Healthy “Pasta-bilities”
Growing up with a Sicilian mom, we ate pasta (topped with her homemade red sauce) on a regular basis. Back then pasta was considered a hearty meal and pounding down a bowl full of carbs was actually recommended for athletes, of which my two brothers and I were.
When nutritionists began to push back on what is now known as simple carbs, they really rained on my pasta parade! No longer could I feel good about eating through a bowl full of steaming spaghetti. Then, in more recent years, when scientific researchers started sharing information on the genetic modification of the wheat crops grown in the U.S. and how detrimental it was—to our health and to our waistlines—to eat genetically altered wheat, my enjoyment of a pasta meal was all but ruined.
Yet, I still wanted to prepare a pasta-type dish once a week, so I set out to figure out a healthier option for myself and my family. First, I tried whole wheat pasta. One word. YUCK. Pasty and brown—two more words.
Then one day I discovered a brand of pasta, Dreamfields®, which is made with inulin, a soluble fiber, so that its glycemic index (how it effects your blood sugar) was improved (lowered) by 40% over white pasta. And the best part? It cooks up white and not pasty! Sold.
Recently a number of alternatives to pasta have come to market. Some are simply sliced strands of vegetables, such as “Zoodles” (zucchini strands), “Boodles” (butternut squash strands), and good ole spaghetti squash, which God created pre-stranded, haha. These are all good options to experiment with. My favorite way to enjoy pasta now is to use 50% zoodles (lightly sautéed in olive oil) mixed with 50% Dreamfield® pasta and then top it with red sauce or basil pesto.
As of late, pasta companies are becoming quite creative. I have used “pasta” made entirely of chickpeas, a green garden variety which contains kale, broccoli, parley, spinach and zucchini, and I even found a spinach spaghetti which contained a whole lot of artichoke fiber (which, again, lowers its glycemic index).
For me, when it comes to food, variety is the spice to life—provided you’ve used great spices, too!
So, spend a little extra time in your market’s pasta aisle and its pre-cut vegetable section*, or try a few different market places and see what you can come up with, because the dire warnings against eating a bowl full of simple carbs for dinner are here to stay.
*If pre-cut strands of veggies are too rich for your budget, invest $30 in a spiral vegetable slicer. My favorite brand of slicer is Paterno. Easy to use, easy to clean.