Pasta alternatives

I LOVE pasta, but it's so high in calories I don't get to indulge as often as I'd like. I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find a low call pasta or if anyone has suggestions for substitutes.

Wed. Jun 13, 3:35pm

There's a reason it's called "spaghetti squash" - the flavor is mild, tastes good with tomato sauce and a little parmesan cheese, and it shreds out of the skin into spaghetti strands.

My trick is to double up the healthy stuff that goes with the pasta while reducing the amount of noodles. I've gotten to the point where an official 2 oz. serving of cappellini looks "too big" compared to my usual 1-1.5 oz.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 3:42 PM

3:42, thanks for the advice!!! I'm going to look into the spaghetti squash!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 3:44 PM

Couscous is also a good alternative, i serve a lot of stirfrys or pasta salads with couscous instead. Also, ditto on the spaghetti squash. But if you start missing or craving pasta, go for the whole wheat kind instead.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 3:46 PM

there's a great wheat-flour pasta alternative that is also high in fiber and protein-it's made with quinoa, a grain.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 4:00 PM

Just make the pasta dish the "side dish" of your meal instead of the main course. Then the serving size is really tiny.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 4:07 PM

eggplant or zuchini makes excelent lasagna. just slice the eggplant long ways saute it in a lil olive oil. than layer.. add cheese and sauce.. yum

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 5:02 PM

i agree with the poster who said to add other things to your pasta-i take 2oz of pasta and add a ton of cooked veggies and my favorite sauce (usually homemade), and add beans or grilled chicken and you end up with 2 servings of a pretty substantial and low calorie dish! you CAN have pasta!

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 12:22 AM

Try the whole grain pastas vs. the regular kind-- also there are high protein pastas as well.

In Asian Markets, you can get yam pasta, or rice pasta or buckwheat pasta. Just do a little research and you may find many ways to make it healthier for you. ;-)

Also, I agree-- spaghetti squash is really great! :-)

You might also get a juilenne slicer and slice up zuchinni in thin strips, too. :-)

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 12:41 AM

I have no problem fitting pasta in while losing weight. But the key is as the other posters have said - make it a fraction of the dish. I usually use 4 oz dry for a recipie that serves 4. Use things like rotinni or penne and they will seem to go further. Once you get used to eating healthy, veggie-filled pasta dishes you'll go to a restaurant and a regular restaurant-type pasta dish will look 'wrong' - all pasta and sauce and no good stuff (and tons of it). You realize pasta by itself is kinda bland but that it makes a good accompaniment to veggies and lean meat because it carries the flavor of the sauces.

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 10:05 AM

I agree about the spaghetti squash- there's so many ways to fix it. And it's way lower in carbohydrate content. When you are eating regular pasta, it breaks down in your body really quickly and raises your blood sugar, causing cravings and telling your body to store fat. That isn't what you want when you're trying to lose weight!

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 10:12 AM

barilla pasta plus is good. Lower carb, high protein. I think it is made from chickpeas. It tastes more like regular pasta than whole wheat does.

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 11:30 AM

couscous is actually very close to being pasta.

Most of it is made with semolina flour like pasta, and if you want an alternative, you might want to look elsewhere.

I'm not sure how closely it digests, and the nutrients, but keep in mind that it is very similar ingredient wise.

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 11:52 AM

Trader Joe's has an organic whole wheat pasta which is the best one I've tasted, plus has some decent fiber. I agree with everyone else, the most amount of pasta that I eat at a time now is about 1/3 cup cooked and I eat it with a ton of veggies. Now I don't crave pasta like I used to.

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 1:46 PM

I'm a pasta addict as well, so finding a GOOD alternative was key lol.

a) Spinach pasta. Especially over fish with some lemon and butter (I Can't Beleive It's Not Butter has an amazing 0 calorie spray butter...it's amazing!)
b) Whole wheat pasta - Not really lower in calories..but definately more filling. I actually eat the serving size when I eat this type of pasta and don't really crave much after.

Good luck =)

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 1:50 PM

spelt pasta is good to

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 7:12 PM

There is a whole wheat couscous that is very good, even better when you prepare it with chicken or vegetable stock instead of water.

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 8:41 PM

shirataki noodles!!! find them near the tofu in the food store. they come in all different "pasta shapes" like spaghetti, fetticinue, angle hair, etc. a whole package has only 40 calories and zero carbs. i can't taste the difference. you have to wash them and then boil for 2-3 minutes... but as long as they are mixed w/ sauce, veggies, etc it is just like pasta! try it out... or type in "shirataki noodles" into google and read up!

Thursday, June 14, 2007, 8:48 PM

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