Veggie pasta

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nutty2chat2016
nutty2chat2016 Posts: 8 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Today my healthier choice was Birds Eye Steam Fresh Zucchini and Lentil Pasta. I topped It with Prego chunky garden combo with lots of diced tomatoes and a whole diced green pepper. It was pretty good. Only 140 cals for 1 1/4 cup of the pasta. Overall, I had a huge plate and only 320 calories, leaving plenty of room for slice of Angel food cake with sliced strawberries and cool whip free for desert!

Not looking to start any heated discussions about whether or not I should be avoiding carbs in regular pasta. I get plenty of carbs in my diet, trust me. Just looking for ways to still enjoy my favorite dishes and keep my calories down and maybe sneak in some extra veggies. :)

Replies

  • avadahm
    avadahm Posts: 111 Member
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    I just got a spiralizer (I'll be using it for fiber rather than to cut carbs or calories) and I'm super excited to discover some recipes to use as sides with it.

    Any favorites?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    avadahm wrote: »
    I just got a spiralizer (I'll be using it for fiber rather than to cut carbs or calories) and I'm super excited to discover some recipes to use as sides with it.

    Any favorites?

    Skinnytaste has a whole section of spiralizer recipes. I usually use my veggie "noodles" in a main dish so I can't think of any sides i've done right now.
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
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    Every now and then I get a craving for pasta. If it's the carbs I'm craving I'll do whole grain noodles with plain marinara but if I want a meaty chunky sauce I absolutely will go veggie "pasta". Nothing wrong with that!
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
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    avadahm wrote: »
    I just got a spiralizer (I'll be using it for fiber rather than to cut carbs or calories) and I'm super excited to discover some recipes to use as sides with it.

    Any favorites?

    Cucumber and carrot spirals are a fun little salad and sweet potatoes spirals baked with bacon are delicious! Zuchinni noodles are my favorite! I find that they work better raw than cooked (or very lightly steamed), and used as a base for a hearty meat sauce.
  • BlackCoffeeBabe
    BlackCoffeeBabe Posts: 20 Member
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    I love my spiraliser but don't use it for noodles. I use it to make shorter lengths of carrots and beetroot for salads mostly!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I like my spiraliser and often have half half real pasta and zucchini. I also made a few pasta bakes lower caloire by halving the pasta and topping up with chopped cauliflower.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    avadahm wrote: »
    I just got a spiralizer (I'll be using it for fiber rather than to cut carbs or calories) and I'm super excited to discover some recipes to use as sides with it.

    Any favorites?

    @avadahm

    This is an entire blog (she also has cookbooks) dedicated to spiralizing veggies.

    http://inspiralized.com/spiralizer-recipes/
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
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    I looked for the cauliflower rice in our supermarket but they didn't carry it. I know I can make my own. I was going to throw one in freezer for a quick week night meal.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    avadahm wrote: »
    I just got a spiralizer (I'll be using it for fiber rather than to cut carbs or calories) and I'm super excited to discover some recipes to use as sides with it.

    Any favorites?

    I love spiralized raw beets tossed with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    TribeHokie wrote: »
    Every now and then I get a craving for pasta. If it's the carbs I'm craving I'll do whole grain noodles with plain marinara but if I want a meaty chunky sauce I absolutely will go veggie "pasta". Nothing wrong with that!

    I don't swap out pasta either. I'll make the sauce chunkier with extra veggies. But when I want pasta, veggie strings won't cut it.

    Spiralized beet salad.....yum
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Spaghetti squash is great. Tastes good with many toppings that also taste good on pasta (so does butternut squash, so looking like pasta is not important for this). If you are experimenting and haven't tried these, I recommend it as another way to save calories.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,276 Member
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    Honestly, I will just make a big batch of roasted vegetables of some sort and eat it as a side to the pasta... thus eating less pasta. If I want pasta, I want the real deal not something pretending to be pasta.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Veggies are not pasta. You can make tasty dishes using them... but please stop calling it pasta.

    I don't know why people get all bent out of shape about stuff like this. Nobody rants when people call steeped flowers or herb "tea" even though they contain no tea leaves.

    When I think 'veggie pasta' I think spinach stuffed tortellini or those green or orange pasta types... not veggies.

    However yeah, the stuff mentioned by OP actually does seem to have the look and texture of pasta, so it's not the same as spiralized veggies for sure... which are basically pure veggies. Now, zucchini and spaghetti squash are tasty too, but they definitely don't do anything if I'm craving pasta.
  • nutty2chat2016
    nutty2chat2016 Posts: 8 Member
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    The package calls it pasta.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    nutty2chat2016 wrote: »
    The package calls it pasta.

    I wasn't referring to your post as much as all the 'spiralized zucchini' or spaghetti squash comments, lol.

    I know you can find some dry bean pasta out there too... maybe worth a shot. I tried the mung bean ones and found them disgusting though!
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
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    https://www.barilla.com/en-us/product-results/pasta/range/veggie/?sort=alpha

    I have tried the rotini and it was OK. I don't know if it is nutritionally that much better than regular pasta.

    Personally I would just have as much of regular pasta as I could and add a bunch of veggies to bulk the dish up.

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