Pasta

eamcrae

Does anybody know of any low cal delicious pasta recipes??

lorrpb

I make zoodles and a favorite sauce. I love regular pasta but it’s pretty much a calorie bomb with very little protein in most sauces.

Cahgetsfit

no. because pasta is delicious and high in calories. the sauce can be low calories, but the actual pasta? it's just one of those foods I rarely eat anymore because it's sad to only have 100grams of it, and if I was to eat a decent amount, it would be stupid amount of calories and not fit in my daily allowance unless I skipped 2 meals out of my 4-5.

PS - zoodles are not pasta.

PPS - Spelt pasta is slightly less caloric that normal wheat pasta. I use that now when I do eat it.

GaleHawkins

@eamcrae I really like Nasoya Pasta Zero shirataki spaghetti. While it is vegan and made from the root of the konjac plant it has Zero Fats, 4 grams of carb with 3 grams being fiber and 1 gram of Protein for an 4 oz cooked serving. The first time I tried it I did not like it but now I eat it weekly and love it with tomato paste based sauces on it. I use it especially when on the Fasting Mimicking Diet found in The Longevity Diet book by Valter Longo, PhD that is to give the same results as a 5 day water only fast yet you get to eat 800 calories each day of the 5 day fast. It is packaged in water and at WalMart it is in the vegan cooler where the tofu and other like items are located.

https://walmart.com/ip/Nasoya-Pasta-Zero-Shirataki-Spaghetti-8-oz-Bag/33141085

MelFrannNoel

You can also use black bean pasta.

NewMeSM75

I use fibergourmet pasta. It's the only thing I found that has texture and taste of pasta.

HereToLose50

I like to use the tofu shiratake noodles sometimes. It's the only replacement I've found that is close enough as far as texture. The konjac type of noodles have texture issues for me.

I rinse the tofu shiratake and then cook it for at least 5-10 minutes in a liquid - water, broth/soup. Cooking it makes a huge difference in texture.

Sometimes I'll mix the tofu shiratake (cook it first) in with a quarter to a half portion of cooked thin spaghetti and then mix it in whatever sauce I'm using. It's not noticable and saves calories.

As far as sauce calories, staying away from cheeses goes a long way towards calorie control. Stick with tomato based sauces and lean meats. Top your pasta (don't mix it in) with freshly grated Parmesan and you'll still get a really cheesy flavor in each bite for much lower calories.

puffbrat

That depends on your portion size and definition of low calorie. I make a lot of sauceless pastas with veggies and proteins. My portion (probably 1 cup all together) is typically less than 300 calories.

acpgee

I replace 30%-50% of the pasta with spiralized courgette or squash. Cuts down on calories a little bit without affecting the texture too much.

I bought a bag of that low carb pasta and am saving it for a special occasion because it is pretty expensive.

snowflake954

I live in Italy and pasta is a daily food. I add more vegetables to cut down on the calorie count and am very creative with sauces, also using vegetables or seafood or fish. People in Italy eat a lot of pasta and are overall thin. It's not pasta that makes you fat, it's your portions.

lin_be

2oz of pasta is sometimes worth it. I just plan it out. I haven’t had alfredo sauce in years though, I miss it so much.

Also, I feel like the pasta shape makes a big difference. For example, angel hair makes me feel like I’m eating more than I am because it’s so small. Cavatappi also is pretty filling for 2oz. I stay away from farfalle and fettuccine because when it’s on my plate I’m like ugh there’s not a lot on my plate!

BattyKnitter

lin_be wrote: »

2oz of pasta is sometimes worth it. I just plan it out. I haven’t had alfredo sauce in years though, I miss it so much.

Also, I feel like the pasta shape makes a big difference. For example, angel hair makes me feel like I’m eating more than I am because it’s so small. Cavatappi also is pretty filling for 2oz. I stay away from farfalle and fettuccine because when it’s on my plate I’m like ugh there’s not a lot on my plate!

I make my own "lightened" alfredo sauce, I think I adapted the recipe from the Budget Bytes website and it is definitely worth it as a once in a while treat. I think it's around 500 calories for a serving? On weekends I normally only eat 2 meals rather than the 3 I do during the week. That way I can splurge a bit more for dinner and/or breakfast.

I love pasta too much to give it up completely, I'd rather scale down my portion size and modify the sauces to make it fit!

gagagaga1099

I like spaghetti squash

DX2JX2

I just bulk out normal pasta with spiralized squash or zucchini. It works fairly well for me. I go light on sauce/oil but will lean on grated cheese, garlic, and S&P to amp up the flavor a relatively low calorie-add.

cwolfman13

snowflake954 wrote: »

I live in Italy and pasta is a daily food. I add more vegetables to cut down on the calorie count and am very creative with sauces, also using vegetables or seafood or fish. People in Italy eat a lot of pasta and are overall thin. It's not pasta that makes you fat, it's your portions.

@snowflake954

Out of curiosity, is pasta more of a side dish in Italy than a main course? Just curious as I've heard that it is, but I've never been. I know in the States it's primarily a main course and served in very large portions, particularly at restaurants. I get the lunch portion of spaghetti and meatballs at our favorite local place, and it's still a huge serving of pasta...I've had the dinner portion and I'm pretty sure you could feed three people with it.

snowflake954

cwolfman13 wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

I live in Italy and pasta is a daily food. I add more vegetables to cut down on the calorie count and am very creative with sauces, also using vegetables or seafood or fish. People in Italy eat a lot of pasta and are overall thin. It's not pasta that makes you fat, it's your portions.

@snowflake954

Out of curiosity, is pasta more of a side dish in Italy than a main course? Just curious as I've heard that it is, but I've never been. I know in the States it's primarily a main course and served in very large portions, particularly at restaurants. I get the lunch portion of spaghetti and meatballs at our favorite local place, and it's still a huge serving of pasta...I've had the dinner portion and I'm pretty sure you could feed three people with it.

Pasta here is what is called a "first course". If you go to a wedding, baptism, 1st communion, or any celebration it goes like this:
antipasto and aperitivo (light drink such as prosecco)
first course- pasta (sometimes two different types) or risotto
second course-meat or fish (sometimes both) with a vegetable
third-fruit
fourth-sweets, such as cake if it's a wedding. For a celebration there can be mixed sweets. Plus champagne.
fifth-liquors (for digestive purposes) and expresso to finish

It takes 4 or 5 hours to get through all that.
When we go to a restaurant evenings, you can order almost all the courses. It's traditional, but we just order pasta or risotto, maybe a vegetable or salad, and have a desert. The traditional pasta portion is 100g. A restaurant can give you a much more generous portion though. A Hostaria or Trattaria, for example, will have large portions. People go there to eat a lot.

Also, we live in Rome, but other areas have other specialties and do things differently. As the saying goes--When in Rome....
It's funny because the Italians don't know that saying. My husband had never heard it before.