Pasta is a favorite dish of many Americans because it goes well with so many different toppings. Some people prefer plain pasta with parmesan cheese, while others like their noodles with meat sauce or alfredo sauce and vegetables. While pasta is tasty, it isn't necessarily weight-loss friendly. Regular pasta is made from refined flour and is high in both starchy carbohydrates and calories. Instead of using regular pasta, there are alternative types of pasta that are lower in carbohydrates.
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole wheat pasta is available in almost every grocery store next to the regular pasta. The difference between whole wheat past and regular pasta is that whole wheat pasta is made using the whole kernel of the wheat and includes the additional vitamins and fiber. Whole wheat pasta does not necessarily have fewer carbohydrates than regular pasta, yet the type of carbohydrates are healthier, and the fiber helps to regulate blood-sugar levels.
High Fiber Pasta
Dreamfields is one brand of high-fiber pasta, made especially for those with specific medical needs like diabetics. The Dreamfield's website states that its product is a form of whole wheat pasta in which additional fiber in the form of inulin is added in. The fiber content of Dreamfields pasta can be subtracted from the total grams of carbohydrates, since fiber is indigestible. This means that the net grams of carbohydrates from eating a serving of Dreamfields pasta are only 5 g as compared to regular pasta, which has over 40 g of carbohydrates per serving.
Tofu Noodles
Tofu noodles are another low-carbohydrate alternative to pasta. They are shaped like pasta and taste similar when additional toppings and sauce are added, yet the nutritional difference is vast. According to House Foods, the company that makes tofu noodles, they only have 3 g of carbohydrates and 20 calories per 4-oz. serving because they are made from tofu instead of flour.
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is a vegetable that naturally occurs in the shape of spaghetti strands. Spaghetti squash needs to be baked, and then the soft vegetable portion must be scraped out from the harder outer layer. Being a vegetable, it is low in calories and carbohydrates. The nutritional database CalorieKing.com states that half a cup of spaghetti squash has only 19 calories and 4.7 g of carbohydrates. While spaghetti squash doesn't taste the same as regular pasta, the taste becomes similar when a regular pasta sauce like tomato or pesto is added.
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