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Choosing pasta used to be more about shape than nutrition: spaghetti or fettuccini; angel hair or macaroni.
Today, the pasta aisle at the supermarket is filled with products such as whole wheat pasta, rice pasta, quinoa pasta, even tofu "noodles." The array of options can be confusing even for the savviest label readers.
From a nutritional standpoint, the vital thing to consider is how to use pasta as an opportunity to incorporate more whole grains into your diet. As with bread and crackers, however, it's essential to ensure that the product is truly made with whole grain. If you scan the nutrition facts label and the first ingredient listed is semolina or durum flour (or even durum wheat flour), then the pasta has more refined white flour than any other ingredient.
True whole wheat pasta will list 100 percent durum whole wheat flour as the first -- or only -- ingredient. Some of the more common brands that offer 100 percent whole wheat pasta include Hodgson Mills, Eden, DeBoles, Whole Foods 365 and Vita Spelt.
Those bona fide whole wheat pastas typically provide about 6 grams of appetite-squelching fiber per serving, though they're no lower in calories or carbohydrates -- nearly all types of pasta contain 180 to 210 calories, and 35 to 43 grams of carbohydrate per 2-ounce dry portion.
If you're reluctant to make the switch to whole wheat pasta because of the texture -- some find it chewy or gritty -- you might be happier with a thinner pasta, such as whole wheat angel hair.
Getting used to whole wheat
For those who are making the switch to whole wheat pasta, New Orleans-based private chef Kristin Essig suggests incorporating a little whole wheat pasta with regular white pasta -- slowly increasing the ratio of whole wheat to regular.
"Buy the same brands and shapes of pasta, cook each separately, then combine after cooking, " she said.
Be sure not to overcook it, though.
"People often try to soften whole wheat pasta by cooking it longer, but it just ends up mushy."
Drain the pasta, but don't rinse it, Essig recommends, to help the sauce stick better.
She added not to oil the cooked pasta before adding the sauce.
"This will make the noodle sauce resistant, almost like waterproofing, " Essig said.
Try experimenting with other types of pasta, as well.
Better-for-you noodle options aren't limited solely to those made from whole wheat. Many of these "alternative" pastas have whole grains listed as the first ingredients (think whole grain kamut, whole spelt flour, or brown rice flour), indicating that they have more of these whole grains than anything else. These whole grain pastas also typically provide 4 to 6 grams of fiber per serving.
Watch out, though.
Even those that sound wholesome might not be nutrient-rich. If ingredients such as semolina, rice flour or potato starch are among the first listed, then the pasta has more processed ingredients than any whole grain ingredient.
If a 100 percent whole grain pasta is too much for your taste, try one that's a combination of whole grain and white flour. Tossed with a little sauce, the texture and taste can be more familiar to die-hard white pasta devotees.
Barilla is one of the more recognizable pasta brands that contain blends of whole grains and white flours.
Barilla Plus pasta, for example, lists semolina as the first ingredient, just like regular white pasta. But the second ingredient is a "grain and legume flour blend, " consisting of lentils, chickpeas, flaxseed, barley, spelt and oats. With 4 grams of fiber per serving, this still is a pretty decent option for pasta fans.
Similarly, a closer look at the label of Barilla's Whole Grain pasta reveals that it's "made with 51 percent whole wheat." At least the first ingredient is whole durum wheat, followed by (white) semolina. The fact that they add oat fiber helps to boost the fiber content to 6 grams per serving.
So while these pasta blends still contain white flour, they certainly can help to ease the transition to 100 percent whole grain pasta.
Subbing out vegetables
If it's the sauces and toppings you're after, more than the pasta itself, these vegetable-based pasta substitutes might be just what you're looking for.
They also can tie white pasta-lovers over between indulgences.
Spaghetti squash is one of the more popular spaghetti stand-ins, with 42 calories per cup (compared to about 220 calories per cup of pasta).
"It's really so easy to work with, " said chef Marc Gilberti of Ochsner Health Systems. "After roasting it in the oven, simply rake a fork through it to form spaghetti-like strands, and top it with pasta sauce or Bolognese sauce."
He also suggested zucchini ribbons as an alternative to wider fettuccini-style noodles.
"Use a mandolin (or a very sharp knife) to slice into thin strips, then toss them in a skillet with your favorite sauce, " he said.
Eggplant is Gilberti's low-carb answer to traditional manicotti, cannelloni or lasagna.
"You can skip the pasta and use long thin strips of peeled eggplant, instead, " he said.
Another low-calorie pasta substitute is Tofu Shirataki noodles, with only 20 calories and 3 grams of carbohydrate per 4-ounce serving. Made of tofu and yam flour and shaped like spaghetti, fettuccine -- or angel hair -- these liquid-packed "noodles" are one of those love-it-or-hate-it things for most individuals.
But really, how bad is white pasta in the scheme of things?
Let's just say it's no different than white bread, except that we tend to eat larger portions of it, since a single cup of cooked pasta contains the carbohydrate equivalent of three slices of white bread.
Also, in restaurants, portions are notoriously large -- and almost never whole grain.
At many chain eateries, which are often required to post their nutrition facts online, pasta dishes can pack in 140-plus grams of carbohydrate. That's like eating 10 slices of white bread.
As with so many foods, serving size is the name of the game, so try to start thinking of pasta as a side dish rather then your entrée.
So listen up: If you truly love white pasta, and you swear that a pile of noodles brings you happiness, then by all means have it on occasion. But your best bet is to control your portions, and indulge in pasta at home, so you'll know exactly what -- and how much -- you're getting.
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Molly Kimball is a registered dietitian in New Orleans whose column appears every Friday in Living. She can be reached at eatingright@timespicayune.com. Comment or read past columns at NOLA.com/health.
