SLIM PICKINGS
WHAT: G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
STATS: Vary slightly by flavor. Two tablespoons of the Hickory sauce contain 10 calories, 2 carbohydrate grams and zero fat, fiber, sugar and protein grams. Available at some Walmart stores, Walmart.com and Amazon. com. We tried press samples. More information at ghughessugarfree.com.
THE SKINNY: The best thing about low-carbohydrate eating in the summer: grilled and smoked meats.
The worst thing about low-carbohydrate eating in the summer: grilled and smoked meats with — whimper — no sauce!
So I was excited to sample G Hughes’ line of sucralose-sweetened Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauces, which come in five high-fructose-corn-syrup-free flavors: Original, Hickory, Honey, Maple Brown and Mesquite.
My grilling partner, not so much. He felt the Hickory and Original sauces added an off, sickly sweet flavor to a slab of ribs. But I found them quite decent and plan to experiment with them — at least on my plate — all season.
G Hughes also makes a rather capable sugar-free ketchup (5 calories and 1 carbohydrate gram per tablespoon) to dress up one’s burgers and dogs.
Now, if sauce master G Hughes could just produce a sugar-free chocolate syrup for summer sundaes, that would be, well, huge.
— Jennifer Christman