Pasta is the ultimate comfort food, and al dente fettuccine Alfredo draped with creamy, cheesy sauce is unlike any other dish. However, if you're watching your waist, the heavy cream, butter and cheese traditionally used to make fettuccine Alfredo can add more calories than you want. Not to worry. Fettuccine Alfredo isn't the only way to enjoy pasta. Whether you want a healthier alternative or to make your favorite creamy pasta a little better for you, you can make pasta that won't ruin your diet.
Pasta with Marinara
One of the simplest healthy alternatives to fettuccine Alfredo is pasta with marinara sauce. It's almost certain that any restaurant that serves pasta will have a tomato-based sauce available, and marinara sauces are easy to find in your local supermarket when you're cooking at home. Tomato-based sauces are a good source of vitamin C and lycopene, a naturally occurring compound that helps prevent cancer and keeps your eyes healthy. Tomato-based sauces made without much olive oil are also low in calories.
Pasta Primavera
Another good alternative to fettuccine Alfredo is pasta primavera. The Epicurious Food Dictionary defines this as a pasta dish topped with cooked vegetables. Those vegetables can be asparagus spears, fire-roasted tomatoes, onions, mushrooms or any other vegetables you like, and gives you an easy way to add vegetables to your dinner. To keep the dish as healthy as possible, steam the vegetables or cook them in a small amount of healthy oil, such as olive oil, rather than in butter.
Lighter Alfredo
Sometimes, only Alfredo will do. When you just have to have pasta in a creamy sauce, there are ways to make it healthier. "The Best Light Recipe," a cookbook by the editors of "Cook's Illustrated" magazine, recommends thickening half-and-half with cornstarch and using it instead of heavy cream, omitting butter, and using a small amount of high-quality fresh-ground Parmesan cheese, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, for flavor. You can also make cheese sauces out of reduced-fat dairy products.
Whole Grain Pasta
Making sauces other than classic Alfredo isn't the only way to make your meal healthier. You could also make your marinara, pasta primavera or lighter Alfredo with whole grain rather than standard pasta. Whole grain pasta, made with whole grain wheat or other grains, gives you more fiber than standard pasta. Manufacturers sometimes label pastas as "made with whole grain" when they actually contain very little whole grain, so always read labels before purchase to ensure you're getting the fiber content you want.
References
- "The Doctors Book of Food Remedies"; Selene Yeager et al.; 2006
- Epicurious Food Dictionary: Primavera
- "The Best Light Recipe"; Editors of Cooks Illustrated Magazine; 2007
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