Pasta/Rice (Portion Control)

cwolfman13 · January 2014

I eat pasta a few times a week. If you actually measure out one serving of it (2 oz/56 g uncooked or about 4 oz cooked), you'll find that it's a fair amount of food. There's no reason to avoid it if you're willing to weigh out the portions ahead of time and only cook that much.

I was going to say pretty much the exact same thing. I used to make my ragu bolognese and just cook a Lb of pasta and throw it all together...now I make my sauce and just reserve it and only cook as much pasta as I'm going to eat for my serving...for me that's usually around 4 oz dry so 2 servings per the package. I do the same with rice and other grains...I just cook what I'm going to eat.

Sometimes I just have a little pasta as a side with a marinara sauce, some grilled chicken, and a big side of veggies. I generally stick to the 2 oz serving size.

Poofy_Goodness · January 2014

I eat pasta a few times a week. If you actually measure out one serving of it (2 oz/56 g uncooked or about 4 oz cooked), you'll find that it's a fair amount of food. There's no reason to avoid it if you're willing to weigh out the portions ahead of time and only cook that much.

This.

When I first measured out one serving of pasta it was much smaller than what I have served myself in the past. At first, I just made room in my day for 2 servings of pasta at dinner since that was closer to my normal amount. Now I have found that eating one serving of pasta is satisfying if I add protein and extra veggies to the dish (say, penne, chicken, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, and tomato sauce). There is no need to cut it out completely unless you really want to.

I go through phases of abstaining from grains because I experience a benefit in terms of increased satiety. That's my person choice, but not a thing anyone needs to do.

JesterMFP · January 2014

I eat pasta often, rice from time to time, and bread most days. Like many others, I used to have excessively large portions of pasta without really thinking about it (topped with excessive amounts of cheese). Calorie counting allows me to get the appropriate portion size for my needs. I usually have anywhere between 50g and 75g of pasta now, depending on what I'm having with it. I'm more likely to have a smaller amount now and bulk it out with vegetables.

aliencheesecake · January 2014

Hi all,

I've been dieting since January 1st and have had some success. Where we struggle a bit at home is that we've adjusted our eating habits quite considerably to avoid too many carbs (breads, pastas, rice, etc). We still have carbs but haven't had a pasta meal in quite a while. I was just wondering if anyone here still ate pastas? I was kind of wondering if I had smaller portions that I used to if i'd be ok? I don't really want to deviate from what I am doing now as its been working, but we also have many more meal ideas that involve the use of pasta/rice/etc.

Thanks all!

I like to get multigrain rices and pastas that have fiber/veggies added into the pasta itself to make my carbs do "double duty." Try Ronzoni Garden Delight pastas!

Francl27 · January 2014

I eat pasta a few times a week. If you actually measure out one serving of it (2 oz/56 g uncooked or about 4 oz cooked), you'll find that it's a fair amount of food. There's no reason to avoid it if you're willing to weigh out the portions ahead of time and only cook that much.

No way. It's a tiny amount of food. Seriously.. it's very sad.

I've started using spaghetti squash instead.

rhoucheille · January 2014

I still eat rice everyday. I used to eat 1c of rice for lunch then 1/2 c for dinner. But I think my appetite got used to this lifestyle change that I can't even finished a cup of rice. So usually I just eat 1/2 c of rice for dinner and when I'm home. And I still eat pasta once in a while. But I hear a lot of good recommendations using butternut squash as an alternative.

cici1028 · January 2014

Learn the magic of the spaghetti squash.

http://homecooking.about.com/od/vegetablerecipes/ss/spagsquashsbs.htm

It is delicious.

AHack3 · January 2014

I still eat pasta and rice, but I eat 1/2 cup cooked for a serving. I eat whole wheat pasta and brown or wild rice.

Athijade · January 2014

At least one meal a week is either pasta or rice based for me. I only eat one portion now (instead of 3 or 4 portions each time) and bulk it up with vegetables or protein to "make up" for the lower amount of food.

heidisprouse · January 2014

For our family of four, we used to easily eat one 16 oz package of pasta with a pound of meat and a jar of ragu. Now, before serving, I set aside two dishes full for the kids to take for school lunch the next day and serve the rest with a salad. Now, I also try to leave the meat out or add in more vegetables with the sauce. That has helped us a lot!

blonde20fan · January 2014

I eat pasta and rice. I only ate whole wheat pasta and only a 2 ounce serving at a time. I only eat brown rice and I eat 1/2 cup at a time. I eat them several times a week. Remember you can eat anything in moderation. Nothing is off limits.