What is a good alternative to eating pasta?
Wow, am I in that same boat! In fact, even though I eat healthfully, I find that I need to make a big effort to reach for other food categories beyond the starches when I am hungry or planning meals. I love and agree with all the suggestions above, so will offer a new one from my arsenal. One of my favorite books on nutrition and diet, is the book “Volumetrics” by Dr. Barbara Rolls at Penn State University. You can read about her studies on “volumizing” your food, but she has a great recipe where you cook the pasta, then during the last 5 minutes you throw in a couple handfuls of vegetables into the same pot. Pour the pasta and veggies out into a colander when done, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and you are done. Now–when you serve it into your bowls, the veggies take up a certain amount of space that would have otherwise been pasta–so you will feel just as satisfied, but without the calories of a bowl full of pasta by itself! Does that make sense? So, sometimes, you CAN have your cake (pasta) and eat it too.
A good alternative to pasta (especially the processed, refined flour kind) is spaghetti squash. It is easy to cook and when you use a fork to remove it from the rind, it looks just like spaghetti!! Works great with spaghetti sauce, sauteed veggies or butter, herbs and parmesan cheese.
Brown rice pasta is a healthier alternative to wheat pasta, if you REALLY want pasta. Just make sure you watch your portion size. A serving of pasta is 1/2 cup!!
I also just saw a recipe for thinly sliced zucchini in place of pasta. Just saute it in a little olive oil and use like pasta.
