As the years have elapsed -- and nutritional awareness has infiltrated my consciousness -- I have made certain adjustments to how I eat.  It's Marinara (meatless) pasta sauce for me now and some of them are very good.  That doesn't mean I don't sometimes get nostalgic about the old days when I used to brown a pound of ground round and add it to my favorite sauce.  Ah, that greasy *ragout*, chewy chunks of meat, and sky-high cholesterol!  Sometimes I MISS all that, and so I was happy to find what I hoped would be a stand-in ... ***Trader Joe's "Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese Pasta Sauce***.  ***Trader Joe's "Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese Pasta Sauce*** is fully cooked with instructions provided for heating in microwave or on the stove top.  I liked the flavor of this but it wasn't the same as the glorious stuff I used to concoct in the old days.  ***Trader Joe's "Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese Pasta Sauce*** contains tasty ground meat which has been broken down into itsy-bitsy tiny pieces, (probably the way it should be) instead of the chewy chunks of my own concoction years ago.  Also, I thought the sauce was a tad watery and thinner than my own.  Sure enough, water heads the list of ingredients which further includes:  turkey thigh meat, concentrated crushed tomatoes, salt, citric acid, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, wine, basil, salt, olive oil, parsley, pepper, oregano, and bay leaves. **STATS:** The package contains 12 oz. or 2-1/2 servings with each single serving containing 80 calories, 30 calories from fat, 3 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, zero trans fat, 25 mg. cholesterol, 520 mg. sodium, 6 grams total carbs, 1 gram dietary fiber, 3 grams sugars, and 7 grams protein.  Also present are 20% (D.V.) Vitamin A, 10% Vitamin C, 2% Calcium and 6% Iron. **TASTE TIP:** ***Trader Joe's "Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese Pasta Sauce***  would have been too thin for me spooned over regular pasta.  It turned out to be just the ticket for a topping over steamed brown rice.  This was a perfect marriage of flavors, with the rice soaking up excess fluid and being enhanced by the sauce's seasoning.  I topped my serving with fresh Parmesan cheese and heated it up again just until the cheese melted.    

AnnaBanana

Oak Park, IL