Mama Jess pasta sauce founder and Barrington mom, Jessica Grelle, will be visiting with shoppers at Heinen’s Fine Foods this Saturday and Sunday to share samples of her veggie-packed organic sauces that she developed in her home kitchen. Heinen’s just started carrying two of Jessica’s Mama Jess brand pasta sauces which she created as a healthy alternative to feed to her own kids. “Having our product on Heinen’s store shelves means a lot because it’s our home town grocery store. It’s the first big grocery store in our zip code to carry our sauces so it’s really exciting.”
Jessica debuted her first Mama Jess brand pasta sauce two years ago this March and she says her business has quadrupled in the past year. “My background is in food science and I have developed hundreds of products that are on grocery store shelves. Once I had children, I started looking at the things I was developing in a different light. Most were processed and had artificial ingredients and I wanted to create something healthier to feed my family. Today, our whole mission is to get people to eat more veggies.”
Jessica has three different sauces currently on the market. She debuted her brand with an organic 5-veggie pasta sauce called Garden Good. “We make our Garden Good sauce with puréed carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, red bell peppers, onions and tomatoes in a classic marinara sauce. When I created this recipe, my husband Ben said, ‘Why don’t you go to market with that?’ That was my first sauce.”
“Then, we added the Bean Good sauce, made with a purée of organic white beans. This sauce is a good source of vitamins, protein and fiber.”
“Our newest sauce, Bien Good, is an organic pasta and enchilada sauce and it’s the only organic glass jar enchilada sauce on the market. Now, with one step, I can make Mexican lasagna, veggie enchiladas, casseroles…the list goes on and on.”
If you’d like to talk sauce with Jessica Grelle at Heinen’s this weekend, she’ll be there with her Demo Team sharing samples, tips and recipes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. To learn more about Mama Jess products, visit Jessica’s website at MamaJess.com.
Heinen’s Fine Foods is located at the Shops at Flint Creek, 500 N. Hough Street, in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., 7 days a week. Click HERE to follow them on Facebook or find them online at HeinensBarrington.com.
