Low Cal Pasta or Pasta Replacement?

Green lentils make an EXCELLENT pasta substitute. I had a bowl of them with marinara sauce and it was amazing.

Spaghetti squash! I love it as replacement for spaghetti.

I finally tried spaghetti squash for the first time the other day and at first I was having problems getting past the fact that it was a squash. By the third time eating the leftovers I can say that I would make it again - it was quite good!

I also use broccoli slaw instead of pasta - it's not quite the same but it is quite good with a bit of sauce and some grilled chicken.

If you can, get a vegetable spiralizer, and turn zucchini into zucchini noodles! I got mine for about 40 bucks, which seems kind of steep, but I am totally obsessed with mine and use it almost every single day. Zucchini noodles make a quick and easy substitute for pasta.

If you don't want to get a spiralizer, try getting a julienne peeler. It looks like a vegetable peeler but it has "teeth" to make long strands. You can use it on squashes and carrots!

When I want a low calorie spaghetti - I take a half block of ramen noodles, cook it, drain it and add marinara sauce and 4 oz of baked chicken.

If you want low calorie, you'll have to go with veggies instead of pasta. Most noodles are high in calories.

I just eat pasta less often, and eat less of it when I do. There are lots of great Italian dishes that don't revolve around pasta!

I like to do 1/2-1/3 pasta 1/2-2/3 veggies. I have a julienne slicer that I use to julienne carrots, peppers, squash (can't find spaghetti squash where I live!), and zucchini.

I started off with about 1/2 and 1/2, but then I moved onto about 1/3 pasta and 2/3 veggies. I think there was a thread awhile back where people thought this was sacrilege, but I love it. It cuts down significantly on my calories, gets all my veggies in, plus my pasta is beautiful and colorful! Its also very handy for family meals. One bowl veggies, one bowl pasta. My husband and kid, who do not have weight problems, take more pasta, and I take more veggies.

My pasta dishes come out looking something like this, except usually more veggies.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/02/cajun-chicken-pasta-on-lighter-side.html

Now just tell me that doesn't look pretty?

I won this one: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-SteeL-Chefs-Mandoline-Slicer/dp/B003L0OP1G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1392180428&sr=8-5&keywords=julienne+slicer which I use for heavy duty jobs. Ya its expensive, but I use it a lot, and I had several cheaper ones fall apart on me. And this one: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Hand-Held-Julienne-Slicer/dp/B000YDPSFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392180463&sr=8-1&keywords=julienne+slicer which I use for slicing onions for anything I cook onions in (soups, curries, some stir fries).

Has anyone tried "Miracle Noodles?" They're made from mushrooms I think. I saw them at Walmart in the produce section.

LOL at "miracle noodles" are the negative calories too….?

They aren't great but they are passable if you have almost no calories left. They aren't negative cal but they are very very low cal. From what I've read they have been eating this is Asia for centuries, probably not for it being a "diet food" just a food. You can buy them at the Asian supermarket cheaper too by the way. Like someone said before make sure you rinse them well because yes they do smell a bit fishy till you do that. There is a rice shaped version which I prefer for some reason. Some of them depending on brands have a little of other things added lke a tiny bit of flour in one and it makes it much nicer in texture. I hear there is a tofu one but not seen it yet. They do tend to have a bit of a chewy texture.