Pasta cals?

chupajen

Generally, I just try to stay away from pasta all together, but when counting calories, most dry pasta is suggested surving 2 oz is that dry or after cooking? Also, any good substitutes for pasta all together.

BekahC1980

Dry

Also I am not one to substitute foods, I just eat less. But I've heard zoodles are okay

TeaBea

Measure pasta dry. When you cook pasta a long time it absorbs more water (it weighs more, but water doesn't add calories). I look for more whole grains (a protein & fiber boost).

Omitting pasta while cutting calories? Nope, lifestyle changes for me. I will eat pasta when I reach goal weight. Therefore knowing what a serving size looks like is useful information. Measuring portions is a useful tool for all foods, not just "diet" ones.

Some people like spaghetti squash (meh, it's ok). Some people like zucchini noodles. I'm not a huge zucchini fan anyway.

Instead of lowering the pasta calories, I look to give the dish more volume thru veggies. Marinara sauce is already lower calorie, but I add peppers and mushrooms. Alfredo is higher calorie, but I like to add broccoli. Mac and cheese, I can easily sub in cooked cauliflower for part of the pasta. These are approaches I can use in the future too.

Nuke_64

Dry.


I have found that my cooked pasta weights twice what the dry pasta does. As I make multiple servings and reheat pasta, I'm not usually able weigh my portion dry.

cityruss

100g of dry uncooked pasta will always be in the region of 360 calories.

chupajen

Thanks, i usually find after eating something w/ pasta, im still hungry after and end up going over calories. Id rather just skip em all together, and eat the sause w/ veggies. But its hard to avoid if say, i want a mac and cheese

dwulet130

Pasta is probably the food I miss most since I started tracking. Yesterday I pulled out a box, weighed out one serving, decided it was too small and put it back. Maybe for my birthday...

try2again

Creamette, Ronzoni, and Hy-Vee all make 150 cal/2 oz pasta that is high in fiber, so it does NOT leave you hungry. Tastes absolutely no different from regular.

try2again

Nuke_64 wrote: »

Dry.


I have found that my cooked pasta weights twice what the dry pasta does. As I make multiple servings and reheat pasta, I'm not usually able weigh my portion dry.

Mine consistently comes out to be closer to 3X the uncooked weight, but this will vary somewhat by variety & cooking time.

TeaBea

try2again wrote: »

Creamette, Ronzoni, and Hy-Vee all make 150 cal/2 oz pasta that is high in fiber, so it does NOT leave you hungry. Tastes absolutely no different from regular.

This^

Besides, my pasta meals also include protein and/or fat. Both of those are filling also. Pasta with veggies & red sauce sounds low protein AND low fat. No wonder you're hungry.

Francl27

Nuke_64 wrote: »

Dry.


I have found that my cooked pasta weights twice what the dry pasta does. As I make multiple servings and reheat pasta, I'm not usually able weigh my portion dry.

For the type I use (Ronzoni whole grains), it's usually 135g cooked for 56g dry (I cook it one minute longer than what they recommend for al'dente, typically).

So yeah... gotta weigh it.

lemurcat12

I find that 56 g or less of pasta can be quite filling if you make a filling sauce. I usually use lean meat and lots of vegetables.

If you really want to cut calories spaghetti squash can be tasty. I tend to put zucchini in my pasta sauce, so am not into the zoodle thing.

chupajen

Thanks for the tips, i'll try something higher in fiber.

veggiecanner

i have to save up calories the days before speggetti night. but it's my favorite food. I also like chicken breast simmered in sauce over a little brown rice.

JeromeBarry1

Spaghetti squash is a squash and a perfectly good substitute for noodles.

ktfranke

I love substituting with edamame noodles! There made from beans, so you get great protein with them! You can order them on Amazon! And they also sell black bean noodles! The texture might be a little different, but it satisfies my cravings at least

Tried30UserNames

I love pasta, but I also love big portions of pasta. I can bulk up a small (or tiny) portion by mixing it into a sauce loaded with diced sautéed or roasted vegetables. Or I mix half spaghetti with half zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. Sometimes I even use shirataki noodles. If I rinse them really, really well, dry fry them and then use them in Asian-style dishes, they taste good. Or they really transform when used in Crockpot meals. They do take some work to make them edible, but sometimes you just need a big dish of nearly calorie free noodles.

_lyndseybrooke_

People use zucchini and spaghetti squash as replacements for pasta. All the bean-based pastas typically have the same amount of carbs as the real stuff, but extra protein. Therefore, they have the same or more calories. I don't get the point - you can get protein with your pasta by adding meat to it. I'm not one to substitute anything for pasta - nothing is nearly as good. If I can't fit pasta into my macros, I'm just not eating any pasta dishes.

I have tried the Carba Nada noodles, which are actually pretty good. Lower in carbs/calories, higher in protein. You can get them on Amazon. I use them from time to time, but they are real noodles (egg noodles), so it's not really a substitution.

hazleyes81

chupajen wrote: »

Generally, I just try to stay away from pasta all together, but when counting calories, most dry pasta is suggested surving 2 oz is that dry or after cooking? Also, any good substitutes for pasta all together.

Explore Asian pasta. It's low net carbs high fiber high protein.