Next best: You purchase a jarred sauce from the grocery store that is free of junk ingredients. A “junk ingredient” is something that you would not use in your own kitchen (such as high fructose corn syrup or guar gum). It should contain normal food items (e.g. tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), salt) that you would expect to use if you made marinara sauce yourself. Sometimes (okay most of the time) these awesome brands also have a ridiculous price tag, which really makes it more worth your money and time to make your own.
Out of time and money: You purchase a sauce with a cheaper (note: not the cheapest) price tag, AND the simplest ingredients. Do not just reach for the big name-brands with a ridiculous sale: read the labels. You might be shocked to find that some of these big brands use ingredients such as: soybean oil, canola oil, “natural” flavors (if they’re natural, tell us what they are), citric acid (a preservative), high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t keep citric acid in my cabinet. So take a minute to compare. (More to come in the future about these and other junk ingredients).
At my favorite grocery store, I found that their store-brand marinara sauces are a better (and cheaper) “real food” option than any big name-brand. Sure, some of their sauce varieties contain sugar or canola oil. So I will take a few minutes and read the labels, and when I am buying the cheaper store-brand, I buy the flavor sauce with the best list (typically this is not a cheese variety of marinara sauce). It is always a far cry better than the name-brand counterpart.
Case study 2: Peanut butter
Ideal scenario: You grind your own peanut butter either in your home or at a supermarket that offers this option, such as Whole Foods.
Next best (and in this case study, equally as good): You buy peanut butter off the shelf. Peanut butter should not have more than two ingredients! Peanuts (dry roasted or raw) and salt (if you prefer the salted variety). That is it!!! No exceptions on this one. Enough quality peanut butters exist at a great price. Note: do not assume a “natural” peanut butter will fit this criteria! You need to check out that ingredient list. Sugar is a big no-no on this one.
Out of time and money: There is no ‘out of time and money’ option here. If you must buy a peanut butter that contains things such as: fully hydrogenated oils, soybean oil, SUGAR (gasp), diglycerides, or anything besides peanuts and salt please do not buy it. Put it down. Move on. Perhaps purchase some dry roasted peanuts for munching, at least they have not been ruined with sugar or other junk ingredients.