What is pasta? It is traditionally an Italian food item made from a durum wheat dough and stretched or stamped into different shapes. It’s usually bought dry and cooked via boiling in water.
Pasta is a food a lot of people avoid because of the high carbohydrate count in it. That is understandable but if it’s something you love, then it’s tough (and completely unnecessary) to go without.
There are three primary tips I can share to make your pasta experience more nutrient dense:
- Start with veggies like a salad or some roasted veggies. Fill up half your plate with the veggies and the other half with your delicious pasta.
- Bump up the veggies IN the pasta! Go half pasta and half veggies, cook them to a level you’re comfortable with and mix it all together. You could also go half and half with some spiralized veggies like zucchini, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Spinach is another great addition to your sauce.
- Try a legume based pasta like lentils or chickpea based. These will have a ton of fiber, protein, and lots of nutrients. There are plenty out there and some of them don’t taste too hot but other can certainly hit the spot. I have tried and genuinely enjoyed (along with my husband and at times guests) Banza Pasta and Pow Pasta which are garbanzo and lentil based, respectively. These do tend to be more expensive than traditional pasta though (sorry ?). The POW pasta also cooks faster than the package says in my experience.
The idea behind all of these tips is to create balance by having a plate that is nutrient dense and still allowing ourselves to enjoy the foods we love.
Oh and one last tip, when choosing regular pasta try to go for a whole grain option when possible as that will also be more nutrient dense than the average white pasta as it will have more fiber and vitamins/minerals.
Now, what’s your favorite pasta dish? I’m a huge fan of Mexican Alfredo and if you’ve never had it you MUST try it! Find the recipe here.