My latest review comes courtesy of the Moms Meet Blogger program. I am able to receive certain products for free in exchange for an honest review. It’s a great website to discover new and healthy products that can benefit the whole family!
This time, I was selected to try Ragu Homestyle Pasta Sauce. I received free coupons to purchase the product on my own as well as a recipe to go along with the sauce.
I didn’t care for the supplied recipe, so I just made spaghetti with vegetables along with the sauce all in the crockpot (because the crockpot is the only thing in my house that doesn’t need my undivided attention.)
The sauce is available in five different varieties, but I went to a small Vons near my house in Southern California and only found these two flavors. I did also look for this sauce at my military commissary, but they didn’t have it in stock. So with a little chopping and mixing and simmering, a pretty easy dinner was in the works.
The sauce had an Italian aroma and a fairly thick and chunky consistency. I was really excited about this sauce because it is supposed to be healthier than other sauces. I like that it doesn’t contain artificial colors or high fructose corn syrup and it is only 100 calories per half-cup serving. So another hour passed by and BAM – spaghetti!
Then it was the moment of truth! Was this new sauce everything that my dreams were made of? Healthy sauce in a jar? Could it be? Welllll….yes and no. I liked everything about it, except I wasn’t quite sold on the taste. It almost had too much Italian flavor, to the point that it took away from the vegetables and sauciness of the meal. I typically add in my own spices and flavors when making spaghetti so I wasn’t quite ready to relinquish control of my spice levels to this new sauce in town. But my one-year-old felt differently and totally embraced it all.
Overall, I wouldn’t proclaim this new product as awesome-sauce (get it?) But, I like where Ragu is going with this new line and perhaps the recipe could be slightly tweaked. I would be even more excited if they came out with a less-flavored version of this healthy sauce. I can’t wait to see if this new Ragu gains popularity! What do you think of the new sauce? Have you tried it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Can’t wait to try out the next product! *As a reminder, I was given this product for free in exchange for an honest review.
~SM
The Swag Mama 