I have a huge axe to grind with these companies--and I'd like to grind it sharp. They slap a label onto a product and unfortunately all too many people are in a hurry shopping or whatever and just grab the product off the shelves without thinking to check labels. It happens to the best of us.

Instead of throwing them away, though, you should have taken them back to the store and got a refund, explaining how these products aren't suited to an LC lifestyle and why. If people would return this stuff instead of tossing it, the manufacturers might start to get a clue.

As for peanut butter, stick with the all-natural stuff. One of our stores has a grind-your-own peanut butter in their bulk section, and all the major groceries in our area carry (and have as long as I can remember) Adams all-natural (peanuts and a little salt).

I personally don't think a tiny bit of corn syrup or sugar is going to hurt a person unless it starts serious cravings, and in most cases it won't. Unfortunately you'll never know until you try a product. Check the carb count and see how much of the carbs come from sugars.

There are salad dressings on the market that are a lot better option than the Carb Options dressings. If you have a WalMart, check out their store brand dressings (Great Value). Several of them have 0 carbs, and run around $1.17 per bottle. The problem in our family is with 4 low-carbers, we go through a lot of salad dressing and it would be pretty easy to spend $20 a month just on dressings. We buy some that are spendier, but when I can I also throw in some cheap stuff.