Spaghetti

whodeany1
whodeany1 Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love spaghetti, except every time I read one of these diet books it tells me to avoid wheat. Does anyone have a great alternative to traditional noodles that may be healthful, especially without wheat, that won't take a class to learn how to do?

Replies

  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    I prefer sour s'ghetti... although I'm not sure that passes the muster as healthy, although it keeps me mentally healthy, so maybe we can make the argument.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    There is nothing wrong with pasta if you can fit it in your calories, and to a lesser extent, macros.

    If you are finding trouble keeping within your cals when you eat it, consider spaghetti squash instead
  • notreallychris
    notreallychris Posts: 501 Member
    Makes me wonder what else you read. No good or bad foods. All foods in moderation are fine. Unless you have a medical need to avoid wheat, don't worry about it.
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    ^^^^ what he said.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    As others have said, no need to avoid wheat unless you have a specific medical reason to do so. "Diet books" say all sorts of things that are mostly woo. As long as you're staying within your calorie goal, you can eat whatever you want, including wheat.

    Yummy, yummy wheat.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    whodeany1 wrote: »
    I love spaghetti, except every time I read one of these diet books it tells me to avoid wheat. Does anyone have a great alternative to traditional noodles that may be healthful, especially without wheat, that won't take a class to learn how to do?

    Try and tell this to the Italians.
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,239 Member
    Like all the others before me have said, there's nothing wrong with traditional pasta. If you're looking for a change of pace, Brown Rice Noodles are a yummy alternative when you have an Asian inspired sauce.
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    If you're really concerned about wheat in spaghetti, try spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini. Great way to get more veggies in.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    If you want to avoid wheat, you can also try legume based pasta (black bean, lentil, chickpea, whatever). However, there's nothing wrong with wheat pasta either. I do usually prefer lentil pasta, but that's mostly to get a bit more protein.
  • gems74
    gems74 Posts: 107 Member
    There are other options for wheat spaghetti such as Go Go Quinoa or pasta made from Black beans (not a fan of the later). My go to for spaghetti is now spaghetti squash, super easy to make, you can have a giant bowl and dessert and not blow all your calories on one meal.
  • olive1968
    olive1968 Posts: 148 Member
    My daughter has celiac and her fave gf pasta is Barilla. But she's also a poor college student!

    You can eat pasta and diet. I started making it fresh. So good!!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Except for medical reasons, you don't have to avoid wheat to lose weight
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I had green pasta with meatballs and beaucoup crushed red pepper tonight as a medical treatment.
    Dang if it didn't work, too. Anyway, that particular green pasta was advertised as 'super' something or other, but it wasn't. It was just wheat pasta colored green. Caveat emptor and bon appetit.
  • shiragatama
    shiragatama Posts: 33 Member
    edited February 2018
    Pasta is really high in calories; an alternative I found is called Shirataki, which are a konjac-based clear noodle. my family would make it in shabu-shabu all the time, and theyre so great in asian-style stir fry, and basically ZERO calories! Its become a staple in my diet :-)
  • suzyjmcd2
    suzyjmcd2 Posts: 266 Member
    I agree with RachellaJ. If you can't fit in your food log as much spaghetti as you'd like, mix in some zucchini noodles... I don't have a spiralizer, but I have a julienne peeler (Titan brand) that I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond. I started out mixing in just a few "zoodles", but now I'm up to much more zucchini than spaghetti... but just that little bit of "chew" of the spaghetti in there is enough to make me happy.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Why are you avoiding wheat? "Because some hokey book told me so" isn't a very good reason.

    That being said, I do love spaghetti squash.
  • sytchequeen
    sytchequeen Posts: 526 Member
    if you are avoiding wheat because you want to lower your carbs as a way to control your calories then fair enough. I found a really nice edamame bean spaghetti in Aldi that I enjoy. But low carb isn't the only way to go for calorie control.

    If, like my sister, you have a wheat intolerance that's a different matter.
  • Kirstenmonicaflood
    Kirstenmonicaflood Posts: 15 Member
    Like many others have suggested on here corgetti spaghetti (or zuccini as Americans call it). I didn't think I'd like it and that it wouldn't fill me up, but I really do and it's a good way of getting more veg in my diet.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Do you have an intolerance to wheat? that is the only reason you should avoid it if so.
    Enjoy it, I weigh it and find 50-75g dried spaghetti is a good portion size when cooked. (and doesn't eat too much into my cals either)
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    I haven't eaten pasta in years and don't miss it but my husband does. I've been making him chickpea pasta and red lentil pasta and he enjoys it.
  • lolothedragon
    lolothedragon Posts: 39 Member
    Spaghetti is a weekly must at my house. If my calories allow for it I will make whole wheat pasta. If I don't have room for it I will cook a spaghetti squash or make zucchini noodles with my spiralizer.

    If it's a meal you love then go for it. Unless you have a health problem that prevents you from eating wheat I see no reason to cut it out.
  • whodeany1
    whodeany1 Posts: 13 Member
    Thank you all for your posts, I do read or listen to a lot of books. It's not like I have gone off the deep end, it's what I do to stay motivated...a little of this and a little of that each day, and before you know it, you have a lot of information. Diet books are very interesting to me, especially the ones that compare the same studies and they drag the conclusions to their advantage.

    As to the spaghetti, it's just too easy to eat a lot of, and it's easy to get in the rut of eating the same things. So having an alternative now and then, using some variety in life, and having a healthful effect is always good. I found that on the most part wheat does not make me a happy person...and although I probably don't have a disease that prevents me from eating it, I have found that all my systems function far better without it. However, I am not going to dive off the deep end and eat a pizza without real crust etc.

  • abirdintherain
    abirdintherain Posts: 73 Member
    I love spaghetti! I will never give up my wheat-laden noodles for zoodles or spaghetti squash, no sir! But, those are options if you want your spaghetti lower calorie, or if, like you said, wheat doesn't make your body happy. Pinterest has A MILLION AND TWO suggestions for wheat noodle replacements if you're really wanting to get some wheat-free spaghetti in your belly. There's also noodles out there made from chickpeas or lentils or other beans that are pretty good. I don't recommend the black bean noodles, but that's just my preference. Red lentil pasta is pretty good though!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    I had green pasta with meatballs and beaucoup crushed red pepper tonight as a medical treatment.
    Dang if it didn't work, too. Anyway, that particular green pasta was advertised as 'super' something or other, but it wasn't. It was just wheat pasta colored green. Caveat emptor and bon appetit.

    And then the next morning I checked in with a 2 lb loss.

    This is not a promise. It's just an illustration that as a part of a calorie deficit, pasta is ok.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    whodeany1 wrote: »
    Thank you all for your posts, I do read or listen to a lot of books. It's not like I have gone off the deep end, it's what I do to stay motivated...a little of this and a little of that each day, and before you know it, you have a lot of information. Diet books are very interesting to me, especially the ones that compare the same studies and they drag the conclusions to their advantage.

    As to the spaghetti, it's just too easy to eat a lot of, and it's easy to get in the rut of eating the same things. So having an alternative now and then, using some variety in life, and having a healthful effect is always good. I found that on the most part wheat does not make me a happy person...and although I probably don't have a disease that prevents me from eating it, I have found that all my systems function far better without it. However, I am not going to dive off the deep end and eat a pizza without real crust etc.

    It is easy to eat a lot of which is why my wife and I make it a special occasion kinda thing...usually a date night out kind of thing if we choose to do Italian. We do pasta maybe once every 2-3 months I'd say.

    You can go with the zoodles or spaghetti squash which we sometimes do as my wife makes a really killer red sauce...but don't go in thinking it's going to taste the same or have the same texture...it aint spaghetti, that's for sure...

Categories