1. Learn to Love Your Low-Carb Pastas
You don't have to be Italian to love pasta. However, our beloved pastas have taken a big hit with the popularity of the high-protein, low-carb diets, such as South Beach and Atkins. To bring pasta back into our diets, the low-carb versions of pasta are becoming more available. These become low-carb by replacing the standard semolina flour used to make pastas with the healthier soy flour. These still have carbohydrates, but the gram count goes from approximately 41 grams per serving of standard pasta down to 31 grams in the low-carb version. Some low-carb pastas have increased the fiber content 2 grams, making the "net carbs" in a serving to be 19.
2. Shop, Look and Read Your Pasta Labels
Look for brands that make the low-carb pastas like Dreamfields, Atkins, Barilla and Keto. These will cost more than the traditional pastas, but the health benefits make up for the price difference. The low-carb versions have many of the standard pasta types, like spaghetti, lasagna, pennes and elbow macaroni. Read the labels and compare what your specific wants are in a low-carb pasta. Generally, the lower the carbs, the lower the gylcemic index, which reduces the amount of glucose made by the body.
3. Low-Carb Pasta Doesn't Mean All You Can Eat
Choosing low-carb pastas is a healthy choice as long as you eat the same or less in portion sizes. Many people on low-carb diets go wrong by thinking they can eat more because they're eating low carb, so stick to the same or smaller serving sizes. Don't sabotage your low carb pastas by covering them in heavy cream or fatty meat sauces that add many more calories and carbohydrates to your meal. Choose toppings for your low-fat pasta that include steamed vegetables and tomato sauces to compliment your low-carb pasta. Remember that low carb doesn't mean "no carb."
4. Low-Carb Pasta Impersonator is a Vegetable
Sometimes the family cook has to "secretly" lower the pasta carbs for the health benefits of the family. So, when the actual low-carb pastas aren't low enough, substitute those with pasta impersonators like spaghetti squash. It has less than 25 percent of the calories and carbohydrates that standard pastas have, plus it's loaded with healthy nutrients. Just top it with the family's favorite sauce. Other vegetables make great pasta impersonators, such as eggplant strips, zucchini or cauliflower. Try the Asian or Shirataki noodles. These very healthy noodles are made from plants and come liquid packaged. Just rinse them with hot water, and it's time to eat. They're mostly fiber, almost without calories and carbohydrates and have proved beneficial in lowering cholesterol and blood sugars.
