Loyd Gros man and Morrison Best range, as sugar levels seemed lower?

Am still trying to grips with the sugar level in these sauces and best to help me contain dietry needs. I need to use shop sauces because of limited knowledge and time of carers

spent ages in morrisons today with my microscope trying to read labels and still was confused lol

thanks for any advice

 

[Leadinglights]

thanks for reply
Firstly, the nurse has said that they are initially going to treat me with diet control

I generally, use chicken with sweet and sour, korma etc

Today, my carer made a green thia curry from Red Dragon, which actually was better tasting than usual one, which has loads of sugar ie Sharwoods
When I stirfry, I use noodles and the Sharwoods small sauce pouches

Also bought a tikka masala .. Loyd Gros man and Morrison Best range, as sugar levels seemed lower?

Am still trying to grips with the sugar level in these sauces and best to help me contain dietry needs. I need to use shop sauces because of limited knowledge and time of carers

spent ages in morrisons today with my microscope trying to read labels and still was confused lol

thanks for any advice

Are you sure your diagnosis is Type 1 as if so it is odd for them to say that you are treating with diet as insulin would be needed as you are not producing your own.
Look on the web site before you go shopping to make your decisions before getting to the shop.
It is the carbohydrates which is important rather than the sugar, it would only be if choosing between 2 foods with the same carbs that you may then select the one with less sugar.

 

[Lucyr]

There are some good ready meals that might help, eg some of the Tesco light range like the cottage pie, some of the gym kitchen range. You can get fish that comes in a sauce if the sauce is important, or use your normal sauce and swap the rice for cauliflower rice (some supermarkets do this in the freezer some on the shelves) as that would reduce the carbs a lot. If you’re type 1 though you shouldn’t have to change your diet, and prepackaged usual foods may be easier for the carer to count

 

[Leadinglights]

thanks for reply
Firstly, the nurse has said that they are initially going to treat me with diet control

I generally, use chicken with sweet and sour, korma etc

Today, my carer made a green thia curry from Red Dragon, which actually was better tasting than usual one, which has loads of sugar ie Sharwoods
When I stirfry, I use noodles and the Sharwoods small sauce pouches

Also bought a tikka masala .. Loyd Gros man and Morrison Best range, as sugar levels seemed lower?

Am still trying to grips with the sugar level in these sauces and best to help me contain dietry needs. I need to use shop sauces because of limited knowledge and time of carers

spent ages in morrisons today with my microscope trying to read labels and still was confused lol

thanks for any advice

I'm sorry but I'm going to ask a couple more questions as you say your GP is telling you to manage with diet. Have you been told how many grams of carbs to aim for per day, have you been given a means of testing your blood glucose eg a finger prick blood glucose monitor and what sort of reading to aim for. But also have you been given a means of testing for ketones e g urine dip sticks as if you are Type 1 and not having insulin and you have very high blood glucose, it puts you at risk of DKA.

 

[Inka]

thanks for reply
Firstly, the nurse has said that they are initially going to treat me with diet control

I generally, use chicken with sweet and sour, korma etc

Today, my carer made a green thia curry from Red Dragon, which actually was better tasting than usual one, which has loads of sugar ie Sharwoods
When I stirfry, I use noodles and the Sharwoods small sauce pouches

Also bought a tikka masala .. Loyd Gros man and Morrison Best range, as sugar levels seemed lower?

Am still trying to grips with the sugar level in these sauces and best to help me contain dietry needs. I need to use shop sauces because of limited knowledge and time of carers

spent ages in morrisons today with my microscope trying to read labels and still was confused lol

thanks for any advice

If you’re Type 1, I’d be very wary about being treated with diet. Type 1s need insulin. Do you know what your HbA1C was at diagnosis? Why do they think you’re Type 1? Did you have symptoms or ketones? Do you have other auto-immune conditions?

 

[Dwermer]

it is obvious I am going to have to ask more questions.... they are sending out leaflets, but they just said I have diabetes, so maybe assumning I have type 1. They are sending me to the hospital for eye scan, as I have some of the symptoms ( blurry vision, sore eyes, dry eye, redness), of eye probs associated with diabetes..I have not been given the means to measure sugar levels atm.. have only just got the diagnoses. It is a bit overwhelming atm and doing my best to lower my sugar levels. I have other health issues, which affect me severely and did not want another

 

[Inka]

Here’s some basic information about the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes @Dwermer Although they share the name ‘diabetes’, they’re very different conditions. In your shoes, I’d prioritise confirming what type you have, and what your HbA1C result was.

Here’s the information on the differences:

Differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes

There are differences in the causes, onset of symptoms and treatment of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it means there's too much glucose (a type of sugar) in your blood due to a problem with the hormone insulin. Both are serious conditions that can...

www.diabetes.org.uk

.

 

[Dwermer]

tyvm I apprecaite the guidance. I will phone them next week for more clarification

 

[Leadinglights]

it is obvious I am going to have to ask more questions.... they are sending out leaflets, but they just said I have diabetes, so maybe assumning I have type 1. They are sending me to the hospital for eye scan, as I have some of the symptoms ( blurry vision, sore eyes, dry eye, redness), of eye probs associated with diabetes..I have not been given the means to measure sugar levels atm.. have only just got the diagnoses. It is a bit overwhelming atm and doing my best to lower my sugar levels. I have other health issues, which affect me severely and did not want another

In order to have a diabetes diagnosis you will likely have had an HbA1C test which if the result is over 47mmol/mol that would be diabetes, it does not tell you if you are Type 1 or Type 2. Initially the diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, but there will be certain symptoms which will indicate one or the other. Type 1 would be characterised by sudden loss of weight, very high HbA1C, excessive thirst, frequent loo visits and often fuzzy vision. It is often linked to other autoimmune conditions.
Type 2, still possibly be high HbA1C, some symptoms, maybe overweight but not always and some people do not actually have symptoms.
Were you told what your HbA1C is as that would be a good guide.
If Type 2 and your HbA1C is not very high then dietary changes would be the first option followed by oral medication.
Usually if Type 1 is suspected then additional tests would be done to confirm for example GAD ad other antibodies and maybe a C-peptide but meanwhile it would be normal to commence insulin.
I think it important you find out for definite if it is Type 2 or Type 1 as the treatment is very different.
I wonder why they assume you are Type 1. If you are then they MUST prescribe a blood glucose monitor and test strips.

 

[Dwermer]

I remember they said it was 50 or 53( not quite sure). They indicated they wanted to treat with diet at first to try and push it into remission

They are referring me to the hospital for an eye scan, as I have symptoms.. Ive had them for a while, but only just been dignosed after blood test. One symptom I just noticed on this site is a severe itiching in groin area (scrotum). This has been annoying me for a while and nothing helps

Not been losing weight though or excessivly thirsty. Have noticed dizziness

They said to try diet and retest in 4 months

I will phone them again this week for more info. It was difficult to know what to ask and it was obvios nurse had lots of call to make to other ppl

thanks again

 

[Leadinglights]

I remember they said it was 50 or 53( not quite sure). They indicated they wanted to treat with diet at first to try and push it into remission

They are referring me to the hospital for an eye scan, as I have symptoms.. Ive had them for a while, but only just been dignosed after blood test. One symptom I just noticed on this site is a severe itiching in groin area (scrotum). This has been annoying me for a while and nothing helps

Not been losing weight though or excessivly thirsty. Have noticed dizziness

They said to try diet and retest in 4 months

I will phone them again this week for more info. It was difficult to know what to ask and it was obvios nurse had lots of call to make to other ppl

thanks again

Those things you mention would be much more typical of Type 2, an HbA1C of 50ish mmol/mol would be just over the diagnostic threshold of 47mmol/mol so not too far up the ladder which is why they are suggesting diet may be sufficient (there would be no chance of remission if Type 1).
The itching sounds like a thrush (a yeast) infection for which you should be able to get some antifungal cream like Canestan from the pharmacy, it is an infection which is common if blood glucose is raised. elevated blood glucose can cause dizziness.
A retinal screening eye test is usual after diagnosis and annually after that, it is not to test your eyesight as such but looks at possible damage to the retina. Once your blood glucose starts to go down your vision should improve so don't rush to the optician as they shouldn't prescribe new glasses close to diagnosis.
If you are going down the dietary changes route then this link may give you (and your carer) ideas for modifying your diet to reduce carbs, it is based on a suggested no more than 130 g per day. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com
Thanks for clarifying your situation, it will help people make appropriate suggestions.
Please do come back with any questions that we can help you with.

 

[Lucyr]

it is obvious I am going to have to ask more questions.... they are sending out leaflets, but they just said I have diabetes, so maybe assumning I have type 1.

Has a doctor or nurse actually told you they suspect type 1?

Or if you have assumed type 1 yourself, what makes you assume that?

 

[saffron15]

It sounds to me as if you are type 2 diabetic. An hba1c test looks at BG over last three months and often GP test twice to check first wasn't an anomaly. Diabetes is 48 and above. 42 to 47 is described as prediabetic.
Carbs turn to sugar so you need to keep an eye on them. On product labels they are under nutrition. Meat fish eggs and most veg have few carbs cheese is also fine but watch portion size. The bigger numbers are the beige foods bread, potatoes, rice, pasta you should consider alternatives like cauli rice or edamame pasta or give up or watch portion size.

Obviously it's better not to add sugar to drinks etc. I know you have other health issues. Moving more is good but I don't know if your mobility is affected. Equally I don't know if you are taking medication that will affect your decisions. I had a bmi of 32 when diagnosed and in last year have lost 2 and half stone. Most diabetics even if not overweight have belly fat. It is worth trying to lose it.
As far as cooking sauces I have occasionally used The Spice Tailor which includes whole spices.

 

[Dwermer]

It sounds to me as if you are type 2 diabetic. An hba1c test looks at BG over last three months and often GP test twice to check first wasn't an anomaly. Diabetes is 48 and above. 42 to 47 is described as prediabetic.
Carbs turn to sugar so you need to keep an eye on them. On product labels they are under nutrition. Meat fish eggs and most veg have few carbs cheese is also fine but watch portion size. The bigger numbers are the beige foods bread, potatoes, rice, pasta you should consider alternatives like cauli rice or edamame pasta or give up or watch portion size.

Obviously it's better not to add sugar to drinks etc. I know you have other health issues. Moving more is good but I don't know if your mobility is affected. Equally I don't know if you are taking medication that will affect your decisions. I had a bmi of 32 when diagnosed and in last year have lost 2 and half stone. Most diabetics even if not overweight have belly fat. It is worth trying to lose it.
As far as cooking sauces I have occasionally used The Spice Tailor which includes whole spices.

Yeah, am going though my usual menu with a strict eye.. some items I was eating like basmati rice was a shock - going to swap with cauioflower rice, along with my fruit smoothy (mashed fruit releases sugars)... thought it was healthy lol

 

[Drummer]

Yeah, am going though my usual menu with a strict eye.. some items I was eating like basmati rice was a shock - going to swap with cauioflower rice, along with my fruit smoothy (mashed fruit releases sugars)... thought it was healthy lol

You are not alone in discovering that 'healthy' foods are not appropriate for the well being of a type 2 diabetic.
I use quite a few different herbs and spices in my cooking, either almost dry, mixing into the food and leaving it enclosed and warm to develop the impact, or adding them to the stock - I don't use premade sauces as they are usually far to high carb.
I have a Bamix stick blender which is very useful for all sorts of preparation, but I use it almost every day to thicken a stew or casserole just by blending a small amount of the food and adding it back to the rest.
These days I avoid all grain and starchy veges, most fruit is too sweet so I tend to stick to berries, but it seems possible to stick to really rather low levels of carb consumption just by altering habits in shopping, cooking and eating.

 

[Lucyr]

Yeah, am going though my usual menu with a strict eye.. some items I was eating like basmati rice was a shock - going to swap with cauioflower rice, along with my fruit smoothy (mashed fruit releases sugars)... thought it was healthy lol

You need to find out if you’re definitely t1 or actually t2 before making any drastic changes to your diet.

 

[Leadinglights]

You need to find out if you’re definitely t1 or actually t2 before making any drastic changes to your diet.

You took the words out of my mouth.