I used to be one of those children teenagers adults that would have ketchup with everything! Whenever I used to eat chips and battered sausage from the local fish and chip shop, I’d always be the one to ask for extra sachets of ketchup – the 3 they offered was never ever enough! I never used to think about how much sugar was in ketchup and it was only when I quit sugar completely for clear skin, I discovered that refined sugar was hidden in pretty much everything! I was shocked by the amount of sugar that snuck it’s way into everyday food items! A bottle of ketchup is a 25% refined sugar and even mayonnaise has sugar in it!

Healthy, sugar-free vegetable ketchup

This sugar-free sauce is probably my most used recipe – it’s so delicious, easy to make and versatile. It’s also full of tasty nutrient rich vegetables. These bright red foods contain an abundance of phytochemicals like lycopene and anthocyanins – these have been linked with antioxidant and anti-ageing properties within the body!

I make up a big jar of it every few weeks and use it for all sorts of meals! It’s great as a dipping sauce for sweet potato chips and also works wonderfully as a marinade for pulled pork or tossed in with some with some grilled chicken to give your chicken salad a delicious, vibrant flavour – I even transfer some of this sauce in a tiny Kilner jar and take it with me if I’m going out to eat!

Ingredients:

• 6 Plum Tomatoes
• 2 Red Peppers
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Large Carrot
• 1 Garlic Bulb
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Ground Clove
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• Salt

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c (Fan: 180c, Gas Mark 6)
2. Peel the carrot, then cut the carrot, tomatoes, peppers and onion in half lengthways then separate the layers of onion.
3. Core the tomatoes using a spoon and place all the vegetables cut-side down on a greased baking tray.
4. Chop the top off a garlic bulb and drizzle the exposed cloves with some olive oil then wrap the bulb up in tin foil and place on the same baking tray.
5. Place the baking tray in the oven and roast the veggies for 40 minutes or so – keep checking on them to make sure nothing’s burning!
6. Once nicely roasted, allow to cool then peel the skin off all the tomatoes and peppers and discard the skin.
7. Squeeze out the roasted garlic (it should be deliciously caramelised and will ooze out with ease) into a blender then transfer all the roasted veg into the same blender and add the rest of the ingredients.
8. Blend until smooth and give it a taste – you may want to add a little more paprika or apple cider vinegar.
9. Once you’re happy with the taste, transfer into an air-tight jar, store in the fridge and use within two weeks.

Are you a ketchup addict? I highly recommend you give this sugar-free vegetable ketchup a go! Even my non-health conscious friends think it’s a winner!

Peace, Love & Clear Skin,