Pasta Sauce Question

[ShihTzuMom1]

Question for Canadians or anyone from Western New York State, have you found any brand of low carb pasta sauce.  I keep looking in my grocery stores and the lowest I have found is 6 net carbs per 1/2 cup.  The ones in the health food stores I have found are organic pasta sauce and have more than that.  The pasta sauce from the Low Carb Grocery is 4 per 1/2 cup.  I have even looked in Buffalo at Tops on Niagara St. and Price Rite on Elmwood Ave. and can't find the Victoria pasta sauce that has been suggested that has 2 net carbs.  I don't want to pay the huge shipping and duty fees to order from the U.S.  Any suggestions?

[mouseissue]

Hi Shihtzumom1,

If you like alfredo sauce, Doug has a great recipe he shared a while back.
It's so gooooood!!!  
It's only 3.4 net carbs total or less than 1 net carb per serving.
I found adding a little fresh garlic, and a touch of basil and oregano made it magnifique!

Alfredo Sauce - Plain (Homemade Low-Carb)
3.4g Net Carb Total

Ingredients:

1/3 stick   Butter
1 cup   Heavy Cream (0.8g carb  per oz., 1g carb total)
3/4 cup   Shredded Parmesan Cheese  (0.2g carb per TBLSP, 2.4g total)
   Black Pepper - a few grinds to taste

Melt 1/3rd stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat being careful not to brown the butter.

Mix in one cup of heavy cream and bring up to heat but not to a boil, stir in 3/4 cup shredded parmeson cheese.

Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Stir well with a few grinds of black pepper.

[Alex Cruz]

yummy mouseissue.. Its probably yummier and cheaper.. will make that one next week or maybe later this week..  

[ShihTzuMom1]

Thanks mouseissue but I'm looking for red sauce, I have found low carb Alfredo no problem.  I guess I'll have to map out all of the Walmarts, Tops and Wegmans in Buffalo and take a trip over the Peace Bridge to see what I can find.  I haven't had much luck finding things in Buffalo.  I haven't even found a good health food store there yet.

[mouseissue]

Shihtzumom1,

As my wife has an allergy to tomatoes, red sauces are rare around here.
But I will keep an eye out for you and let you know if and when I find anything.

[ShihTzuMom1]

OK thanks!

[David]

Maybe we can get Doug to show us how to make our own, and possibly can it, very few options at my stores also, found a few online, but the shipping is as much as the product.

[Alex Cruz]

Good idea David.. Same here, the lowest I found as far as red sauce goes, is 7 carbs per 1/2 cup...

Doug/Umpa?

[beebs]

Monte bene. Amazon sells it. The tomato basil is 1 carb per half cup.

[Alex Cruz]

Oh Beebs, I went to buy the pasta sauce you said, but its $4.99 plus $6.00 for shipping.. yikes!!!!!

[mouseissue]

Shihtzumom1,

As my wife has an allergy to tomatoes, red sauces are rare around here.
But I will keep an eye out for you and let you know if and when I find anything.

Shihtzumom1,

beebs mentioned this red sauce (Monte Bene Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce).
It's $4.99 a bottle (I think 18 oz.) and has only 1 net carb per 4 oz..
Yah... It's a little pricey with S&H. I would order at least several bottles at a time to make it worthwhile.
It ticks me off how much more expensive many low carb foods are.

http://www.amazon.com/Monte-Bene-Tomato-Basil-Pasta/dp/B001SAQLUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287159953&sr=8-1

Some customer reviews said that this sauce is a bit runny because it has no corn syrup (HOORAY!).
If you want it thicker, slowly add a little guar gum powder to it while heating.
You can make it as thick as you like!

The cheapest quality guar gum I could find was at Vitacost.com for $6.11 per 16 oz. bottle.
A little goes a LONG way!

http://www.vitacost.com/Source-Naturals-Guar-Gum-Dietary-Fiber

[beebs]

Did you check netrition Alex? I usually order it four at a time saves on shipping costs.

[Doug Varrieur]

Here's my pasta sauce story.

Years ago in the land of FAT Doug I used to make my pasta sauce in quantities of 60 quarts per recipe. Yes, 60 quarts! I used a giant pot and a gas cooker in my garage. It was a weekend affair beginning with a trip to the "Ruskin" tomato fields in Ruskin Florida to pick 2-3 bushels of tomatoes, off to Costco for 4 gallons of tomato paste a case of bell peppers, a case of mushrooms, 3 pounds of garlic, a large container of Italian seasonings , a large container of red pepper flakes (only used half) a quart of extra virgin olive oil and a case of onions.

Now it was time to blanch all my tomatoes in my giant pot of boiling water, peel them and process them through the blender.  After sauteing all the chopped veggies in the olive oil till tender in went the tomato products..... all the way to the top of the 60 quart pot....in went the herbs.

As the sauce boiled and toiled I stirred the whole thing with a sawed off canoe paddle. 6 hours later it was time to pour into the mason jars.

Two large process pots would boil at the same time and 7 quarts per pot would process for 45 minutes. This would go on until all the jars were lined up like little solders on my work bench.


I can still hear the tops of the Ball mason jars lids making their little "ping" as they reach their final seal while cooling 

Now.......I just buy my sauce in a jar and use a quarter cup to a half cup at a time 

[ShihTzuMom1]

beebs mentioned this red sauce (Monte Bene Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce).
It's $4.99 a bottle (I think 18 oz.) and has only 1 net carb per 4 oz..

 Thanks Mouseissue & Beebs, but Amazon won't ship pasta sauce to Canada.  I tried and this is the message I got back:

"Important Message
The following items cannot be shipped to the addresses you selected. (Learn more.) You may either change the shipping addresses or remove the items by clicking Delete.
Monte Bene Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce cannot be shipped to the selected address.
Family-size Victoria Marinara Sauce, 40 Oz. cannot be shipped to the selected address. "

I guess I'll have to keep looking or go on a shopping road trip.
 

[mouseissue]

Shihtzumom1,

Did you try to order pasta sauce from Netrition.com?

They have a Bella Vita Pasta sauce (24 oz. bottles) in 4 flavors for only $3.49 per bottle.
See http://www26.netrition.com/bella_vita_pasta_sauce_page.html.

They ship all over the world. But international shipping is expensive!
I believe the international airmail shipping cost to Canada is $11.24 for one bottle $26.49 for four bottles.