Alternates to Pasta?

ImCasual
ImCasual Posts: 11
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
I love Bolognaise, I make it from scratch. (Just mince beef and chopped tinned tomatoes) so it's low in calories.
However, the Pasta is not. I was wondering what alternatives I could have with it, because Pasta is high in calories.
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Replies

  • kmcrey87
    kmcrey87 Posts: 422 Member
    Spaghetti squash!
  • hairjunkie
    hairjunkie Posts: 74 Member
    Shiritaki noodles- they're only 40 calories per bag!
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    I also say spagnetti squash!
  • mewhisler
    mewhisler Posts: 37 Member
    I agree that spaghetti squash is awesome to substitute!
  • chicabean420
    chicabean420 Posts: 173 Member
    I usually go for Spaghetti Squash. 1 cup = 42 calories.

    I slice my spaghetti squash in half length-wise, scoop the seeds, and sprinkle a bit of garlic powder & Italian Mrs. Dash. Then I cover them with plastic wrap and nuke them in the microwave. Now it depends on how thick your squash is....try for 8 min on high, and if its soft to squeeze and you can easily scrape the strands out of the "shell" it's done. If not, keep it in there longer. :) Much faster than roasting in the oven.
  • GouchisGirl
    GouchisGirl Posts: 321 Member
    I've heard spaghetti squash is a good alternative, but I don't know if I could do it..... You could use rice or baked potatoes....
  • Gee45
    Gee45 Posts: 171
    Definitely spaghetti squash. But I also use a variety of vegetables....cauliflower, etc. So great underneath a spaghetti sauce.
  • randa_behnam
    randa_behnam Posts: 488 Member
    i am EXACTLY the same. its my fav dish ever. iv tried all sorts but nothing compares. so now i have it as my treat food. i could eat bolagnese every day but now i treat it as a reward on the weekend or friday night meal so i onyl have the high carbs once a week.
  • ImCasual
    ImCasual Posts: 11
    Yes, I will probably use rice, the spaghetti squash doesn't look too nice.
  • ackeebee
    ackeebee Posts: 1,042 Member
    i would suggest cabbage. never had it as an alternative to pasta but i have heard others who have says it is delicious with bolognese sauce. it is on my "to try" list.
  • BenderFitness
    BenderFitness Posts: 349
    This may sound crazy, but I sometimes substitute veggies for pasta, and eat them smothered in sauce. I am a veggie lover though. I ussually use: spinach, broccoli, olives, artichokes, and mushrooms. It's so hearty and filling that you don't even miss the pasta! (Even though I do love pasta too).
  • truelypinkthing
    truelypinkthing Posts: 164 Member
    I have a small portion of pasta, wholemeal, and a huge bowl of salad,.
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
    I haven't tried these, but they intrigue me! For the most part they're natural, no preservatives, no gluten, no calories, no carbs. It's basically a food binder/stabilizer. It's actually been shown to help with diabetes.

    Miracle Noodles: http://www.miraclenoodle.com
  • trlyblssd79
    trlyblssd79 Posts: 101 Member
    Not sure how it would taste but maybe try shirataki noodles. I have heard they have zero calories!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,220 Member
    I can't find an alternative to pasta that does it justice, but saying that you can just add vegetables of any kind to make kind of a stew. There's also the shirataki noodles that don't have any calories to speak of, but you would need to really convince yourself they taste good, i think they taste like crap. You'll I'm sure get told that spaghetti squash is a good alternative because it somehow looks like noodles, but that's about where the similarity ends......
  • kantone999
    kantone999 Posts: 174
    As to carbs, I can tell you from personal experience that they are NOT evil. I was stuck at 160/161 pounds for 4 whole months. I came across an article mentioning that if you eat 100 excess fat calories, 97 are converted to bodyfat (they're already triglycerides so not much work to convert). But if you eat 100 complex carbs (not empty junk carbs) only 60 get converted to body fat (it takes 40 calories to convert them). I tried it, lowering my fat intake to compensate and bang! Started lsoing again. I have a gluten intolerance so I use rice pasta. It's the only grain that doesn't cause so much bloat. So eat whole grain pasta and don't sweat it. Good luck!
  • Shawn_Marie
    Shawn_Marie Posts: 307 Member
    spaghetti squash or polenta
  • rly123
    rly123 Posts: 61 Member
    try Quinoa noodles =D
  • Meggy247
    Meggy247 Posts: 75 Member
    I just purchased NoOodles which are Shirataki Noodles. I found a few recipes on their website and am planning on trying them out. I found them at my local grocery store as well!
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
    We've been eating this product for years. Diabetic friendly, good size portions.

    http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/
  • MartiJJohnston
    MartiJJohnston Posts: 517
    I tried the miracle noodles/shirataki noodles once and could not stomach the texture. :sick:

    I steam broccoli and cauliflower and put my pasta sauce over the top and it's YUMMY! Haven't tried the spaghetti squash idea yet.

    I've learned I can use a ton of veggies in my pasta sauce and then just use half service of whole grain pasta. Cuts calories way down! :happy:
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    Bolognese over spaghetti squash is delicious. Shirataki's are great for Asian dishes, but they just taste wrong trying to sub for pasta in Italian dishes.
  • brandeejean
    brandeejean Posts: 25 Member
    Another vote for spaghetti squash!
  • heykatieben
    heykatieben Posts: 398 Member
    Edit: my vote is carrots. :) Closely followed by zucchini, then yellow squash. I can't wait to try all three together for a really pretty dish. :)

    I wrote two blog posts about this:

    Original:

    http://kguac.com/2011/12/borrowed-raw-spaghetti-alternative-low-carb-low-cal/

    This follow-up (today) has my favorite version, and the prettiest presentation!:

    http://kguac.com/2011/12/carroghetti-spaghetti-alternative-followup/
  • springfield5780
    springfield5780 Posts: 33
    I have a spaghetti squash in the fridge and am making sauce tomorrow....have no clue how to prepare the spaghetti squash tho LOL
  • alikona22
    alikona22 Posts: 56 Member
    Spaghetti squash for the win! I eat this at least once a week. Although with my current financial situation, it's more affordable to go with whole wheat pasta (check the fiber content) than spaghetti squash. Other veggies I'll eat with spaghetti sauce/light alfredo sauce/chicken/ground turkey or beef are broccoli, spinach, and zucchini. Yum!
  • chai_latte
    chai_latte Posts: 94 Member
    Just bought spaghetti squash a day ago. I'm excited to give it a try soon :)
  • Jillv086622
    Jillv086622 Posts: 20 Member
    Looks like I will be going to the store tomorrow to buy Spaghetti Squash!
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    I just have lots of a vegetable laden sauce, perhaps some low fat ricotta and a smidge of parmesan, and cut the pasta serve right down. I use the vegetables to fill me up instead of the pasta, cause veggies are way less calorie dense.

    And I have learned how to make some kick *kitten* new pasta sauces lately - brocolli, eggplant, ratatoille, I will try summer veggies this weekend...
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    Also, tonight I am having an italian meal without pasta - I have a cookbook at home that has a few of these recipes. Tonight it's mushrooms stuffed with breadcrumbs, ricotta, parmesan, and flavouring stuff on a bed of passata, baked.

    I also make from the same cookbook ricotta and spinach dumplings with tomato sauce. Again, spinach, ricotta, parmesan breadcrumbs, flavouring and binding stuff, with parsley and garlic passata.

    It's 4:30 and I have just made myself insanely hungry. Bugger.
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