THIS is what a serving of pasta looks like...

I need at least 3 oz.. 2 oz. is just a joke!

AnnPT77 wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

See, I just don't get the appeal of pasta plain. That's why I never want a giant serving -- would rather have lots of tasty sauce (or whatever other toppings involving more vegetables, protein, sources of fat like olives, nuts, or cheese).

You and me both. I wouldn't eat it plain, unless I was recovering from stomach flu, maybe, and wanted something very bland. I definitely wouldn't eat a vast mountain of it without much on it (and not balsamic vinegar alone, tasty though the stuff is in some contexts): More of a punishment to me, than an indulgence.

Agreed. Interestingly, my craving when recovering from stomach flu seems to be plain steel cut oats, so similarly bland and easy cals, I suppose.

One of my easy changes when first starting calorie counting (and refining nutrition) was to reduce pasta, and eat more of the stuff I'd usually put on it.

Yeah, same here, which is why when I tried the 2 oz serving I was satisfied with it (I also cut added fat some). It's funny since growing up I always preferred sauce (with protein, lots of veg, not just tomato or whatnot) to the pasta, although I liked both. I got accused of drowning my pasta -- bad American habit, I was told. May be true, but works for me now. (I often have less sauce-y sauce, however.)

IIRC, you (lemur) affirmatively like pasta? To me, it's OK, but not all that satisfying, so optional. As a consequence, in this sub-thread

I do, and find it satisfying, although I don't care for it alone. But a meal with pasta I find an easy dinner choice and very satisfying without a lot of cals.

I get that some others don't care about it -- someone else said she'd pick bread over pasta, and I'm the opposite. I don't care about (most) bread or find it satisfying, and I tend to prefer many things that could be put in a sandwich to sandwiches, so will save cals that way. I'm take or leave it with rice too, find it tasty with some foods, but more often than not consider it optional and am happy with smaller servings. But having pasta in my diet and -- even more so -- tubers, is very helpful and enjoyable for me, and I don't need to spend lots of cals on them.

. . . that's why I do eat the chickpea, pea, soy pastas. It's pretty neutral tasting, pleasant as an ingredient, somewhat filling, but not vital to my enjoyment. But, to me as a vegetarian, it's a useful additional protein source that's pleasant enough to include in the rotation. I almost never eat regular pasta anymore (except in restaurants where it's pretty much the only desirable vegetarian option). To me, regular pasta is one of those things that isn't tasty, satiating or nutritious enough to be worth the calories.

Oh, I totally see that. Like I said, I don't care about bread, and so don't eat it and never miss it when I don't. I'm more talking to those who are saying they are sad pasta is so impossible to fit in or what not. Similarly, if I were vegetarian (rather than just occasionally eating vegetarian for a while), I'd probably rely more on those higher protein pastas. I've actually never tried them although I have a few in my pantry and plan to -- I suspect I will like them as a base for my pasta sauces/toppings. (I like occasional meals based on spaghetti squash or other winter squash instead of pasta too, and a variety of types of noodles, although the super low cal ones sound nasty to me.) I was just saying that switching the amount of pasta I eat for some other option because "pasta is not worth it" so that I could have 62 g of protein in my dinner was unnecessary given that the pasta I normally eat has the same cals, and I'd never need 62 g of protein at dinner (I feel better having protein spread over my meals).

Not saying anyone should like pasta or eat it or share my preferences. Just objecting to what seemed to be the kneejerk "2 oz of pasta is never sufficient or satisfying" or "pasta is not worth it for anyone" kinds of statements I understood some of the prior posts (not yours!) to be suggesting.

It's also why I object when people suggest that pasta is an example of how high cal carbs are. PP aside, I've never wanted to eat pasta plain, as noted. If I have high cal pasta, it's because I've added high cal ingredients (typically with lots of fat) to the sauce.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

Interestingly, to me "paying attention to macros for meal planning" was never necessary, because what I grew up with as my understanding of what a good meal involved: some source of protein, a lot of veg (and potatoes and peas and corn didn't count for this), and then some starchy side, with fat used as accent (butter or cheese or olive oil either for cooking or in a sauce or as dressing) = balanced meal seemed to result in reasonable macros. I know lots of people like to claim the average American diet is super carb heavy, but not really for us (or according to the actual stats).

When losing weight what made sense for me -- as Ann and I were talking about upthread -- was to cut back somewhat in the size of my starchy carb side and in the amount of added fat (although I'm more likely to choose to include a small portion of added nuts or seeds, whereas before I'd be more likely to snack on those). So those changes seemed sensible, natural ones FOR ME (not saying for others), because I intuitively knew that for me the protein and veg were the most filling part of the meal, and I thought both of them were more important for nutrition overall. (I also eliminated between meal eating, which was mostly mindless and not that enjoyable for me, although with plenty of exercise cals I often had a post dinner dessert.) With those changes, Ann found that regular pasta wasn't worth it (most of the time) for her, whereas I found that a 2 oz serving when I had it was perfect and filling. Others may find that they want larger portions and fewer cals from other things that day. I think a truly giant portion of pasta would likely throw off my nutritional goals (which is not the same as macros) on a particular day, but if that's someone's real joy, then nothing wrong with fitting that into a day. I happen to think most likely find pasta most enjoyable when it's served with those foods that also add to its nutrition. (This is also what I've seen in Italy, consistent with what snowflake says, although she's an expert on that, not me!)

I agree completely with what you wrote. I think it's sad that people don't realize how versatile pasta can be. You can add anything to it--beans, mushrooms, vegetables of all types, meats, nuts, seafoods, fish, olives, and of course, my husband's all time favorite--butter and parmigiano (Reggiano), called "pasta al burro". It's endless and fun to cook. When the family sits down to a meal and they're yakking up a storm and then---SILENCE--as they're all eating their pasta.

pierinifitness wrote: »

Been to Italy 5 times, know good pasta and can make a decent sauce myself.

To all who commented, thanks for letting me know what you like and don’t like. Yesterday was a big exercise day for me. My “bland dish” was just one of several things I ate in a slightly less than 6 hour feeding window.

Took a late afternoon 30 minute run a couple hours later and had a nice run so my pasta dish was good fuel. My feeding day ended with macros fairly close to MFP’s default. I don’t pay attention to macros for meal planning but only as an afterthought.

Glad my photo contributed to good discussion. Let me know if you want the recipe - hahahaha

@pierinifitness We live half the year in Italia - if you like it - buon appetito!

(In Modena, Italy- one of the best balsamic pasta dishes ever! Fettuccini & balsamic with porcini and shaved cheese. Also popular chilled with penne and mozzarella, basil and tomatoes. )

snowflake954 wrote: »

Safari_Gal wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

pierinifitness wrote: »

My pasta serving just eaten - 4.5 servings sprinkled with balsamic vinegar - about 995 calories. Good fuel after an almost 19 hour fast and workout. Ate other stuff too and will eat again in about 3 hours.

Fuel + full = food

If I served this to my family in Italy--they would shoot me.

Ciao, perche? Why? All my husbands family is in Roma- this is the base for caprese salad no? Pasta and balsamic? (Add in bufala mozz, etc)

On our boxes it says 85 grams is the recommended portions.. but who is counting?

He's just eating pasta and balsamic vinegar. You're right, it can be a base, and then you add something else. I've never met an Italian that would eat the pasta in his photo. If you know someone, please let me know.

When I was a child my mum would sometimes cook spiral pasta with warmed up ketchup and a bit of salt. Nothing else. Glad she's not Italian

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Yeah, I found it depressing to when I looked a what a serving of carbs was and wondered how I wouldn’t be starving hungry lol the time! But that’s because my natural tendency is to eat carbs, and not much else!

When you start your meals focused on veggies and then add protein and carbs to that it all works out. I find when I eat focused on large volumes of veggies this portion size is fine, and actually I’ll often cut the portion in half so I can have lots more veggies instead. But that’s not to say I don’t fall off the wagon and eat giant bowls of pasta, even though I know I don’t need to to be full. So many of the food choices we make are not about meeting nutritional needs.

mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12 wrote: »

Yeah, I found it depressing to when I looked a what a serving of carbs was and wondered how I wouldn’t be starving hungry lol the time! But that’s because my natural tendency is to eat carbs, and not much else!

Argh! First of all, if that's true, it's unusual. The SAD is supposedly about 50% carbs, 20% protein, and 30% fat (or a bit less protein, more fat), which is consistent with most healthy diets. Hard to imagine American diets without much fat or protein -- meat has protein and junk food has tons of fat. Like I said, plain pasta, rice, oats seems boring to me.

When you start your meals focused on veggies and then add protein and carbs to that it all works out.

Yes! I am so in favor of starting a meal based on veg (what I grew up with!). Btw, veg are carbs!

I find when I eat focused on large volumes of veggies this portion size is fine, and actually I’ll often cut the portion in half so I can have lots more veggies instead. But that’s not to say I don’t fall off the wagon and eat giant bowls of pasta, even though I know I don’t need to to be full. So many of the food choices we make are not about meeting nutritional needs.

Why eat giant bowls of pasta? I get falling off plan, but I guess plain pasta (no fat, no protein) just doesn't seem appealing to me, so people claiming they are eating huge amounts of cals in plain pasta seems confusing.

More importantly, it might be a personal issue (I have many of my own), but it doesn't seem to be the main issue with the SAD.

Of course.

I rarely eat bread and never crave it. I almost never eat foods with added sugar (just not my preference) and never crave them. I cannot smell them with some superpower smell. I enjoy other starchy carbs and veg and fruit. I think I should be pitied for my lack of super powers!

Are we deciding that poor pierifitness has some uncontrollable pasta craving (and is too poor to have some chicken or veg with it -- see vanity's prior post)? I don't think that was his point, but if so, I agree, very sad. Chicken and veg in the US are very cheap, and we have SNAP.

pierinifitness wrote: »

I’ll make one final redemption post before moving on to my expertise of fitness training chatter by sharing my Sunday meal. I generally cook myself something on Sunday after a long 60 minutes run to get what I want rather than what wife has in mind.

Baked polenta topped with olive oil sautéed diced yellow onions, cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes and basil.



Smoked Apple Chardonnay Chicken Sausage 2 each diced with sautéed diced yellow onion, cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes and basil, topped with a blanched frozen vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower and orange and yellow carrots.



I ate it all and it was preceded by a protein shake a couple hours earlier after a 60 minutes run. Total calories 1,359 - carbs 45% - proteins 18% - fat 37% (excludes protein shake.)

Real men know how to cook and satisfy their manly taste buds and eating volume which differ from the ladies.

Thanks all for letting me participate in this pasta discussion.

[edited by MFP Mods to remove quote]

Looks yummy @peirinfitness