What salad dress can I use during this phase/ I like Maries & Hidden Valley Ranch & Blue Cheese. Also is Tomatoe based salsa ok during Induction? Thank you

Well,
Induction phase is limited to about 20 gms of carbs or less so you have to be very careful about what you eat...they really add up quickly.

Use fitday at www.fitday.com to keep track of your carbs and you'll get an eye opener...

I think there are a few bottled/jarred red salsa products that are fairly low carb. It's been awhile since I was on standard Atkins, but I seem to recall that La Victoria Salsa Suprema in Medium is about 2 total carbs per two tablespoon serving - a pretty good 'carb bargain' given the nice flavour punch you'd get from the salsa.

There are *lots* of low-carb salad dressings on the market - blue cheese, ranch, various vinaigrettes. I used to search for the ones that were 1 gram or less of total carbs per one tablespoon serving. The ones in the jars in the produce section were pretty good.

The trouble is - because these are so thick and creamy, they don't necessarily coat your salad well, and end up in this clump on top of your salad/meat/vegetables. Then...you end up scooping up way more of it...adding in more carbs in the process.

A good solution? Make up your salad, and then plunk it into a mixing bowl, and measure out the seemingly measley 1 tablespoon 'serving' of dressing on top - and then mix it all up with a wooden spoon or spatula, as if you were making a caesar salad. Voila! You've stuck to the portion size, and you get all the flavour from the small-ish serving without going over on your intended carb count. Using this method of 'tossing' with the dressing, I think you'll find that just one tablespoon of the dressing is plenty.

editing to add: check to see if there's Santa Barbara 'fresh' salsa in your local grocery store - these come in little tubs and are sold refrigerated - very tasty. Low carb, and I like the pico de gallo and the green tomatillo salsa.

I find grey poupon plus balsamic vinagrette plus a packet of splenda goes a long, long way without many carbs, calories or sugar.

I use "Kens" Creamy Ceasar - it has zero carbs and zero sugar and its quite yummy!

i also use the kens creamy ceaser. it's so good it's almost addicting, and a little goes a long way. i only use 1 tblspn on 2 cups salad and it more than covers every piece of the salad. it's also really good as a dip.

Kens creamy ceasar is a secret weapon of mine...although I fear I use entirely too much of it (on EVERYTHING)
Best salad dressing...even before LC....I've ever tasted.

Wow - after all those endorsements in Ken's, I feel sorry for poor Paul Newman! LOL! I am gonna check it out for sure!

I love salsa on my scrambled eggs! I have eaten it periodically without any trouble...

Dr Atkins suggestions for dressings was
So you do need to look at list of ingredients for sugar under one of its many aliases as well as looking at the carb count on the nutrition panel.

In USA (as well as UK) there are some dressings with no added sugar in the ingredients so read labels to find the best option.

And remember that in USA a manufacturer lists things like dressings as 'per serving' which can be small enough (maybe one teaspoon) to allow them to claim 'zero' carbs 'per serving' if the carbs work out at less than 0.5 carbs 'per teeny serving'.

So if it has ingredients that do contain carbs - like eggs or tomatoes it must have 'some' carbs, so maybe count 0.25 carbs per serving to be safely estimating your carbs eaten.

We are lucky over here as our labels list most nutrition info as 'per 100 grams' or 'per 100 mls' which makes it easier to work out an accurate carb count per tablespon or per ounce!

Fresh salsas from a Mexican grocery store are usually low in carbs and the ingredients are few: tomatoes, peppers, onion, vinegar, salt. They sell these at regular grocery stores also -- just check the ingredients.

To keep my ranch dressing from clumping and not coating enough lettuce, I mix in extra olive oil and vinegar -- but I'm not a big dressing person anyway.

I vote for Ken's -- a variety of good flavors. The bottle I'm reading now says 1 carb per 2 tablespoons -- so, that would give you a little more flex. Enjoy, and good luck to you. Alma

Another voter for Ken's over here. I definitely use it all the time for salads, and I have been for a while even before LC!

I just started LC yesterday but you guys are making me want to go to the store to see if I can find that brand where I live! (TN) You guys need an endorsement fee or something, lol.

has anyone noticed that on the kens italian with aged romano it says 1 carb on the front and 2 carbs on the back?