Tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamins A, K, E and C. They also provide a significant amount of various B Vitamins, potassium, fiber, manganese, molybdenum, and chromium.

This low calorie tomato sauce is tasty over whole-wheat pasta, but it can also serve as a substantial and low fat soup for those who are watching their caloric intake.

To test out this particular recipe, I used a variety of sizes and types of tomatoes picked fresh from the garden; Sungold Grape, Sweet Million Cherry, and Stupice Heirloom.

I didn’t boil, peel, or deseed the fruit as most recipes instruct, partially because I am lazy, and partially because there is a lot of nutrition lost in the process. Skipping these steps also saves a lot of time and tedious work, and the sauce ends up having a higher insoluble fiber content when you leave the skin on.


Ingredients
5 lbs Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Olive oil
6 Garlic cloves
1½ tsp Salt
1/2 tbsp Sugar
Pepper, to taste
Additional seasonings to taste (see suggestions below)

How to make the Sauce
Wash the tomatoes thoroughly with cool water. Slice them depending on their size; the small grape sized ones are okay to leave whole, but chop the medium sized ones in half and the extra large ones into quarters.

Place the cleaned and diced tomatoes into a saucepan that is oven and stovetop friendly. Place the garlic cloves in with the tomatoes, along with the salt and pepper, then drizzle the olive oil over the top. Mix and place in the preheated oven at 400° for 30 minutes.

Once they are done in the oven, place the same saucepan on the stovetop on low heat. Use a handheld blender to thoroughly blend the mixture.

At this point, you will have a very tangy tomato sauce; adding between ½ and 1 tablespoons of sugar will sweeten it up and make it less tart. This is also where you get to be creative in the types of spices that you use to make the homemade tomato sauce recipe your own.

A few suggestions of low sodium spice options to make your sauce taste great:
• Red pepper flakes
• Italian seasoning
• Basil
• Savory
• Oregano
• Chives
• Onions
• Bay leaf
• Sage
• Rosemary

This fresh tomato soup or sauce also tastes great with any combination of vegetables, mushrooms, onions, carrots, celery, and peppers, just to name a few. You can use this sauce right away, freeze it, or use traditional canning methods in order to be able to enjoy it at a later date.

Makes 8 Cups.


Nutrition
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories: 115
Total Fat: 7.2 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 452 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 12.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
Sugars: 8.2 g
Protein: 2.7 g