The Unorthodox Housewife of New Jersey: Eat THIS, Not THAT #2

So, lets talk about Pasta.

mmmmmmmmm. Its my fav. I could probably eat it everyday. no joke. But I only make it 1x a week and sometimes may eat it over the weekend. My kids LOVE noodles! What kid doesn't??!! So I tend to feed them pasta more often than Brent & I. That makes it pretty important for me to make a good choice!

So what pasta is bad for you?

White Pasta. very bad. I only make it for holidays if then. We have cut it out almost entirely.

So, lets talk about why is white pasta bad?

One of the main reasons why you should avoid white pasta in your diet is because this popular staple is made largely from refined white flour. Refined white flour in itself contains almost no dietary goodness in itself and its consumption can have negative effects on health.

Eating white pasta can be likened to eating cardboard, because although it tastes a little better, cardboard probably contains more goodness! The lack of nutrients in white pasta may not make it such a bad thing to eat on its own, but it’s the bad constituents of white pasta that make it such a bad deal when it comes to your general health and weight.

First of all, just like white bread (which we NEVER eat), white pasta contains a large amount of high GI (glycemic index) carbohydrates. That means that the carbohydrates contained in pasta made from refined white flour will release sugars into the bloodstream quickly. This causes a steep rise in blood sugar and a similarly steep reactive rise in the body’s sugar regulating hormone, insulin in order to counter its effects. So many foods do this and that's why we see such an increase in diabetes. Remember how I said I could eat pasta everyday? Its like a sugar treat - it does the same thing to your body as a chocolate bar and contains nothing good for you. Its a feel good food.

The effect on the body’s metabolism is to slow it down, while inhibiting efficient digestion. The result is more fat storage, with those fat cells generally being deposited around the belly. This, as you have probably already figured out is a leading cause of weight gain in people who eat a lot of refined flour products, not least of those being white pasta.

So this is what you DON'T want to eat. Not any brand. White pasta- NO NO!! Make it once it a while for lasagna or eat once in a while while out but NOT as your regular diet.

DON'T EAT THIS!!

Eat THIS instead:

I LOVE BARILLA PLUS PASTA!!! So do my kids. Its great. Its a Multi grain pasta. Much more fiber and protein and lots of good ingredients. Barilla plus tastes similar to white and doesn't have a strong wheat flavor some do not like. It also mixes better with a variety of toppings.

We also eat Whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta is even better for you than Barilla plus. There are lots of different brands. We like this and other.