Authentic Italian Pasta Sauce

Contrary to popular belief pasta sauce can be a very healthy addition to your diet especially if you pair it with whole wheat pasta and provided you don't buy it in a jar! It doesn't have to be riddled with calories sodium fat or preservative chemicals that you can't even pronounce. In fact my Nana's pasta sauce is one of those healthy sauces and I'll tell you why.

The only fat in this pasta sauce will be coming from the olive oil and the fats in olive oil are considered to be healthy fats and can actually rev up your metabolism and promote weight loss on top of that it can help reduce blood pressure and reduce asthma and arthritis symptoms all thanks to olive oils anti inflammatory properties! Tomatoes are a powerful anti-cancer fighting vegetable if you eat this sauce at least once a week you can be doing yourself a world of good protecting yourself against cancer causing free radicals the anti-cancer properties of lycopene which is the red pigment that give tomatoes their vibrant colour are also what give them their amazing cancer fighting abilities especially for men that are getting close or over that 40 year mark.

Garlic, oh the amazing power of garlic another anti cancer food garlic has been proven to aid in blocking the compounds that form breast, oesophageal, prostate and bladder cancer the compound in garlic that's responsible for this is called diallye disulphide and s-allycystein and is only formed when the garlic is chopped up and its cells are broken to release its awesome power. Oregano is proven to be an amazing anti bacterial agent and can actually kill food borne bactira such as e-coli! Not only does my Nana's pasta sauce taste delicious its amazingly healthy for you!

You can always replace these ingredients with organic food. If your budget doesn't allow for organic food because yes unfortunatly eating healthy is much more expensive non organic is just fine.

Sugar
Romano cheese ( parmesan is fine if you prefer that or reduced fat versions are also fine)
1/2 white onion diced
Olive Oil
Fresh garlic 3 cloves
Fresh Basil/Oregano (if you can't get fresh then dried is fine)
Salt/Pepper
Just a pinch of hot chillie pepper flakes (if you like heat if not skip)
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added if possible)
2 cans ground tomatoes (no salt added if possible)
1 tin tomato paste

To start cover the bottom of your pot with olive oil be generous don't be afraid of olive oil it gives the sauce a nice flavor and its good for you and your metabolism! Mince up the 3 cloves of garlic dice up the 1/2 onion and put them into the bottom of the pan now give the pan some heat about medium heat and stir the garlic and onions around the oil. Once you see the first signs of the garlic and onions starting to cook wait about a minute and then pour in your can of diced tomatoes. Now you can turn up the heat a bit more, making sure to keep everything well stirred. Once you notice everything has reached a decent heat, start adding your spices, remember we'll add just the bare mininum now and adjust everything to taste, later on keep in mind that you can always add more but you can never take away.

Add in 2 teaspoons of salt 1 teaspoon of black pepper your chopped oregano and basil then chillie flakes (if you want extra heat) dont add the sugar just yet. Now add in your 2 cans of ground tomatoes dont toss out those 2 cans yet there should be some sauce left in the 2 cans that didn't come out, under the tap take each can fill about half with water swirl the water around untill you get all the sauce and pour that half can of water into the sauce and do that for both cans don't worry it will make your sauce seem watery now but it will condense, trust me. Now get your little tin of tomatoe paste take about half of that and stir it into your sauce.

Once you notice your sauce is coming to a boil, before we reduce the heat the first thing you want to add now is the sugar, add two teaspoons of sugar, what the sugar is going to do is remove the acidity and tartness in the sauce. Now give it a minute and reduce the heat low down to about three and partially cover with your lid don't completely cover the pot. Give your sauce at least 3 hours to cook stirring often at the last half hour of cooking now is the time to add the romano cheese about 1/2 cup right into your sauce and stir it up (if your watching your weight reduced fat parmesan cheese will do or if you perfer paramsan cheese thats just fine also).

Another thing to keep in mind is during the time your sauce is cooking when you go to check on it just before you stir it you make notice a brighter colored bubbly sauce on top almost bright orange lightly skim that to the side of the pot and just take it out with your spoon this adds tartness to your sauce there shouldn't be a lot but if you notice it skim it off before you stir, remember to constantly taste your sauce throughout the cooking process, and whatever spices you feel are necessary to satisfy you and your family's taste! Happy cooking and let me know how it turns out!