Spaghetti Mission at ShopRite

Shoprite at Bruckner Commons is quite a find.

Today I went in search of a few things I can't get nearer to home, like radicchio. But the real mission was to stock up on some tomato sauce, including the Store brand, Wholesome Pantry, which offers brilliant and (nearly) oil-free spaghetti sauces in four flavors. They would not meet Plantricious standards, but close enough for a "plant strong" diet, but not for a "plant-perfect" diet for a serious heart patient - only oil-free is oil free. Muir Glen and Delallo make oil-free pasta sauces. Sometimes I can find Brad's Organic fat-free pasta sauce at Good-N-Natural. Brad's Organic has three fat-free flavors. Walnut Acres has a Low Sodium Tomato and Basil, which is very low fat also.


Pomi is also a regular in my pantry for when I want to make tomato sauce from scratch, which is really the best option. That's the way to get totally oil-free.
Meanwhile in the pasta department they have a great selection also from various vendors, but my favorite is probably Luigi Vitelli Whole Wheat pasta.

Luigi Vitelli Whole Wheat pasta

The bottom line of the whole pasta story for me is that I prefer to make pasta sauce from scratch, but you don't always have the time. The Wholesome Pantry brand is not totally perfect from a #WFPB standpoint, but close.

When I make it from scratch, I start with some onions, which I sauté with a few chilis and an jalapeno (you can leave that out, but I like it on the spicy side), first I stir-fry them dry, until the onions begin to glaze and almost stick to the pan and then I add in some crushed, chopped garlic and some ice cubes of veggie broth and fry that for another few minutes, while adding in perhaps some other cut-up veggies. At least I like some one or two carrots, and if I am making a mushroom sauce, this is when I would add them in, with some of the spices like rosemary, and/or marjoram and perhaps a bay leaf or two, three. I add in six chopped-up (pitted) dates, instead of sugar, to cut the acidity. Let it go until the veggies are cooked soft and add in a pack of Pomi chopped or strained tomatoes, or a 25 Oz can of Wholesome Pantry diced tomatoes. After a half hour of simmering slowly, take the out the bay leaves and make it smooth with an immersion blender. That's when you can add in a small (6Oz) can of tomato paste and let it go a few more minutes over low heat and voilà, you're done.

Store Brand Whole or Diced Tomatoes

Pomi is always a winner

Wholesome Pantry 4 flavors of Spaghetti Sauce