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Sauces enhance the flavor of our meals. However, they can make or break meals calorie-wise. Take a look at these popular flavor enhancers and see where they rank on the weight-loss scale.

Pesto vs. White Clam Sauce vs. Red Clam Sauce
Pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, which is why a ¼ cup has about 300 calories. Although pesto packs more of a calorie punch, you might use less of it because it is denser. Between the two clam sauces, red sauce (60 calories per ½ cup) is a better bet because its base is tomato, not butter and wine like white sauce (110 to 160 calories).

Fit Tip:  Look for pesto recipes that cut down on the oil and add spinach. Puréed vegetables are another way to thicken sauces. In restaurants, get your sauces on the side.

Marinara vs. Meat or Bolognese Sauce vs. Vegetable Sauce
Most red pasta sauces have added sugar, oil or other fat, but if used sparingly, they can all be OK. Meat sauce (130 to 170 calories per 1/2 cup) is the one you probably want to stay away from. Marinara and vegetable sauces have about 60 to 80 calories in 1/2 cup.

Fit Tip: Look for sauces with 50 to 60 calories per 1/2 cup. Also, add vegetables to tomato sauces -- you’ll get more quantity for fewer calories and feel full longer.

Coconut vs. Curry vs. Peanut Sauce
Coconut sauce (50 to 70 calories in 2 tablespoons) has slightly fewer calories. But the bulk of the fat in coconut is unhealthy saturated fat, whereas peanut sauce, even though it has more calories (80 in 2 tablespoons), is made from peanuts, which have healthier fat. Curry sauce can be high in calories (2 tablespoons, 120 calories).

Fit Tip: Watch out for sodium in the curry. Make your own coconut sauce at home starting with a low-fat coconut milk. 

Sweet and Sour Sauce vs. Peking Sauce vs. Duck Sauce
Sweet and sour sauce (40 calories for 2 tablespoons) is the lowest calorie-wise. Peking or hoisin sauce has 70 calories for 2 tablespoons, and duck sauce has 60 calories for two tablespoons.

Fit Tip: Look at what’s under or mixed with the sauce. For example, when you order Sweet and Sour Chicken from a restaurant like PF Chang’s, you’re looking at 800 calories for the meal. And Peking sauce comes served over Mu Shu Pork, bringing the total to 780 calories.

Teriyaki vs. Soy Sauce
These may be an excellent option calorie-wise, but soy sauce (10 calories per tablespoon) packs 920 milligrams of sodium. Teriyaki is a smarter option (1 tablespoon, 15 calories) -- though still high in sodium at about 610 milligrams, it’s not quite as high as soy sauce.

Fit Tip: The light versions of both soy and teriyaki can save you almost half of the sodium.

Hollandaise  vs. Béarnaise  vs. White Sauce
A béchamel or white sauce has the fewest calories per ounce -- about 60. White sauce is cream or milk mixed into a white roux (a combination of butter and flour that isn't browned). Hollandaise (about 160 calories per ounce) is made with vinegar, egg yolks and butter and flavored with lemon. Béarnaise (100 calories per ounce) is similar to hollandaise with the addition of wine, tarragon and shallots.

Fit Tip: Use broths, vegetables or vegetable purées as a base for sauces instead of cream and butter. A juicer is another way to create sauces and cut calories. Also, experiment with spices and fresh herbs to add flavor. Try using cornstarch as a fat-free thickener. For hollandaise, begin with 1 percent milk, cornstarch and a little lemon juice, and reduce the quantity of butter and eggs.

Barbecue Sauce  vs. Steak Sauce  vs. Ketchup
Steak sauce and ketchup have half the calories (15 per tablespoon) of the barbecue sauce.

Fit Tip: Watch out -- it’s easy to become a heavy user. If you dump 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce on your burger and fries, you’ve just eaten 240 extra calories. Use a tablespoon to add sauces to your food. And instead of coating with an excessive amount of sauce before you barbecue, use lots of seasonings, then spoon on your sauce sparingly.

Brown Gravy vs. Sausage Gravy vs. Mushroom Gravy
Typical brown gravy has only 30 calories in 1/2 cup. The problems start with “country-style" versions. These are made with high-calorie ingredients like oil, fat skimmed from cooking and whole milk. Country-style sausage gravy (about 200 calories per 1/2 cup), has almost 10 times the calories of turkey gravy. Canned mushroom gravy has about 60 calories for 1/2 cup.  

Fit Tip: Remove the fat with a separator (a cup with a spout to pour the juices from the bottom and leave the fat on top). Order “au jus,” which means the meat is cooked and served in its own juices. Avoid using bread or biscuits to mop up extra gravy.

Alfredo vs. Marsala Sauce
Marsala wine sauce (160 to 180 calories for ½ cup), prepared with mushrooms and a bit of olive oil, is the better choice. Alfredo sauce's primary ingredients are cheese, heavy cream and butter, all of which can add up to 300 to 400 calories for 1/2 cup.

Fit Tip: Look for light versions of Alfredo that cut calories in half, and use less oil to keep Marsala sauce light.

Tartar Sauce  vs. Cocktail Sauce
Tartar sauce (74 calories per tablespoon) is made with mayonnaise -- which has about 100 calories per tablespoon. Cocktail sauce (15 calories per tablespoon) is the clear winner.

CHARLES STUART PLATKIN is a nutrition and public health advocate, author of the best seller Breaking the Pattern (Plume, 2005), Breaking the FAT Pattern (Plume, 2006) and Lighten Up (Penguin USA/Razorbill, 2006) and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions. Copyright 2006 by Charles Stuart Platkin. Sign up for the free The Diet Detective newsletter at www.dietdetective.com.

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