I am all for cutting unnecessary crappy carbohydrates from your diet & I rarely eat pasta out because it tends to be a meal comprised of mostly simple carbs, sugars, & unhealthy fats all of which do not help me with my fitness & health goals. So while I love using things like meat & veggies in place of pasta for things like lasagna sometimes it is necessary to use a more realistic pasta alternative. I like to incorporate one of these choices as a side dish or a mini meal (along with veggies & lean protein) a couple times a week. So here are my top 3 better for you pasta picks and where you can find them.
1: Explore Asia Organic Soybean Pasta or Organic Black Bean Pasta: Both of these options are delicious gluten free & vegan picks that have fabulous nutritional stats. One serving (1/4 of the bag) of either variety contains only 190 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs, & 20.5 grams of protein!! The soybean one is a more believable swap since it is light colored and the black bean one is (obviously) black colored however both taste awesome and have a perfect pasta texture. You can find them online (Amazon has great prices) or you can also find them in certain health food stores.
2: Barilla Plus Pasta Products: This is the most widely available option. It totally passes as regular pasta but is a better option nutritionally than traditional white pasta. It contains more protein plus has Omega-3 polyunsaturated acids & close to double the fiber that regular pasta has. One serving is 210 calories, 34 grams net carbs (after subtracting fiber) plus 10 grams of protein. A blend of spelt, chickpea, flaxseed, oat fiber, & egg whites among others are key ingredients in this awesome pasta pick.
3: Quest Brand Spaghetti or Fettuccine: This pasta pick is pretty delicious and has the best nutritional stats of the bunch. It’s made of Konjac root and one servings has only 10 calories plus zero fat, zero carbohydrates (after fiber is subtracted), & zero protein. It isn’t as filling as the above options in my opinion & it is a little pricey. One package is considered 2 servings but it is really quite small servings sizes for 2 people. It runs over $3 a package. I only know of places online that you can buy it so you also need to pay for shipping. The Quest website or Amazon are the best places to purchase I know of. It really is a great product & definitely worth a purchase if you don’t mind the above factors though!!
***A big tip I want to add is that if you cook your pasta (any kind of pasta) truly al dente it actually makes the pasta healthier. The more mushy and soft you make your pasta the higher on the glycemic index it registers. So cook your pasta just to the point that it is not crunchy anymore (6 minute range or so) then pull it and drain it. So even if you choose a regular white semolina pasta try cooking it this way instead. It will make it more nutritious for you & your family as it will break down slower in your body & not cause such a blood sugar spike***
I also want to list a few more popular pasta substitutes I have tried & why they didn’t make my top list. One of them is Tofu Shirataki. I find it to be really odd in taste & texture plus way too much work to get it to taste decent but that’s just my opinion. The nutritional stats are great though so feel free to check it out yourself.
I also was a fan of Dreamfields pasta products in the past but have switched over to the ones above in the past few years just because I felt they were the better options based on their nutrition labels. It’s a good thing too because Dreamfields recently lost a major lawsuit for fraudulent claims regarding the actual amount of digestible carbohydrates in their products. It’s not too surprising actually considering the ingredients are basically super similar to normal pastas. Read more here if you’re interested http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pasta-maker-settles-false-advertising-lawsuit-23672972
Another fun option Sea Tangle is a unique pasta option as it is made of kelp but it has a crazy crunchy texture that makes it far from a realistic pasta alternative. I do still enjoy eating it on occasion just not when I’m really craving normal pasta 😉
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