Welcome to Anna's Natural Sauce

Low Calorie

2012-02-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

Good news if you're watching the calories!
Way back the end of last year I was talking about how healthy my sauces are, particularly the Rogan Josh and Spicy Tomato varieties. So I have recently completed the nutritional analysis for these two and I can confirm that they both are really low in calories and fat.

Spicy Tomato and Olive sauce :
contains a total of 118 calories per 320g tub, of which calories from fat are 45
total fat content per tub is 6g
total carbohydrate content per tub is 16g, of which 3g is dietary fibre and 10g is sugars

Rogan Josh sauce:
contains a total of 168 calories per 480g tub, of which calories from fat are 53
total fat content per tub is 5g
total carbohydrate content per tub is 29, of which 10g is dietary fibre and 14g is sugars

I will complete the breakdown for all the other sauces too but obviously as they contain some Donegal Creameries fresh cream, and a little Donegal Rapeseed Oil, the calorie count is going to be a bit higher! But I still hold with the idea that fresh, natural food is best for you even if it is carrying some calories and fat - variety is the spice of life.

Gweedore by Glenveagh

2011-10-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Gallaghers of Gweedore is the latest stockist of my range of fresh dinner sauces and the drive there last Thursday was sublime. Even through the misty rain Glenveagh and the Poisoned Glen offer spectacular scenery and remind me how lucky I am to be living in one of the most beautiful places on earth - Donegal.
I stopped for a short coffee break to take in some of the breathtaking views and the stunning colours of the landscape. Must take the camera next time!

Taste of Donegal Food Festival

2011-08-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

We're off to Donegal town on friday evening for a busy three days of the Food Festival. Ernan McGettigan, of McGettigans award winning butchers ( and stockist of Anna's Natural Sauce) is one of the main organisers and he tells me there were more than 20,000 visitors last year!

I'm going down with my trusty helpers, Ellen and Barney, and we are planning to have a fun time giving all the visitors a chance to taste all my sauces and hopefully selling plenty too!

There will be Taste Awards for the first time this year - who's idea was that Ernan??! - and I will be entering all my products, so wish me luck.

Also, after popular request, I am launching two of my existing flavours in smaller, more convenient sized tubs. Creamy White Wine and Spicy Tomato and Olive will both now be available in 320g pots, ideal for two people. These will be on sale in shops soon after the show. I hope this proves to be useful to my loyal customers and an attractive trial size for new customers.

Can't wait to see you all at the show - come and say hello and have a taste of my yummy sauces!

Slimming Sauces!

2011-06-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

I have been having loads of discussions with people recently about how many points or calories or sins are in my sauces as this is a huge issue for all of us. Apart from eating good natural fresh food it seems more and more of you want to know exactly what is the nutritional content of your food and I want to help.
So keep watching this blog as I will be investigating how to get you that information and translate it into Slimmers World and Weight Watchers language too.
In the meantime I can assure you that two of my sauces are virtually fat free - Spicy Tomato and Rogan Josh - the only fat I use is a small amount of rapeseed oil for frying off the onions and garlic. So there you go that's a start and I hope to have much more information for you very soon.

Back home in Inishowen

2011-06-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

My tasting tour leads me back home to Inishowen this week and I will be in Canny and Doherty's Centra Moville on Friday 24th. They have extended their store since I was last there doing a tasting so I am looking forward to a bit more space to work in! Pop in and say hello if you are passing, or stop and let me know your favourite recipes for my sauces - I'd love to hear what you think. I always learn something new, like when I was in Clonmany Centra Annette told me she finds my Creamy White Wine sauce great for making vol au vents and at the Donegal market a customer told me how he uses it for making lasagne!

Day trip to Ballybofey

2011-06-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'll be travelling for work this week - I'm going to Ballybofey!
I had two great days in Carndonagh Friday and Saturday doing tastings at G&S Costcutters for their 10th anniversary celebrations. The atmosphere was great and there was a huge crowd particularly on Saturday when Highland Radio and Declan Nerney were there. I met loads of people I knew and many more I didn't and they all got a taste of my sauces.
So I am heading to Ballybofey to do a tasting in store at Supervalu and I'm looking forward to a busy day there too - that's Friday 17th.
Then I'll be back in Donegal Town on Saturday fro the Farmers Market. Oh the joys of business travel!

Spicy Tomato and Olive Sauce with meatballs

2011-06-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is a great version of an Italian classic sauce which goes really well with pasta and meatballs. Find it in any of my stockists' chill cabinets in the pot with the red label!

Make your meatballs with the best quality minced beef you can afford, the less fat the better. Using your hands mix the mince with breadcrumbs, parsley, chopped onion, salt and pepper and some raw egg until you have a thorough mix not too sticky, roll in a little flour and shallow fry until browned. Drain away any excess oil and add a pot of Anna's Natural Spicy Tomato and Olive Sauce. Heat through and cook until meatballs are done - that should only be about 20 minutes. Serve with any pasta you like; tagliatelle is favourite in our house as its easier to handle than spaghetti! That's dinner made!

My daughter is a hungry student and when she heads off to college I always make a little tub of pasta and mix some of my Spicy Tomato and Olive sauce through it for her journey. This is a great snack at any time with loads of nutrients in the sauce and energy in the pasta, a good combination for eating on the go.

Strawberry Festival

2011-06-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

The first ever Clonmany Strawberry Festival takes place on Bank Holiday Monday 6th June at The Glen House Straid. This coincides with National Strawberry Week and the weather is going to be good (maybe amazing who knows?), strawberries will be there in abundance and every form you can think of! I will be there along with other food and craft people from Inishowen so we hope to see a great turnout to enjoy the Glen House teas and stroll the Glenevin waterfall walk.

In-store tastings

2011-05-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

June is going to be busy! I am helping celebrate G&S Doherty Costcutters' special anniversary in their Carndonagh store with a tasting on Friday 10th June and Saturday 11th June so come and try my sauces there.
The following week, on Friday 17th June, I am going to be at Kavanagh's Supervalu store in Ballybofey which I am looking forward to as it is new ground for me. The store is stocking my sauces from next Thursday 2nd June so check out my recipe page and try something new next week.

Chicken a la King

2011-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is an old family favourite, probably a bit retro in foodie circles, but delicious none the less. This is so easy to make using my Creamy White Wine sauce ( the purple label) that anybody can prepare this and have dinner on the table in minutes!

Take plain chicken fillets and chop into bite-size pieces then fry in a little oil until browned. Take a pot of Creamy White Wine sauce and pour over -one pot normally serves 2 or 3 people depending how much sauce you like. Cook in the pan until chicken is tender (about 20 minutes) and serve with rice. You can also serve this with pasta or spuds and something green on the side eg. broccoli or salad, makes this a perfectly balanced meal.

Recipe Ideas on ICR FM

2011-05-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

Anna's Natural Sauce is sponsoring Elaine's Country Lunch on Inishowen Community Radio this month and the programme features a different recipe idea every week. This is repeated during the week so that the station's many local listeners get a chance to hear some new ideas on how to cook with Anna's Natural Sauces.You can find some of these and more on my blogspot Recipe Page - if you have any great new recipes for my sauces please let me know!

5th Anniversary Donegal Farmers Market

2011-05-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the 5th anniversary of the Donegal Farmers Market and even though the weather was forecast to be horrendous, all the faithful stallholders turned out and a great day was had. Bob Dylan was the soundtrack to the day and through the gusts of wind and the steady rain his music set a folksy tone to the event! The Farmers Market takes place on the first and third Saturdays of every month so see us there again on 4th June for a great variety of fantastic local produce and quality crafts.

Ballyliffin Masterchef Judging

2011-03-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Just to remind you that the third heat of the Ballyliffin Golf Club Masterchef competition is on this tomorrow night in the Linx restaurant and I will be there on the judging panel. I was the winner in last year's competition and having started Anna's Natural Sauces since then they asked me to judge and I am only too delighted to do so. The standard of food on the first two nights was very high so it's not an easy job. We are given a taste of each dish and asked to rate them on three counts: taste, presentation and whether we would order the dish in a restaurant. Our points are added to those given by the customers and the Head Chef Paul McDaid.
Actually I think it was easier to do the cooking than the judging! Still I can't wait for next week's Final.www.visitballyliffin.com/linx-restaurant