We’ve purchased a 24-ounce jar of Great Value All Natural Medium Chunky Salsa over the past few years, and often consume the whole jar in one or two sittings, as 24 ounces of this delicious veggie-liquid concoction is too much to eat in one meal. Still, after munching a half-bag of Tostitos Scoops chips along with half of this jar, the taste and texture of this salsa have been permanently branded on the memories of delicious-tasting, reasonably healthy snack foods.
This salsa was perhaps the thickest store-brand salsas I’ve reviewed. So, it felt more like eating a vegetable salad than a vegetable sauce. But the bulk of us could do well to get more veggies into our diets, and get rid of some of that bulk too. And this medium chunky salsa product is one handy way to get that done. And, it’s easy too. Before I knew it, I was half-way through the jar, and could have eaten more perhaps. But I was beginning to feel full and getting a little concerned about how much sodium I had eaten. So, restraint eventually won out.
Yet if I’m going to commit that earthly sin of gluttony, salsa isn’t a terribly sinful food to gorge on. But the chips? Well, that’s different story, and I’ll have to work off my penance on the treadmill several times this week to atone for eating so many of them.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- This salsa tethers me, and that keeps me returning to it for another scoop again and again. But it’s also healthy too, and thus, harder to eat enough gain weight or cause health problems.
- This food contains no fat and no added sugar, but overflows with many of the vegetables that are so sorely lacking in American eating patterns.
- It’s low-calorie as well, at 10 calories per one eighth cup serving.
- The “best by” date is several months out from the purchase date. So it’s okay to cache this food in the pantry for a bit.
- After opening, this medium salsa will stay fresh in the refrigerator for several weeks as long as you put the lid back on and tighten it.
- I like the glass jar of this product, with the metal lid, which I highly opt for over plastic containers. Glass is better because of how little it contaminates the contents inside, and how easily recycled it is.
- There’s less liquid in this salsa, much less than I noted in the Pace picante sauce I reviewed a while back.
- The ingredients list shows almost entirely vegetables. Healthy? Almost second to none.
- They label this salsa as medium intensity. I’d agree. But it’s a mild kick. While some heat I detected as I swallowed, I’d judge this salsa as definitely on the mild side of medium. While I enjoy the challenge now and then of downing a cup or two of bull-kick salsa, I favor less kick for casual eating in front of the squawk box while watching The Young and the Restless. Less distracting that way.
- This is an all-natural salsa that relies not one bit on preservatives.
- This salsa compliments eggs (Mexican omelette), nacho and potato chips, pasta (a pleasant substitute for Italian-flavored pasta sauce), burritos, chicken, and cheese (you can mix this with cream and cheddar cheeses and milk for a stringy yet mouth-watering dairy-veggie dip).
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
- As per usual in many bottled salsas, and as healthy as this product is in terms of vitamins and minerals, it does contain 240 MG of sodium per 2-tablespoon portion. That seems high, as I ate 23 tablespoons with my scoop chips the other night. So I’m on the look-out for a no-salt version.
Ingredients List
Crushed tomatoes (water, concentrated crushed tomatoes), fresh onions, jalapeno peppers, diced tomatoes in tomato juice, distilled vinegar, Salt, dehydrated onions and garlic, natural flavoring.
Crushed tomatoes is the most prominent and colorful ingredient. What an appetizing chorus of tastes.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 2 tablespoons. Servings per container: About 23.
- Calories: 10. Fat calories: 0.
- Total fat: 0 grams, 0%.
- Saturated fat: 0 grams, 0%.
- Trans fat: 0 grams.
- Polyunsaturated fat: 0 grams.
- Monounsaturated fat: 0 grams.
- Cholesterol: 0 grams, 0%.
- Sodium: 240 milligrams, 10%.
- Potassium: 70 milligrams, 2%.
- Total carbs: 2 grams, 1%.
- Fiber: <1 gram, 2%.
- Sugars: 2 grams.
- Protein: 0 grams.
Product Rating
Aside from the, in my view, over-the-top sodium amount, I recommend this product as a dipping salsa for about all chips, or as a base ingredient of a your own dipping sauce recipes. I’d rate this Great Value medium salsa therefore, at 97 out of 100.
Where To Buy Great Value All Natural Medium Chunky Salsa
Look for this product in the glass jar with the orange and red lid, and the white label with the blue print, exclusively at Walmart super centers and grocery stores. I bet you’ll enjoy it and you’ll thrill doctor too when you tell him that you’ve made salsa a prominent item in your snack war chest.
References
Revision History
- : Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and tweaked the content.
- 2012-06-02: Originally published.