Thoughts about pasta!

2

Replies

  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
    I LOVE pasta, and as long as you exercise portion control and max the veggies with it why would you NOT eat it??

    I usually keep my favourite as a treat though... spaghetti, chorizo, prawns, garlic and chilli, topped with a hefty sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan and a good drizzle of chilli oil, nom-nom-nom! :drinker:
  • RachelT14
    RachelT14 Posts: 266 Member
    I eat pasta at least twice a week (and with PCOS i am apparently supposed to avoid the carbs!) and it hasnt caused me any problems. For me this is a lifestyle change so i am eatign the foods i love and watching my portion sizes, i am adding a lot more veggies to my pasta dishes so that i stay fuller longer.

    Besides as we eat as a familly and my fussy 4 and 6 years old could eat their own weight in pasta (and dont eat much else) i am not about to make my life too difficult
  • Crystal_Pistol
    Crystal_Pistol Posts: 750 Member
    My thoughts about pasta? hmmm?

    Nom nom nom nom.

    Yes. I like it

    DITTO
  • mukamom
    mukamom Posts: 207 Member
    There is a brand of low carb pasta called Dreamfields. It's very good and really shuts down the urge to overeat. I am not a pasta loving person, but my son is and I have seen his appetite turn off after 1 serving. I sometimes mix the dreamfields along with multigrain pasta.

    ^^^^^This..Dreamfields is a good pasta. The company that makes it processes it so most of the carbs are not absorbed, which is good for diabetics (DH is one). It doesn't cause such a spike in blood sugar. Much better tasting than whole wheat..bleh. We eat it once a week at least. Portions, portions, portions. :smile:
  • scs143
    scs143 Posts: 2,190 Member
    I eat it once a week too. I use whole wheat pasta, low fat mozzarella, tomato sauce and then i add tons of veggies. It feels like I get a whole plate of pasta but its really one cup of cooked pasta and one cup of the veggies. I use eggplant, zucchini, spinach, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and top with grated parmesan or Romano. I couldn't give up pasta.
  • MaddameKat
    MaddameKat Posts: 200 Member
    I don't like the white stuff ( i find the texture strange) but i like wholegrain although haven't eaten it for a while as i tend to over indulge.. plus my SO does not like the wholegrain stuff and i refuse to buy the white pasta.

    *Sigh* now i want mac and cheese!
  • jameskeitha
    jameskeitha Posts: 2
    Ronzini spaghetti is about 30 cals less per serving and has added fiber. 6954888.png
  • MrsLVF
    MrsLVF Posts: 787 Member
    I rarely eat pasta, but last night....wholegrain wheat spaghetti +turkey meat balls =yum.

    ground turkey+ egg white+onion+garlic+Lawry's season salt+ Worcestershire = yummy turkey balls
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    when i was a raw vegan i used to spiralize veggies like cucumbers and squash to make "pasta." you can still make a tomato based sauce with it or peanut/almond based (raw pad thai!). sure, it doesn't taste exactly the same as grain pasta, but the texture is there and it's so healthy you can eat as much as you'd probably ever want without feeling guilty.

    Yum! That's a really good alternative. I know they sell spinach pasta made with real spinach and it's 74 cals per serving but I can't find any in my local stores.

    It's not related to the topic, but you say you ''were'' raw vegan? I'm really curious to know why you stopped.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    There is a brand of low carb pasta called Dreamfields. It's very good and really shuts down the urge to overeat. I am not a pasta loving person, but my son is and I have seen his appetite turn off after 1 serving. I sometimes mix the dreamfields along with multigrain pasta.

    Thanks for the tip!
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    My thoughts on pasta?.. Yum!

    Portion control is key. I've had pasta pretty much every day, since before MFP, and now. The only difference is that now I have ~75g (dry weight) serving as suggested, rather than ~200g like I used to!

    My view is if I hit my macro targets, and stay within my calories, I'm happy! :D

    yep - 75g dry weight = 170g cooked.

    I don't cook just for myself so can't do the dry weight measuring, so I can weigh it cooked when it's served to the whole family.

    Thanks for those mesures. I always struggle to know the cooked to dry conversion ratio.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
    My thoughts about pasta? hmmm?

    Nom nom nom nom.

    Yes. I like it

    DITTO

    Om nom nom nom nom.
    I agree.

    Oh, and spaghetti squash with jarred pasta sauce is pretty tasty and low calorie when you don't have enough calories for the real thing. :D
  • sarahgilmore
    sarahgilmore Posts: 572 Member
    I love pasta we usually have it once a week or so.
    I can never eat the full serving though, it fills me up so much!
    I usually have about 40g dry weight, and that seems to do me nicely.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    I avoid pasta like the plague. I know how my body reacts with refined carbs tho, I blow up like a balloon. I think you have to just know how your body will react to certain types of food.

    I also like to have high amounts of protein at each meal and it is hard to get that with pasta.
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member

    Nothing wrong with pasta. If you want to eat it more frequently, buy tofu noodles and use them instead of the pasta. Just wash them really good and pat dry, then cook in the microwave. You can also use spaghetti squash too.

    +1 on both of these ideas- spaghetti squash or shirataki noodles are great substitutes with some light spaghetti sauce! And when I do go for real pasta, it is almost always whole wheat or multigrain.
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
    There are some brands of sauce better than others, but in terms of pasta itself, I've never liked whole grain even though some people swear by it.

    In any case, if you cook regular pasta al dente (slightly chewy, not mushy), it is supposed to be better for you in terms of the carbs and metabolizing them.

    For me, I still eat everything I have always eaten, including pasta, sausage, sauce, etc. I just eat more reasonable portions. Some people have a harder time with portion control when it comes to pasta, so if it's that type of food for you, maybe something else would make you feel more full
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
    Love pasta! All kinds...and since I plan to eat that after the weight loss, I added it back to my diet about 30 pounds ago!
  • clareplease
    clareplease Posts: 7 Member
    I think pasta is high in calories and low in nutritional value and it doesn't fill you up -- a food to eat rarely when a restaurant has nothing else on the menu (and be prepared to go hungry if you control your portion). You wind up having to put so much good stuff on top to make it taste good, you may as well just eat the good stuff.
  • runfoodierun
    runfoodierun Posts: 59 Member
    anything in moderation. :)
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I eat a lot of pasta - sometimes four times a week - sometimes multi-grain, sometimes traditional semolina (white) pasta. I lost 50+ pounds easily, and relatively quickly, eating pasta very regularly.

    I think different bodies respond in different ways to different diets. Some people can't do lots of carbs, fortunately... I'm not one of them. :-)

Categories