I need me some PASTA!

allifantastical
allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Looking for any suggestions on low - calorie noodles or substitutes that you might use when you are in the mood for pasta. I tried wheat noodles and I would rather eat cardboard IMO.

Just seeing if I am missing out on something awesome, or if I'll have to stick with the cardboard :wink:
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Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    Nothing replaces good ol' pasta, nothing. An Italian would rather jump head first into traffic than eat whole wheat pasta....just make sure you understand the portion and the other ingredients your putting in and enjoy the real thing. Last weekend I made some ricotta, spinach, pinenut ravioli with a butter sage sauce, there's no [diet or healthier] pasta that's going to compare. Diet and healthier are diet industry terms to seperate you from your money while giving you less. lol
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    Dreamfield pasta claims to be lower carb and lower calorie than regular pasta, with 130 calories per serving according to their estimates (which is different from the box). It tastes like regular pasta to me, but I'm not sure about the calorie content. Also there are some Asian noodles, Miracle noodles I think, that have few to zero calories. I haven't been able to find them around here, but I'm sure someone else can tell you more about them.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    make sure you understand the portion and the other ingredients your putting in and enjoy the real thing.

    Bingo!

    Losing weight is all about portion control. If you want pasta, have pasta. You just have to learn how to eat reasonable portions.
  • Jacole18
    Jacole18 Posts: 716 Member
    Eat a bowl of regular pasta and ENJOY it! Just make sure you FIT in in your cals for the day....my motto....give up nothing or you won't stick to it!! :)
  • mayerel
    mayerel Posts: 254 Member
    I eat regular ol' pasta!! I just am very careful to eat the right portion!!

    Also- I've started making my own pasta, not sure if it's "better" but it's quite good!!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Spaghetti squash tastes good, and you can put many different sauces on it.

    It doesn't replace pasta, though. It is an "ok" sub, imho.


    Bust your butt for the real thing, or substitute with a replacement. Those are the 2 ways to shoehorn it into weight loss goals.
  • Bunnie_Rex
    Bunnie_Rex Posts: 63 Member
    http://www.house-foods.com/tofu/tofu_shirataki.aspx

    Ive been using this. I do not hate it :)
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
    make sure you understand the portion and the other ingredients your putting in and enjoy the real thing.

    Bingo!

    Losing weight is all about portion control. If you want pasta, have pasta. You just have to learn how to eat reasonable portions.

    Oh yeah, there's no substitute for real pasta. Yum!
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    Get some of this! http://www26.netrition.com/carba_nada_pasta.html

    aldente_carba_nada_pasta.jpg

    It's soooo good, about half the carbs of regular pasta (which makes it lower calorie too), more fiber, more protein.

    Dreamfields pasta isn't low carb like they claim. I've read reviews of people who have tested their blood sugar after eating it and it spikes.

    I've found Carba Nada at The Fresh Market. You can go to the Al Dente website and see where it is sold.
  • moonspells
    moonspells Posts: 126 Member
    Search the forums for info on shirataki noodles...VERY cool and VERY low carb/calorie! Enjoy!
  • nichole325
    nichole325 Posts: 244 Member
    Spaghetti squash tastes good, and you can put many different sauces on it.

    It doesn't replace pasta, though. It is an "ok" sub, imho.


    Bust your butt for the real thing, or substitute with a replacement. Those are the 2 ways to shoehorn it into weight loss goals.

    This. NOTHING and I mean NOTHING will ever replace my pasta....but this is a good alternative.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Why not just have some regular pasta? Whole wheat pasta may have a bit more fiber, but the other nutritional components/calories aren't that different from regular pasta.

    I probably eat pasta 3-4 times a week, and it never hindered my weight loss goals. :-)

    P.S. - I've tried the shiritaki noodles others have mentioned... and (personally), I thought the were one of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life! Others seem to like them, but they are NOT pasta. LOL
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    It's not low calories, but I like Barilla Plus pasta. The taste is much better than whole wheat and it doesn't have that grainy taste or the gray color when cooked. It is also higher in nutrition because it is made with beans (chickpeas and lentils, I think) in addition to grains. Or you can buy one of the white pastas with added fiber like Barilla Picollini or Smart Taste. These don't taste any different than regular white pasta.

    Regular pasta isn't really that unhealthyif you cook it al dente. The glycemic load rises greatly the more you cook it. But all of it is pretty high calorie.

    Lower calorie options are spaghetti squash, thinly sliced eggplant or zucchini ribbons, or tofu noodles, all of which are low calories but do not taste anything like regular pasta.
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    Why not just have some regular pasta? Whole wheat pasta may have a bit more fiber, but the other nutritional components/calories aren't that different from regular pasta.

    I probably eat pasta 3-4 times a week, and it never hindered my weight loss goals. :-)

    P.S. - I've tried the shiritaki noodles others have mentioned... and (personally), I thought the were one of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life! Others seem to like them, but they are NOT pasta. LOL

    Because some people can't eat regular pasta due to insulin resistance, diabetes, etc.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    Why not just have some regular pasta? Whole wheat pasta may have a bit more fiber, but the other nutritional components/calories aren't that different from regular pasta.

    I probably eat pasta 3-4 times a week, and it never hindered my weight loss goals. :-)

    P.S. - I've tried the shiritaki noodles others have mentioned... and (personally), I thought the were one of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life! Others seem to like them, but they are NOT pasta. LOL

    Because some people can't eat regular pasta due to insulin resistance, diabetes, etc.
    Sure, but that's not the problem, otherwise we would have been giving information that would have pertained to it.
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
    Why not just have some regular pasta? Whole wheat pasta may have a bit more fiber, but the other nutritional components/calories aren't that different from regular pasta.

    I probably eat pasta 3-4 times a week, and it never hindered my weight loss goals. :-)

    P.S. - I've tried the shiritaki noodles others have mentioned... and (personally), I thought the were one of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life! Others seem to like them, but they are NOT pasta. LOL

    Because some people can't eat regular pasta due to insulin resistance, diabetes, etc.
    Sure, but that's not the problem, otherwise we would have been giving information that would have pertained to it.

    True that is why some people can't eat it, but I do not have diabetes. I just was looking for a healthier option. Thanks everyone for their suggestions!! I have heard of those shiritaki noodles and they are in several of my hungry girl cookbooks but I can't seem to find them.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    i just eat regular pasta, but only eat a small amount. i would rather have a small bit of completely wonderful al dente pasta than mounds of "cardboard." not to mention, i haven't found anything that is so overwhelmingly low in carbs or calories that it warrants eating.
  • cherrybomb_77
    cherrybomb_77 Posts: 411 Member
    I either eat small amounts of regular pasta, or use steamed veggies in place of it (like, steamed baby carrots with spaghetti sauce and meat balls instead of actual spaghetti).
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
    This might sounds weird but I put bean sprouts into soup and it makes me feel like I am eating noodles.
  • moonspells
    moonspells Posts: 126 Member
    True that is why some people can't eat it, but I do not have diabetes. I just was looking for a healthier option. Thanks everyone for their suggestions!! I have heard of those shiritaki noodles and they are in several of my hungry girl cookbooks but I can't seem to find them.

    Asian specialty markets would likely carry them...they are in the refrigerated section. I recently tried them and I LOVE them! They are a little different than regular spaghetti-type noodles, although someone in the forums says you can get them to be pretty close texture-wise by dry-frying them. I personally like the kind of bouncy texture they have naturally but maybe not for a pasta-and-meat- sauce application...
  • acstansell
    acstansell Posts: 567 Member
    Eat a bowl of regular pasta and ENJOY it! Just make sure you FIT in in your cals for the day....my motto....give up nothing or you won't stick to it!! :)

    ^^ THIS
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    Nothing replaces good ol' pasta, nothing. An Italian would rather jump head first into traffic than eat whole wheat pasta....

    I know just what you mean!!!
  • mageets79
    mageets79 Posts: 14 Member
    http://www.house-foods.com/tofu/tofu_shirataki.aspx

    Ive been using this. I do not hate it :)

    These shirataki noodles are ok, 20 calories per serving, 2 servings in the bag. I eat the entire bag. They smell a little fishy, just rinse them well and they take on the taste of the sauce you use. Good luck, I hope you get your pasta fix!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    It's not low calories, but I like Barilla Plus pasta. The taste is much better than whole wheat and it doesn't have that grainy taste or the gray color when cooked. It is also higher in nutrition because it is made with beans (chickpeas and lentils, I think) in addition to grains. Or you can buy one of the white pastas with added fiber like Barilla Picollini or Smart Taste. These don't taste any different than regular white pasta.


    ^^^:heart::heart: :heart: YES!!! Whole wheat pasta (the brown, grainy stuff) tastes like hell to me. Whole grain white pastas (like those mentioned above) taste just like regular but they are loaded with good fiber so they slow carb absorption and prevent the blood sugar spike and crash! I also like corn pasta, which goes great with chili, and brown rice pasta, which is very mild. I am a pasta freak and eat it every day. It's a staple for me. :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • angelew
    angelew Posts: 133 Member
    I love my raw zucchini "pasta"! Use a veggie peeler to remove the outer green skin from about 2 or 3 raw zucchini. Then run your veggie peeler down the sides to create wide ribbons of zucchini "pasta" in your bowl. When you top it with hot meat sauce, it softens up the zucchini just enough to have the consistency of al dente pasta. It's delicious and a great way to add more veggies to your diet! My kids love it too.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
    I have gotten used to the whole grain pasta. The trick is to cook it a little longer than regular pasta (not too much, though, or it turns to mush). I like the whole grain pasta because I get extra fiber that way, but I still have to eat it in proper portions. It is NOT a license to eat as much pasta as I want. I understand, though, that the whole grain stuff isn't for everybody. The only substitution I've tried is the spaghetti squash. It does taste better than the whole grain, but it's still not the same as regular pasta.
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    I love my raw zucchini "pasta"! Use a veggie peeler to remove the outer green skin from about 2 or 3 raw zucchini. Then run your veggie peeler down the sides to create wide ribbons of zucchini "pasta" in your bowl. When you top it with hot meat sauce, it softens up the zucchini just enough to have the consistency of al dente pasta. It's delicious and a great way to add more veggies to your diet! My kids love it too.

    That's a really interesting suggestion. I think I'll try it, but without the meat sauce. Thanks!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Get some of this! http://www26.netrition.com/carba_nada_pasta.html

    aldente_carba_nada_pasta.jpg

    It's soooo good, about half the carbs of regular pasta (which makes it lower calorie too), more fiber, more protein.

    Dreamfields pasta isn't low carb like they claim. I've read reviews of people who have tested their blood sugar after eating it and it spikes.

    I've found Carba Nada at The Fresh Market. You can go to the Al Dente website and see where it is sold.


    Ooh Thanks! Something new and yummy to try! :drinker:
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I agree that nothing really replaces real, semolina pasta. If you can eat a small serving of pasta and fit it into your calorie allocation, then I think you should do that.

    I used to eat pasta almost daily... During and after losing weight, it is something I really rarely eat and hardly crave anymore at all. It's no longer a regular meal for me, and I've kept the weight off well.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    Just keep in mind that the difference between whole grain and regular pasta is minimal. They're both low GI and WW has a few more g's of fibre, which over the course of the day, heck the meal if your adding veg and other ingredients means absolutely nothing. WW is a diet industry darling that have people completely fooled. If it were actually whole grain it could never be rolled out and made into pasta......it's refined just as much except the bran was left on and the consistancy is very similar.....I like my fiber to come from something that resembles fiber.

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