We've all heard of having our cake and eating it, too, but how about eating your pasta and staying thin, too? Turns out this is not impossible, although nowadays, people seem to be boycotting pasta in their efforts to maintain a healthy weight. In Toronto, you're more likely to find a health-conscious foodie indulging in a maple-bacon doughnut as a treat than enjoying a plate of spaghetti for a weeknight dinner.
But pasta has this bad health rep unnecessarily, we learn from Kristen Anderson. "Sometimes people lump everything white together, so they hear white bread isn't good, so they put white biscuits and crackers in the same group and they think 'Well, white pasta must be the same because it's all made with white flour,'" she says, but notes that this is not true at all. We met with Anderson, who is the director of nutrition at the family-owned pasta and food company Barilla, at their headquarters in Parma, Italy, and learned that pasta is a key part of the Mediterranean diet, in fact (which you've likely heard is one of the healthiest diets in the world). Ready to add pasta back to your diet? Anderson shared five simple ways you can make your pastas healthier for you.
Eat pasta made with hard wheat
Eat pasta made with hard wheat
Pasta made with one-hundred percent semolina (also referred to as hard wheat) has more gluten and protein in it, and when it's produced it becomes a matrix with the starch in the middle and the gluten and the protein bound up, explains Anderson, and this is why pasta has a low glycemic index (GI). (GI, if your unfamiliar with it, refers to how quickly your blood-sugar levels rise after eating a food.) Softer, stickier noodles (think of some common Asian noodles, for example) would have higher GI compared to your typical pasta.
And if you're contemplating conventional versus whole-wheat pasta, they're pretty close in terms of GI, says Anderson, but the whole-grain pasta is higher in fibre and nutrients.
Eat pasta that's long in shape
Eat pasta that's long in shape
Yes, the shape of your pasta plays a role in how healthy it is with respect to its GI. "We found that long, thin pastas, you tend to swallow them whole versus the short shapes," says Anderson. Think linquini and fettucini. On the other hand , take penne; you have to chew it more, and you open up that gluten-protein matrix and the starch comes out and this results in higher GI, she explains.
Cook your pasta al dente
Cook your pasta al dente
"If you cook a semolina pasta for 25 minutes and it turns to mush and a lot of the starch goes into the water, this makes it higher GI," says Anderson. Prepare it as the Italians do, which is al dente (which means the pasta still has a slight bite to it), and it'll be lower GI, ie. better for your blood sugar. Your best way to check if your pasta is al dente? Take a bite of a piece. Don't do the "throw it against the wall" trick, because if it sticks to the wall, that's a sign it's overcooked as it's the released starch making it stick to the wall
Go for thicker pastas
Go for thicker pastas
Thicker pasta is better when it's come to a healthy GI--"the thicker it is, the longer it takes for the digestive enzymes to get in there," says Anderson. "Anything that extends the length of digestion [is what you want]. Think of lasagna, it's thick and you have to chew it a lot versus a spaghetti, for example."
Choose a healthy, low-GI dressing or sauce
Choose a healthy, low-GI dressing or sauce
"When you combine the pasta, which is already low GI, with something that takes longer to digest, the overall GI of the meal is low. So when you mix pasta with a tomato sauce and pancetta, that's a very low-GI meal," says Anderson. Vegetables and seafood, such as tuna, are other great pairings with pasta to keep it low GI while adding to the overall nutrition of the dish. Steer clear of fat- or cheese-based sauces.
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More from iVillage.ca:
- Move Over Quinoa, Freekeh's the New Superfood to Eat
- 15 Quick Meals with Ground Beef
- Mac and Cheese with Ham and Peas...Please
- Four-Cheese Baked Penne with Romaine Hearts
- Spicy Sausage Orzo
Connect with iVillage.ca:
