7/10/2012

Simply Enjoy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

You are not going to believe this.  I can barely believe it and it actually happened to me.  I was wandering down the sauce aisle, looking at each and every food label like a crazy person when I happened to pick up this jar of red sauce.

I think I've mentioned before that marinara sauce is one of the things that I miss about eating low carb.  It almost always has added sugar, and tomatoes are pretty carb heavy to begin with.  It's just too hard to make it work.  I always end up using it as a garnish, or mixing it half and half with alfredo, which is much lower in carbs.  Imagine my delight when I picked up this jar of sauce and read the nutrition facts. Now, I'm no math wizard, but I know that 4 carbs minus 2 fibers leaves us with just 2 little carbs in a whole half of a cup.  The lowest carb one I was able to find previously had 4 carbs in 1/4 of a cup, which is still less than most other jars you will pick up off of the shelf.  This one blows them all away!  

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With this secret weapon, I can actually have some tofu shirataki noodles with a whole cup of sauce for a reasonable carb count.  Add some homemade meatballs and a side salad and you've got a great, carb controlled meal right there.  I used this sauce to make a great baked spaghetti (recipe coming soon!) a couple of nights ago, and it was tasty.  I ended up adding a few extra veggies and spices to give it a little more punch, but all in all I was not disappointed.

There is one downside to this miracle product, and it's going to be a big one for some of you folks.  Simple Enjoy is the Giant grocery store product brand.  A wide array of these products are available in Giant Food stores.  At present time, Giant is only located in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.  Simply Enjoy is also available at Stop & Shop, which is located in a few more states, mostly in the Northeast.  I have searched and searched online and cannot find this product for sale to be shipped.

If you don't have a Giant or a Stop & Shop near you, don't lose hope.  It's entirely possible that there is a low carb sauce option on your grocery store shelves (or that I can be bribed to bring a case to North Carolina next time I am home).  I can frequently be found perusing the aisles picking up things, looking at labels, and putting them back down.  I even check labels on unlikely things like crackers or dairy from time to time.  Occasionally you will come across a real find, like this sauce.  If you do find a low carb pasta sauce in your area please let me know so that I can pass the word along to the masses.

Easy to use low carb products are essential to success.  As much as I would like to cook every meal from scratch, that's just not possible for me, and I bet that it's not possible for lots of average households out there.  That's why I'm always keeping my eyes open for products like this one that allow us to take a few shortcuts.




2 comments:

  1. RAO brand is exactly the same ingredients and nutrition count. Very flavorful and easy to find at most any grocery in our area of the midwest though considerably more expensive

    ReplyDelete
  2. RAO brand is exactly the same ingredients and nutrition count. Very flavorful and easy to find at most any grocery in our area of the midwest though considerably more expensive

    ReplyDelete