How to Have Your Pasta and Stay Trim Too
By Sandy Schroeder
If you have a weakness for pasta, you know what a struggle it can be to limit the times you prepare it, or to find ways to keep it healthy. If you order from your favorite Italian restaurant, you may thoroughly enjoy your favorite fettuccine alfredo but prefer not to think about the fat and calories you are consuming. Better to order their antipasto and consider some more ways to go.
Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen have come up with some delicious tips that will help all pasta lovers enjoy their favorites with a clear conscience.
Be Picky About Your Pasta
Opt for 100 percent whole wheat or multigrain pasta made from spinach, chickpeas, buckwheat, brown rice, or quinoa. Or create your own pasta strands with a kitchen gadget that creates curls of sweet potato, zucchini, carrots or squash to create a "spaghetti."
Watch the Portions
Limit the amounts as you stay with two ounces or a half cup of pasta. That will be enough if you top the pasta with sauteed veggies such as spinach, asparagus, broccoli, sliced carrots or artichokes. You can also add jarred red pepper slices, fresh herbs such as rosemary, cilantro, basil or thyme and a bit of red pepper flakes.
Check How Healthy It Is
Researchers from Tufts University advise dividing the total grams of carbohydrates in a serving by the grams of dietary fiber. If it comes in under 10 you are eating healthy.
More Healthy Pasta Ideas
Whip up your own creations.
Try a one-pot pasta recipe - Start with a healthy pasta such as spinach noodles or whole wheat fettuccine and use half a box. Add 3 1/2 cups of water, a small carton of fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, three tablespoons of olive oil, a chopped onion, salt, pepper, and garlic. Now bring the whole pot to a boil and cook for about nine minutes, stirring the noodles and tomatoes together and mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher if you want to make it saucier. Top with olive oil, and shredded Parmesan cheese and serve up a fast fresh dinner.
Create a cold noodle salad loaded with veggies - For lunch, start with a whole wheat rigatoni pasta. Cook and drain and then mix with Parmesan cheese, and your favorite vinegar and oil dressing, plus chopped celery, red or green pepper, black olives, chopped green onions, and diced cucumber.
Whatever you choose that emphasizes flavor and veggies in place of fats and calories will make your pasta a good lunch or dinner choice.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Brea, Calif.