Pasta sauce with as much sugar as a candy bar

a reply to: Anyafaj

Ah, yes ... Topamax! If it weren't for the side-effects, they could market it for weight loss. I'm on that for migraine as well.



Don't get too attached to the weight loss. I leveled out after a while. I'm holding steady now.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Anyafaj

When I go fruit juice, I get the unsweeted cranberry and cranberry blends. Cranberry is pretty tart. But I am basically drinking a small amount to assuage my inability to have soda anymore. So if it didn't have some sweet to it ... It wouldn't be serving its purpose. For almost the whole day I am drinking either black or green tea or water.

For some reason I can't do tart either. I'll water that down as well. But I will drink cranberry. Water down, but I'll drink it. I love flavored green tea. I have a Peach-Mango I've been drinking lately that is divine! I also love white tea. In the mornings to get me going I'll have one cup of coffee that is half regular, half decaf.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Anyafaj

Ah, yes ... Topamax! If it weren't for the side-effects, they could market it for weight loss. I'm on that for migraine as well.

Don't get too attached to the weight loss. I leveled out after a while. I'm holding steady now.

My doctors, 2 of them anyway, have been getting concerned because I'm 4'11" and about 102lbs. But I'm not underweight yet, so far, it's not a problem. Part of the issue is, I was on Zanaflex and Flexeril, which caused me to not eat, period. So that did not help the weight loss, but I forced my doctor to take me off of it when I began hallucinating and lost all control of my legs. One minute I could walk fine, the next minute I had jelly legs and could not walk at all. I still have residual shakes from being one it. (Parkinson like symptoms). They now have it listed as allergies, as well as Ambien(hallucinations) and Neurontin (tongue swells, can't breathe) in my records. Unfortunately if there's a weird side effect, I'm the one to find it.

last night i had some shrimp, and some greek salad ingredients. Since i am not doing pasta, and didn't want to mess with spaghetti squash, i made the shrimp to eat like an appetizer, with a salad for my main meal (with all the Greek salad ingredients, plus a few others).

The shrimp is meant to be cooked in the oven, layed on top of a tomato sauce and covered with feta. The sauce I made was simple, but jesus....

1 large can whole tomato
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbl butter
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
about 15 mint leaves, chopped (more if you like)

Sauteed the garlic in the butter, then threw in the onions to start sweating a bit. Added in the can of tomatos, with about 1/3 of the juice int he can drained. Smashed up the tomato and simmered for about 30 minutes. Stirred in 2/3 of the mint, then layed about 25 shrimp around the top, sprinkled feta cheese on top, and popped into a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When i pulled it out, i sprinkled the rest of the mint on it, and let is set for about 5 minutes.

Hands down the best tomato sauce I have ever eaten. Simple, full of immense flavor, and, delicious.

I didn't eat much of the sauce....tomato's have some carbs. But I got enough, and filled the house with a smell that almost made me pass out from hunger.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
last night i had some shrimp, and some greek salad ingredients. Since i am not doing pasta, and didn't want to mess with spaghetti squash, i made the shrimp to eat like an appetizer, with a salad for my main meal (with all the Greek salad ingredients, plus a few others).

The shrimp is meant to be cooked in the oven, layed on top of a tomato sauce and covered with feta. The sauce I made was simple, but jesus....

1 large can whole tomato
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbl butter
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
about 15 mint leaves, chopped (more if you like)

Sauteed the garlic in the butter, then threw in the onions to start sweating a bit. Added in the can of tomatos, with about 1/3 of the juice int he can drained. Smashed up the tomato and simmered for about 30 minutes. Stirred in 2/3 of the mint, then layed about 25 shrimp around the top, sprinkled feta cheese on top, and popped into a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When i pulled it out, i sprinkled the rest of the mint on it, and let is set for about 5 minutes.

Hands down the best tomato sauce I have ever eaten. Simple, full of immense flavor, and, delicious.

I didn't eat much of the sauce....tomato's have some carbs. But I got enough, and filled the house with a smell that almost made me pass out from hunger.

I'll have to borrow that, it sounds divine!

a reply to: Anyafaj

Kinda shocking list, that's why I avoid fast food and try to cook at home (luckily there are a lot of sites with healthy recipes, I prefer this one foodjj.com... ) As far as I am concerned white sugar is way more harmful than brown, and I have some doubts about mango containing white sugar. One can eat fruits as much as he wants.

originally posted by: DanielLee5
a reply to: Anyafaj

Kinda shocking list, that's why I avoid fast food and try to cook at home (luckily there are a lot of sites with healthy recipes, I prefer this one foodjj.com... ) As far as I am concerned white sugar is way more harmful than brown, and I have some doubts about mango containing white sugar. One can eat fruits as much as he wants.

Thanks for the link! I'm always looking for a good chicken breast recipe!

The graphic compars an entire jar of pasta sauce to a single candy bar. That isn't alarming at all. A jar of pasta sauce has a lot of servings, so you'd be getting a significantly smaller amount of sugar per serving. Unless you eat the entire jar at once.

However I do agree that people should be more careful of what they eat, especially when they don't make it from scratch.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

A jar of pasta sauce has a lot of servings, so you'd be getting a significantly smaller amount of sugar per serving. Unless you eat the entire jar at once.

The you need to ask yourself, 'why does pasta sauce even need sugar to begin with?'

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

A jar of pasta sauce has a lot of servings, so you'd be getting a significantly smaller amount of sugar per serving. Unless you eat the entire jar at once.

The you need to ask yourself, 'why does pasta sauce even need sugar to begin with?'

Well, different brands have different recipes, and sugars can add different flavors to any type of sauce. Especially since the sugars could come from honey, brown sugar, or even as naturally occurring sugars in some of the ingredients. For example, a medium sized 123g tomato naturally contains 3g of sugar.

I'm not disputing the point of the thread, just the comparison of an entire jar of tomato sauce to a single candy bar. If there was a similar amount of sugar per serving of tomato sauce, then that would be alarming. But this specific example is like being alarmed if a full gallon of milk had the same amount of sugar as an 8oz energy drink.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

A jar of pasta sauce has a lot of servings, so you'd be getting a significantly smaller amount of sugar per serving. Unless you eat the entire jar at once.

The you need to ask yourself, 'why does pasta sauce even need sugar to begin with?'

Actually a lot of Italians add a small amount of sugar to pasta sauce to offset the acidity of the tomatoes. My Italian step-grandmother would even add a small spoonful to fresh peas, to make them sweet peas, and fresh corn on the cob, as well. But just a small amount, no more than a teaspoon.

Example, teaspoon for tomato sauce
1/4-1/2 for peas and corn, depending on amount.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

Well, different brands have different recipes, and sugars can add different flavors to any type of sauce.

People should not being buying mass produced pasta sauce.

I'm not disputing the point of the thread, just the comparison of an entire jar of tomato sauce to a single candy bar. If there was a similar amount of sugar per serving of tomato sauce, then that would be alarming. But this specific example is like being alarmed if a full gallon of milk had the same amount of sugar as an 8oz energy drink.

Agreed. However pasta sauce should not have any added sugar.

originally posted by: Anyafaj

Actually a lot of Italians add a small amount of sugar to pasta sauce to offset the acidity of the tomatoes.

That may be their personal preference but coming from a restaurant/culinary background that is not the way you would counter acidity as it does nothing to counter the actual acid in the tomatoes (if they re acidic). All you are doing is masking the acidity with sweetness and in the food biz this is considered a lazy shortcut. The issue is people start off with poor quality tomatoes which are not going to have a natural sweetness which does not require adding sugar to the sauce.

If you really wanted to counter acid you need to add a base that neutralizes the acid such as baking soda, cream or milk.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Anyafaj

Actually a lot of Italians add a small amount of sugar to pasta sauce to offset the acidity of the tomatoes.

That may be their personal preference but coming from a restaurant/culinary background that is not the way you would counter acidity as it does nothing to counter the actual acid in the tomatoes (if they re acidic). All you are doing is masking the acidity with sweetness and in the food biz this is considered a lazy shortcut. The issue is people start off with poor quality tomatoes which are not going to have a natural sweetness which does not require adding sugar to the sauce.

If you really wanted to counter acid you need to add a base that neutralizes the acid such as baking soda, cream or milk.

That may be true, but it's possible they were raised that way, so they continued the tradition. (Oh and these were homegrown Jersey tomatoes fresh from her yard. She's in her 90's and still very feisty, better not let her hear you disparage her tomatoes or her sauce! LOL)

originally posted by: Anyafaj

That may be true, but it's possible they were raised that way, so they continued the tradition. (Oh and these were homegrown Jersey tomatoes fresh from her yard. She's in her 90's and still very feisty, better not let her hear you disparage her tomatoes or her sauce! LOL)

Understood, but without observing the entire process I cannot say what the issue may be.

I have made sauce in many places and with many people, from small villages in Tuscany and Campania to well established restaurants and I have never seen anyone add sugar to the sauce.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

i think you may find some sugars in jars of tomto sauce.

I buy canned if i am not making it. Canning tomatoes actually creates a better result that "fresh" from the produce secion full of green house cardboard tomtoes. If i make it "from scratch" i almost alwys start with canned, whole tomtoes (saving me the all the effort right up until the ice bath).

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I only make mine in the late summer/early fall when my garden tomatoes are coming in and never with store bought tomatoes which are not, in my opinion, properly ripened and often times they also have been refrigerated which makes them mealy.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Anyafaj

That may be true, but it's possible they were raised that way, so they continued the tradition. (Oh and these were homegrown Jersey tomatoes fresh from her yard. She's in her 90's and still very feisty, better not let her hear you disparage her tomatoes or her sauce! LOL)

Understood, but without observing the entire process I cannot say what the issue may be.

I have made sauce in many places and with many people, from small villages in Tuscany and Campania to well established restaurants and I have never seen anyone add sugar to the sauce.

I honestly don't know what region her, or her husband were from, to tell you the truth. If they said it, it was a very long time ago, and thanks to lost memories from PTSD, sadly, someday's I'm lucky if I can remember what I had for lunch.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

i do not like "fresh" tomatos from the produce section. We have some great local farmers that sell stuff at a farmers market. I don't have time to grow anything other than a few flowers and maybe some herbs.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
i do not like "fresh" tomatos from the produce section. We have some great local farmers that sell stuff at a farmers market. I don't have time to grow anything other than a few flowers and maybe some herbs.

The farmer's market is a fantastic option. I would use them over store bought anything.