Pasta cravings

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245

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  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    edited September 2022
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    Curbing your appetite is everything in weight loss. I haven't paid much attention to the calorie count of the alernatives, but I'd like to encourage you to do portion control and make sure you have a healthy portion of low calorie salad with it. It might help to learn that I've gained a lot of weight ignoring how much pasta I was eating in one sitting, but I won't eliminate it from my diet.
  • sugarfreesquirrel
    sugarfreesquirrel Posts: 268 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    LOL :-D

  • sugarfreesquirrel
    sugarfreesquirrel Posts: 268 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    LOL :-D
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    This has been asked a million times.

    Maybe it has been, but I don't think the search function works well for finding the information you want. I wanted the thread about low calorie foods to stretch your food budget and I couldn't find it. It should really be stickied! The calorie dense one is.

  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    LOL :-D
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    This has been asked a million times.

    Maybe it has been, but I don't think the search function works well for finding the information you want. I wanted the thread about low calorie foods to stretch your food budget and I couldn't find it. It should really be stickied! The calorie dense one is.

    I'm talking about pasta substitutes. Everyone thinks there is a great substitute out there and they just don't know it. NOTHING beats the real durum pasta--nothing. Better to eat less than eat something crappy. The old timers, here in Italy, would make a plate of green beans, boiled and strained, leaving them long, and add tomato sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano. However, they never pretended that it was pasta. It was green beans and sauce. :D:D
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,483 Member
    edited September 2022
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    snowflake954 wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    LOL :-D
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    This has been asked a million times.

    Maybe it has been, but I don't think the search function works well for finding the information you want. I wanted the thread about low calorie foods to stretch your food budget and I couldn't find it. It should really be stickied! The calorie dense one is.

    I'm talking about pasta substitutes. Everyone thinks there is a great substitute out there and they just don't know it. NOTHING beats the real durum pasta--nothing. Better to eat less than eat something crappy. The old timers, here in Italy, would make a plate of green beans, boiled and strained, leaving them long, and add tomato sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano. However, they never pretended that it was pasta. It was green beans and sauce. :D:D
    That sounds delicious!!!! And my husband adores green beans.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,910 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    While you might be kidding, reducing portion sizes of proper wheat pasta is actually what I do.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    If you stick with a red sauce, the calories are much lower than with a cream based or pesto sauce.
  • sugarfreesquirrel
    sugarfreesquirrel Posts: 268 Member
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    I like pasta with tomato based sauces
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    edited September 2022
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    s calor
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    While you might be kidding, reducing portion sizes of proper wheat pasta is actually what I do.

    I'm a chef by profession and at my restaurant I use either 55 or 75g's for serving sizes. Portion size is a funny thing depending on who's cooking but pasta is way over portioned from my observations as well as whatever is in the pasta. It should be about the pasta because each shape has a distinctive taste and mouth feel and that aspect of pasta seems to have been abandoned and generally all I taste is what isn't the pasta, as well as the quality of the pasta, it's getting better but a decade ago it was difficult to find a decent pasta, too bad really. I'm low carb but I will always make and eat pasta occasionally.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    s calor
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    While you might be kidding, reducing portion sizes of proper wheat pasta is actually what I do.

    I'm a chef by profession and at my restaurant I use either 55 or 75g's for serving sizes. Portion size is a funny thing depending on who's cooking but pasta is way over portioned from my observations as well as whatever is in the pasta. It should be about the pasta because each shape has a distinctive taste and mouth feel and that aspect of pasta seems to have been abandoned, as well as the quality of the pasta, it's getting better but a decade ago it was difficult to find a decent pasta, too bad really. I'm low carb but I will always make and eat pasta occasionally.

    I agree with you. When I returned to the US 35 yrs ago for vacations, good pasta was not available (EVOO same thing--small towns in Minnesota just didn't have that stuff). I had to bring my own because I brought my Italian husband and little kids and they were used to quality. Then things started to change and I even found American brands of hard durum grain pasta.
    There still aren't the choices we have in Italy. I buy a high medium quality pasta here. The difference is discernible. I love Rummo, especially their big tubular pasta. I also love a quality whole wheat pasta (a low quality breaks up in boiling water).

    Yes, portions in the US are too large. Here, 100g is considered normal, but I prefer 50g for myself. Sauces here are also lighter, generally.
  • nsk1951
    nsk1951 Posts: 1,297 Member
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    It takes time and effort, I know from personal experience. For example, at one time .. when I was eating as much of anything I wanted when I wanted it without heading the overfull pains from my mid-section ... I once went to a restaurant that was having a food challenge ... Eat the entire plate of spaghetti and they would give you another plate, free! ... And I hadn't eaten all that day because of being to busy at work to stop for lunch, so I thought, "Hey, I love spaghetti with red sauce, why not go for it" .. and I ordered that challenge meal. Out came a very full plate of spaghetti piled high and I dug in. Eventually I ate all of it and out came a second plate ... and also all the cooks and chef to see who ate that original pound of pasta serving. ... I was sooo embarrassed. They wanted to take a picture of me because no one had been able to complete the full plate before. Ugh!

    Now a days, I still love my pasta, but eat it in 2-3 ounce servings (1 to 1.5 portions per the box label) instead of a quarter or half a box at a time. I do it by only cooking as much as I am going to serve myself for my meal. And I eat pasta 2-3 times a month.

    Of course, if you are cooking for a family that makes it hard to cook just one serving. But if you eat alone, like I do, then it's an easy transition if you just cook up what you intend to eat at that meal.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    edited September 2022
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    snowflake954 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    s calor
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! definately some things to think about.

    That being said, does anyone know of any types of pasta with less calories, that still tastes like pasta?

    60g pasta have less calories than the 100g pasta and taste just the same, cheers. j/k

    While you might be kidding, reducing portion sizes of proper wheat pasta is actually what I do.

    I'm a chef by profession and at my restaurant I use either 55 or 75g's for serving sizes. Portion size is a funny thing depending on who's cooking but pasta is way over portioned from my observations as well as whatever is in the pasta. It should be about the pasta because each shape has a distinctive taste and mouth feel and that aspect of pasta seems to have been abandoned, as well as the quality of the pasta, it's getting better but a decade ago it was difficult to find a decent pasta, too bad really. I'm low carb but I will always make and eat pasta occasionally.

    I agree with you. When I returned to the US 35 yrs ago for vacations, good pasta was not available (EVOO same thing--small towns in Minnesota just didn't have that stuff). I had to bring my own because I brought my Italian husband and little kids and they were used to quality. Then things started to change and I even found American brands of hard durum grain pasta.
    There still aren't the choices we have in Italy. I buy a high medium quality pasta here. The difference is discernible. I love Rummo, especially their big tubular pasta. I also love a quality whole wheat pasta (a low quality breaks up in boiling water).

    Yes, portions in the US are too large. Here, 100g is considered normal, but I prefer 50g for myself. Sauces here are also lighter, generally.

    Cheers. I use Rummo for a 55g portioned capellini in a tomato sauce with micro planed parmigiana, and agree with you, a good mid quality and the cost works for me for that dish without compromising taste. For other dishes I may use different brands. For example when using orecchiette I find DeCecco to have the best and for say a carbonara I'll use a bucatini or spaghettoni from la Molisana, using brass extrusion. I know in Italy orecchiette is generally purchased fresh, but here in Canada it's just not available in bulk for restaurants . And of course if I make my own pasta I use a 00 and only yolks and water. Oh, and I have tried to make orecchiette by hand, but not very successful and certainly not up to the level of nonna, lol.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
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    @snowflake954 Did your mother ever fix a can of stewed tomatoes with pasta, in a pinch. We used to have that. No zoodles for me, Maw. You can call them a healthy canvas for sauce, but it's an impasta.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,601 Member
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    Hiawassee88 wrote: »
    @snowflake954 Did your mother ever fix a can of stewed tomatoes with pasta, in a pinch. We used to have that. No zoodles for me, Maw. You can call them a healthy canvas for sauce, but it's an impasta.

    Cute :) And I'm sitting here thinking I'm even happy with spaghettios.

    When I first started watching my calories, pasta had to go. One of the very few things I "cooked" was some kind of noodles with butter and parmesean cheese but, once I started counting points/calories it had to go. I know myself too well :) And, when I get some sort of pasta in front of me now, that pre-diet girl comes back in full force.

  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Hiawassee88 wrote: »
    @snowflake954 Did your mother ever fix a can of stewed tomatoes with pasta, in a pinch. We used to have that. No zoodles for me, Maw. You can call them a healthy canvas for sauce, but it's an impasta.

    My Mom was not a great cook--she says so herself. I was the oldest with 5 brothers after me. I started to learn to cook at an early age. I took after my grandmother. Mom's mom was a great cook and did it for a living plus she had 10 kids. My mom canned tomatoes and made sauces with that.

    Funny. I use canned tomatoes all the time, or puree'd tomatoes in glass jars. Everyone in Italy does. Fresh tomatoes have a fantastic sun ripened flavor in the summer. Winter tomatoes are grown in greenhouses and are not the same. Peeled, canned marziano tomatoes are the best.

    Pour a little EVOO in a pan and heat it up. Throw in a peeled garlic clove or 2 and lightly brown it. When golden--toss out and add tomatoes. Add a little salt and pepper. Simmer about 15 or 20 min on low heat. When your pasta is al dente, strain in a colander and then put it back in the deep pan you boiled it in. Quickly pour on the tomato sauce and mix gently. Add fresh torn basil leaves and mix again. Serve and add grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top.

    That's my basic recipe and then I change it up as needed when I'm using tomatoes.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
    edited September 2022
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    @snowflake954 That's a beautiful recipe. Maw just threw the canned tomatoes in with the pasta. No EVOO or tiddlywinks, used as a side dish.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    That recipe is my Italian MIL's. fex6apbzes7g.jpg
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited September 2022
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    I love reading about all of your suggestions for pasta recipes.

    Mmm pasta.

    I don’t feel pasta is that bad. In Greece and Italy they eat pasta and are some of the healthiest people……

    I agree that portion sizes are probably the main problem here. Also, the added cream and too much cheese.

    Our favorite pasta is with red sauce. My usual portion is 2oz/56g dry. Occasionally I will have 3oz. My red sauce has a ton of veggies like portobello mushrooms, bell pepper and onion.

    Sometimes for a quick fix, it is just olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and alway red pepper for kick. I do grow it all myself in the garden except the mushrooms. Usually I add a touch of Parmesan or pecorino Romano which don’t have many calories. It is very healthy and tasty, imo.

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