Truth - it is not hard to make home-made pasta sauce. But you do need to let it bubble for at least an hour to mellow out the bitterness of the tomato to create a good quality sauce. I don't have time for that these days so I found a jarred sauce that is ALMOST as good as Nona's.
The problem is that 1/2 cup of sauce has 420 mg of sodium, that's a lot considering adults daily intake should ideally not exceed 1,500 mg. Here is a hack that cuts the sodium almost in half and saves money. If you have 3 more minutes, there is a secondary hack you can do to boost iron, protein and fibre of the sauce.
Ingredients
large jar of your favourite pasta sauce
1 large can no sodium added diced tomatoes
(Optional) 1 cup white canned beans, any type. Must be rinsed well and drained.
Directions followed by images
If adding beans, place them in a medium pot with a little bit of sauce.
Mash with a fork.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Bring up to a boil. Season to your taste with more dried basil, oregano or garlic (powdered, jarred)
Cook for about 10 minutes.
Thats it.
Freeze leftover beans for use in another recipe along with leftover sauce in portions to use later.
Success
Rather than 420 mg sodium per 1/2 cup this new and improved sauce has 244 mg sodium per 1/2 cup plus more nutrients.