The Hidden Enemy

I've been watching my carbs for a long time now. It has not helped me ovulate regularly, but it has helped with other PCOS symptoms (mostly weight loss and hirsutism). I don't go to Atkins extremes, but I do avoid pasta, potatoes, cereals and sweets. I do eat a lot of vegetables and a reasonable amount of fruits.

And so it annoys me when I find myself eating carbs where I least expect it. Recently I bought a vinaigrette. I did not bother reading the ingredients, and thus was surprised when my salad tasted sweet. Sure enough, my vinaigrette had sugar in it. When I'm not lazy I make my own vinaigrette and I never put sugar in it, nor do I know of anyone who does. Then it occurred to me to check recipes online, and it turns out that nowadays it's common to add sugar or honey to vinaigrettes. When did that happen? So, no more store bought vinaigrette for me.

And then there's today's example: I just made meatballs. My meatballs are atrocious, with no bread crumbs, rice, starch or flour in them. I make them with flaxseed and chia seeds. I freeze them and I bring them to work for lunch, so I made a batch enough for four days. After I was done with the sauce, I tasted it. Good, but too sweet. Then I checked the can of tomatoes. They were organic tomatoes, and once more I failed to check the ingredients when buying them. The culprit? Organic sugar cane.

I usually use a store brand of canned tomatoes, but this time I was tempted by a very good price for organic tomatoes. Again, it stumps me that someone would add sugar to tomatoes.

I realize once more how hard it must be for diabetics to keep their blood sugar under control, when they keep hiding carbs where you least expect them.

The worst thing is, I hate throwing food away. I can donate the rest of the cans, but there is not much I can do with the vinaigrette.