With Spring – practically summer – now here, my family is very much on the move. Tee Ball practice, Boy Scout Meetings, evening committee meetings for mom/dad, Tae Kwon Do, Swim Lessons, doctor’s appointments — we are go, go go.
While I make it a point to cook dinner at home at least 5 nights of the week, I’m always looking for a little short cut that checks the boxes of being healthy, yummy and kid-friendly. So you can imagine how excited I was when the folks at Viva La Mamma reached out to me about their new Ready-to-Eat pasta line (found in the REFRIGERATED section!), which is now available in DeCicco & Sons and select Inserra ShopRite locations throughout New Jersey.
Picture a Chinese Food-like carton…but filled with tasty — and al dente! — pasta in Alfredo, Carbonara, Bolognese, Pesto, Tomato Ricotta and even Amatriciana (my fave!). My family had the pleasure of trying almost all of these varieties (we’re not big Pesto fans in the mom a la mode household) and each of us had a favorite:
Rocco loved the Tomato Ricotta variety, while Sienna enjoyed Alfredo. My husband, Mike raved about the Bolognese while I thought the Amatriciana was restaurant-quality for having been cooked only 2 minutes in a microwave.
A little about the product:
Viva La Mamma is a local company based in New Jersey. Their parent brand is Fratelli Beretta USA, who has been in business over 200 years with a strong commitment to being an authentic, Italian family business.
The key differentiating factor that separates Viva La Mamma from all the brands in the frozen food aisle is its dedication to fresh, authentic Italian ingredients and the fact that the line is fresh and never frozen with the pasta coming out at a perfect al dente every time—in 2 minutes! You find this line in the refrigerated aisle, NOT the frozen food section.
An entire carton is about 550 calories (although a few are closer to 800 calories) and can easily be shared amongst 2 children or one hungry husband 🙂 And depending upon which variety you choose, the carton itself can serve as the main meal, lunch or as a nice little side dish to accompany a protein like grilled chicken, shrimp or even your own meatballs!
But I think what Viva La Mamma is going for — and what I can easily see happening — is that you nuke it for 2 minutes and eat it in the car on your way to baseball practice or evening meeting. Or at your desk at work — especially if you are a teacher, medical professional or in a job that you’re pressed for time and on your feet/on the go.
There’s a fun little spork (spoon and fork combo) that’s included, and serves to be quite functional — you definitely need to give the meal a good stir after the 2 minute cooking time. I think part of how they keep the pasta so al dente is layering the bottom with the sauce and the plain pasta sits on top of it. So if you are someone who likes a lot of sauce on your pasta, you’ll need to mix this up very well before enjoying.
Hasta la Pasta 😉
{Product samples were received for purposes of review. All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}
hmm interesting. thanks for sharing