Marinara sauce is a type of tomato-based sauce that contains a mixture of herbs, onions, and garlic. Some people also add olives, wine, and capers to create a Mediterranean flavor.
For it to really taste like a marinara, it simply needs to be mostly tomato sauce with basil and garlic. Anything else adds to the delicious taste.
Some people like to eat the sauce with their pasta or use it as a paste for their pizza. But the amount of sauce you use will directly affect your calorie intake. So how many calories are in marinara sauce?
How Many Calories Are In Marinara Sauce?
The amount of calories in marinara sauce depends on which brand you use. Generally speaking, ½ cup of sauce will contain 66 calories.
These calories come from the olive oil, sugar, tomato paste, carrots, and onions used in the ingredients.
Olive oil is the greatest contributor to calorie intake, so if you want to make a sauce that isn’t so high in calories, consider changing the olive oil amount or swapping it entirely.
How Many Carbohydrates?
Although olive oil takes up a larger portion of the ingredients list than sugar, the white stuff is to blame for the high carbohydrate content.
This is because sugar is used in its raw form, in olive oil, and in tomato paste. You may only add 1-2 teaspoons into your sauce, but these other ingredients are adding sugar to your meal too.
Overall you can expect 10 grams worth of carbohydrates in a 132g serving (which translates to ½ cup per serving).
How Much Fat?
If you make marinara sauce with crushed tomatoes, basil, sugar, and garlic, then the overall fat count will be low. Around 2g per 132g serving. However, if you add olives, capers and wine that figure will start to jump.
In just 100 grams of olives, you can expect around 11g of fat. Of course, these are considered healthy fats as they are filled with nutritious value. The most important and prominent values are iron and copper.
Remember that fat can be good for you, so do not try to avoid it completely. Healthy fats come from natural ingredients such as olives. Unhealthy fats come from processed ingredients.
How Much Protein?
The amount of protein in marinara sauce depends on how many additional ingredients you put in. For a standard marinara sauce with simply crushed tomatoes, herbs and spices, you can expect a low protein count.
For a 132g serving this basic marinara sauce will have around 2g of protein. This all comes from the tomatoes. Per 100g of tomatoes, you can expect 0.9g of protein.
How Many Vitamins And Minerals?
Many people like to add their marinara sauce to their recommended 5 A Day. Your 5 A Day is how many fruits and vegetables you need to eat to ensure you are digesting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals.
One 132g serving of marinara sauce contains around 20% of your daily vitamin needs. This is due to the high tomato content in the serving.
From that serving, you can expect to find Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, copper, potassium, and niacin.
The Health Benefits Of Marinara Sauce
Marinara sauce is considered healthy in many respects. It has a low-calorie count and low carb count and although it also has a low protein count, it has a very high vitamin count.
From the large number of vitamins and minerals, you can expect some fantastic health benefits from eating this sauce regularly.
Protects Against Cancer
The pigment in tomatoes that make their skin red is called lycopene. Lycopene is a type of carotenoid and it produces antioxidants. These antioxidants protect your cells and repair them from being affected by oxidative stress.
This means they can protect your cells that are being harmed by cancer. It stops the cancerous cells from growing any further – stopping them in their tracks.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that marinara sauce can cure cancer. It simply means that small eruptions of the disease can be stopped with enough antioxidants.
If the cancerous cells grow too large, the antioxidants will not have the same effect.
Reduces Risk Of Heart Disease
Another benefit of high antioxidants can be found when looking at the effects on the heart.
This lycopene helps to lower your blood pressure, relieving your heart of excess strain and preventing a stroke, a heart attack, or heart disease.
Keeps Your Bones Strong
Although calcium is known as the main contributor to bone development, Vitamin K and lycopene can also help in this area.
Vitamin K can reduce the number of blood clots in your system and can activate the hormones responsible for promoting bone formation.
Lycopene, on the other hand, promotes the development of collagen production. This is needed for bone growth, at the core of the production process.
The Negatives Of Marinara Sauce
Because marinara sauce has a lot of potassium in it, people who need to follow a low-potassium diet for medical reasons should be aware of the sauce’s intensity.
Secondly, if you are on medication that helps to increase blood clotting, eating too much marinara sauce could counteract this medication.
You would have to eat a lot of sauce for the effects to both possibly affect you or negatively affect you, but being aware of these changes can help you organize your weekly meal plans.
Summary
In a 132g serving of marinara sauce, you can expect 66 grams of calories. This is a small amount when used on its own, but can help add up to a large portion if used with pizza or pasta.
Marinara sauce doesn’t contain a lot of protein but does contain a lot of vitamins and minerals.
It is a healthy sauce that you can add additional flavors to or leave in its classic form.
One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.
Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
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