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?
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no subject
Date: 2005-02-04 03:06 pm (UTC)I agree with what mew and Sue say about eating what you like, vs. forcing yourself to eat unfavorite foods. I would go with what works for you. Spencer *detests* Weight Watchers, but I think he's remembering the "old" WW. He feels that Atkins works best for him as he can see almost immediate results (but when he goes off there's always a weight gain... the down side of some of these 'diets') where I feel that a total change of attitude toward food is what gets me going toward the lighter side of things.
I am a firm believer in olive oil as a healthful fat, and do almost all my cooking with it. For baking I use butter, but in moderate amounts it is OK. I would *not* recommend margarine under any circumstance. It is pure trans fat.
And I agree with Sue that if you are going to get frozen dinners, avoid the usual suspects found in regular grocery stores. GO for something else; they will taste better and be better for you. But if you can start with whole foods, the less processed, the better.
I do understand the pasta thing; kids will eat it almost all the time, and it is cheap, even when stretched with peas and shrimp added (Talis's favorite). But since both Spencer and I are interested in slimmer waistlines, we don't eat pasta nearly as much as we used to, and when I make rice, it is brown or wild. That said, mac and cheese is *still* a staple of Talis's diet as she is still growing (and currently eating like there's no tomorrow, day after day; I am expecting either a height spurt or something). (She is very lean and has no body fat to spare, so I am not concerned about pasta.)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-05 02:06 am (UTC)And yes, olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and therefore better for you than saturated fats like coconut or palm oils. In the summertime, I like to go with a Mediterranean diet -- lots of southern Italian and Greek foods. Opa!
Go easy on the shrimp; they're high in cholesterol.
And since Maria has trouble gaining weight, we don't cut back on her portions. I'm happy she likes goetta for breakfast once a week.