Low Carb pasta.....
Feb. 4th, 2005 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Some foods just aren't meant to be tampered with.
Ever have low-fat blue cheese dressing? It's awful! It looks and tastes absolutely horrid. Stick with the real stuff. Ditto that with fat-free grated cheese; It feels and tastes like sawdust. And low-sodium cream of mushroom soup? Bleah.
Where there's fat, there's flavor. And that is why a foodie like me is loath to try low-fat foods. I remember an episode of the Simpsons when Homer is eating a rice cake and saying, "Hello, taste!" I have to agree with Homer.
This time, I tried some low-carb pasta (that's macaroni for you non-foodies). Last year, I picked up a bag of low-carb rigatoni at Big Lots. According to the label, the pasta was made from whole-grain flour. But it had a reddish tint to it, which regular pasta doesn't have. That's OK; I've seen tomato and spinach pastas, and they have orange and green colors to them, respectively.
About three weekends ago (the weekend around January 15), I finally was brave and/or hungry enough to open the bag, cook some, and sample it. Not only did it keep its reddish color, the pasta had a different smell and taste to it. I gave myself a helping. Ugh. I was determined to finish it, but it took some work and diligence on my part (and plenty of sauce to cover the taste). The Wife wouldn't even touch it.
I had it again about a week later, with the aforementioned fat-free grated cheese, and some Prego sauce with mushroom and garlic. I had an easier time downing the meal. I could have used a nice glass of Chianti to help wash it down. It tasted a little better this time.
Would I buy this stuff again? No. I'd probably eat whole-grain pasta only if it were freshly made, by myself or a pasta chef. Or if I were really serious about cutting down on the carbs, I'd skip the pasta altogether.
So, what is it with this low-carb food craze? Is this a fad that will go away soon? And has the Atkins plan been scientifically proven to work as well as people say it does?
Ever have low-fat blue cheese dressing? It's awful! It looks and tastes absolutely horrid. Stick with the real stuff. Ditto that with fat-free grated cheese; It feels and tastes like sawdust. And low-sodium cream of mushroom soup? Bleah.
Where there's fat, there's flavor. And that is why a foodie like me is loath to try low-fat foods. I remember an episode of the Simpsons when Homer is eating a rice cake and saying, "Hello, taste!" I have to agree with Homer.
This time, I tried some low-carb pasta (that's macaroni for you non-foodies). Last year, I picked up a bag of low-carb rigatoni at Big Lots. According to the label, the pasta was made from whole-grain flour. But it had a reddish tint to it, which regular pasta doesn't have. That's OK; I've seen tomato and spinach pastas, and they have orange and green colors to them, respectively.
About three weekends ago (the weekend around January 15), I finally was brave and/or hungry enough to open the bag, cook some, and sample it. Not only did it keep its reddish color, the pasta had a different smell and taste to it. I gave myself a helping. Ugh. I was determined to finish it, but it took some work and diligence on my part (and plenty of sauce to cover the taste). The Wife wouldn't even touch it.
I had it again about a week later, with the aforementioned fat-free grated cheese, and some Prego sauce with mushroom and garlic. I had an easier time downing the meal. I could have used a nice glass of Chianti to help wash it down. It tasted a little better this time.
Would I buy this stuff again? No. I'd probably eat whole-grain pasta only if it were freshly made, by myself or a pasta chef. Or if I were really serious about cutting down on the carbs, I'd skip the pasta altogether.
So, what is it with this low-carb food craze? Is this a fad that will go away soon? And has the Atkins plan been scientifically proven to work as well as people say it does?
