Pasta replacements

tinalynn1987
tinalynn1987 Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I love italian foods! pasta being me favorite! Any thing I can replace this with I am limiting my carb intake to 118g a days instead of the recomended MFP amount of 236 Any alternatives?

Replies

  • cloza12
    cloza12 Posts: 68 Member
    I heard Spaghetti Squash tastes similar to spaghetti but I haven't tried it yet.
  • lbaileyjohannsen
    lbaileyjohannsen Posts: 133 Member
    Dreamfields Healthy Carb Living pasta has five grams of digestible carbs per serving, because of a large amount of dietary fiber they add in. It tastes exactly like regular pasta. It's the only kind we eat, unless it's a special occasion.
  • joebob66
    joebob66 Posts: 38
    spaghetti squash is great. we eat it about once every 2 weeks. i can pile my plate real high, for very low calories

    recipe
    1 spaghetti squash
    1 can crushed tomatoes
    mushrooms
    zuchinni
    onion
    split the spaghetti squash in half longways, put on a cookie sheet, cook for 45 minutes on 375 in the oven
    saute vegetables, when almost finished, put the tomatoes in and cook it up. \\
    scrape the spaghetti squash with a fork onto your plate and load it up with you sauce.....it is awesome, you can eat a very lot of this, there is so little calories. the most calories come from the tomatoes, but please, this whole thing is less than 250 calories for a heaping plateful that runs over the sides!!
  • sbozik123456789
    sbozik123456789 Posts: 22 Member
    Spagetti Squash, the stuff is great and two cups is under 100 cal. a wonderful replacement for pasta.
  • amann1976
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
    i use whole grain pastas... spaghetti squash is good too... but the best alternative is just use moderation
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    Why not just eat less pasta?

    If it's one of your favorite things, are you really going to be satisfied with a substitute? To me, it would make more sense to just cut the portion size and exercise some self-control.
  • seabee78
    seabee78 Posts: 126 Member
    I heard Spaghetti Squash tastes similar to spaghetti but I haven't tried it yet.

    This. ^

    Also read that microwaved zuchini strings with sauce and meatballs is good.
  • Annaduurai
    Annaduurai Posts: 56 Member
    I make pasta for the kids wen they come over and eat a huge plate of broccoli with pesto/Alfredo or eggplant is tomato based. Also zucchini or eggplant thinly sliced in lasagna is good stuff.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Why not just eat less pasta?

    If it's one of your favorite things, are you really going to be satisfied with a substitute? To me, it would make more sense to just cut the portion size and exercise some self-control.

    That's what I do. Really, it's not even so much the pasta that tastes so good as it is the sauce. I add a pile of frozen vegetables. So instead of, for instance, a standard serving size of 2/3 cup of dry pasta, have half that, plus a cup of vegetables mixed in.

    A piece of broccoli or a slice of carrot in vodka sauce doesn't taste that much different than a noodle in vodka sauce.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Spaghetti squash doesn't taste like pasta, it tastes like zucchini but it looks like spaghetti and if you put sauce on top it tends to take on the taste of the topping.

    If you love pasta just learn to eat pasta in moderation. Learning to eat in moderation, IMHO, is the key to weight loss and maintaining. Substituting one food for another so you can still eat huge quantities doesn't help with living in the real world.
  • jaceface87
    jaceface87 Posts: 35 Member
    Kelp noodles. Call around to your health food stores. They are crunchy but when mixed directly in with the sauce you are cooking they become soft like noodles and are full of nutrients inclusing natural iodine, a mineral often too overlooked. All those "low-carb" pastas are crap and not good for you either. Spaghetti squash is good, but doesn't really match pasta consistency. Kelp noodles have the right texture and shape (angel-hair in size) and very low calorie. I think about 6 calories per serving and about 2 sevings will fill up my boyfriend, who is very fond of eating, lol. Hope this helps. :)
  • Melroxsox
    Melroxsox Posts: 1,040 Member
    spaghetti squash or tofu! i made tofu mac and cheese...omg yum!
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    We find spaghetti squash a bit too sweet for our taste. We've been using quinoa gluten free pasta. We like the elbow macaroni and the rotelle. It contains organic corn flour and organic quinoa flour. Here's the nutrition info, (serving size 2 oz dry):

    calories 205
    calories from fat 7

    total fat, 1 g
    saturated fat 0 g
    trans fat 0 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    Sodium 4 mg
    total carbohydrates 46 g
    dietary fiber 4g
    sugars less than 1 g
    Protein 4 g
    Vitamin A 0%
    Vitamin C 0%
    Calcium 0%
    Iron 9%
    Thiamine 10%
    Riboflavinb 8%
    thiamine 10%
  • ladyrider55
    ladyrider55 Posts: 316 Member
    I know about the spaghetti squash it sure is good, I also use whole wheat and tri-color (vegetable) pasta, sometimes I use brown rice. All these are good but keep in mind, when you substitute something you still crave it and nothing is going to take its place. And when you do have your regular pasta watch out cause you're more likely to over-eat! Eat in moderation that's the key....
  • AncientLullaby_
    AncientLullaby_ Posts: 119
    rice!
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
    Spaghetti squash is really good! I also like quinoa. I usually just eat regular pasta though.
  • needles85365
    needles85365 Posts: 491 Member
    ****aki (sp?) mushroom noodles got it at sprouts store. worked well I mixed it with some of my regular pasta and pasta sauce. Advised I could freeze it but it changed the texture so don't freeze.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    There is a replacement tofu noodle or spaghetti. You find it in the tofu section. It's called shirataki and it is very good.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    spaghetti squash does not taste similar to spaghetti, but it is still pretty good! Plus it's super easy to brown some ground critter, toss on some spaghetti sauce, and serve over the cooked, strung out squash.
  • jennieth
    jennieth Posts: 105
    If you really love pasta and that's your thing just eat less. If you totally cut it out your going to miss it to much and then binge on it. Just eat less and save it as your treats. I have fed my family whole wheat pasta for years. They love it. I just cut back at first and then I got to a point where I didn't even really want it that much anymore. Now I don't have it. They also have brown rice pasta. I haven't tried that yet.
  • hellraisedfire
    hellraisedfire Posts: 403 Member
    spaghetti squash tastes nothing like pasta. but it really is delicious. and you can put pasta toppings on it. so if you love sauce, or butter and garlic, pesto, anything really, you can put it on and it's only... 35 calories a cup I think?

    I also love shiratake noodles (tofu noodles) and they're a lot like pasta if you drain/cook them the right way. I put them in soup and with vegetables. and the first time I made them, I didn't even tell my boyfriend what they were and he didn't even ask/say anything.
  • ScarlettVamp
    ScarlettVamp Posts: 828 Member
    ****aki (sp?) mushroom noodles got it at sprouts store. worked well I mixed it with some of my regular pasta and pasta sauce. Advised I could freeze it but it changed the texture so don't freeze.

    I tried the shiritaki noodles and found that they work best if you use tomato sauce plus a wedge of laughing cow cheese mixed in. At first I thought I could get past the texture and eat them in place of pasta, but I just couldn't. Now I prefer to eat regular pasta in moderation. Having angel hair tonight as a matter of fact!
  • CelebrateLife
    CelebrateLife Posts: 247 Member
    Shirataki Noodles (spaghetti fettucini macaroni angel hair..)
    40 calories per package .... Absolutely great for pasta and rice substitutes

    Has an authentic scent --Soak and rinse well
  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
    My family is Italian, and I couldn't imagine going without pasta!

    If you measure your pasta, you would be amazed at how much is actually in one serving. It almost completely fills your plate! So, like other posters have said, there is no need to eliminate pasta from your diet. Just eat in moderation, add lots of vegetables and use a healthy tomato-based sauce (try to stay away from cream sauces or butter), and you will be just fine!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,207 Member
    Nothing replaces good ol pasta......Italy is around 8% obesity, no low carb diets there.

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