What is your favorite not-wheat pasta?
- Thread starter GardenB
- Start date
Hello GardenB, I just eat regular Muellers pasta; but, I am going to try the new pea pastas. They sound like they should be tasty lol but need to test. I have tried chips made from peas and they were okay. Good luck...
dianeseattle
Member
Hi GB. I'd rather go without than some substitute made of substances I might never want to consume.
the favorite non-pasta pasta is spaghetti squash. I think this is the stuff that comes out in tendrils after cooking, resembling spaghetti. But seriously. you can make lasagna by layering thin slices of zucchini and use red sauce you made of the usual ingredients, or eat it like stew or dip vegetable spears in it.
this touches on something I had planned to post about. Why do we want substitutes? we might not even know what's in a substitute, especially if it's so manipulated that it resembles what it fakes so perfectly. again, it's personal, but if i'm going to eat a meal, it's going to be 20 minutes of chewing something I recognize and don't feel queasy about later.
there are foods i simply gave up because i couldn't justify eating them and couldn't replicate them. No great loss.
the favorite non-pasta pasta is spaghetti squash. I think this is the stuff that comes out in tendrils after cooking, resembling spaghetti. But seriously. you can make lasagna by layering thin slices of zucchini and use red sauce you made of the usual ingredients, or eat it like stew or dip vegetable spears in it.
this touches on something I had planned to post about. Why do we want substitutes? we might not even know what's in a substitute, especially if it's so manipulated that it resembles what it fakes so perfectly. again, it's personal, but if i'm going to eat a meal, it's going to be 20 minutes of chewing something I recognize and don't feel queasy about later.
there are foods i simply gave up because i couldn't justify eating them and couldn't replicate them. No great loss.
I second that emotion, as the great Smokey R might say. I don't eat a lot of carbs, but if I were to eat pasta, I would probably skip the lentil & other substitute pasta types. I have heard zucchini spirals or the above mentioned spaghetti squash are good, if the liquid is salted out, rinsed & drained well. And zucchini or eggplant planks definitely would make great lasagna. Or of course, a small amount of Barilla angel hair would be my choice, but only once in a blue moon.
missyinacage
Member
I also like spaghetti squash .. Goes great with alfredo!! And I found Barilla chickpea pasta to be fine. Their red lentil is also okay. However, if your program is anti pasta, its possibly due to the carbs. Both mentioned above are high carb.
Mostly, I skip pasta anyway. Meatballs and spaghetti sauce are excellent, even without pasta. Bolognese sauce can be made thick enough to skip the pasta there as well.
Hubby and I took a pasta making class. So if I eat pasta, I MAKE pasta ... Which is a pain in the ass so, there ya go lol
Mostly, I skip pasta anyway. Meatballs and spaghetti sauce are excellent, even without pasta. Bolognese sauce can be made thick enough to skip the pasta there as well.
Hubby and I took a pasta making class. So if I eat pasta, I MAKE pasta ... Which is a pain in the ass so, there ya go lol
ArizonaGirl
Member
I am picky with pasta before this journey and grew pickier with having to monitor carbs/pasta. The one I use and only buy is Banza. Chickpea pasta, has texture, not gummy and has protein!
dianeseattle
Member
GardenB
Member
It’s funny how we come to preferences and habits. When I had gestational diabetes 23 years ago I was told to limit pasta, white bread and white rice. I guess I just stuck with it out of habit all these years and don’t regularly eat them and lost my taste for them. So I’m more than happy to try out alternatives. Especially since I’ve been told no pasta for the 1st year post op. I made this DELICIOUS dish today and am looking for a pasta substitute. Thank you all for your input!
Eileen Freund
Member
My brother made pasta with zucchini it was awesome. Not sure if it allowed thou. But I thought it was a great substitute.
Eileen Freund
Member
I been on keto the last two years that why I mention it.
dianeseattle
Member
It may or may not be "required" on keto, but we don't do that here
Have you heard of spaghetti squash? You cut it in half lengthwise and LITERALLY scoop out something that looks exactly like pasta.
But don't get hung up on food. Allow yourself an ordinary but satisfying diet. Our goal is to eat normally and make sure we get a full complement of nutrients and vitamins. You should also be taking daily vitamins. My surgeon told me I'd have to take 2 multis a day for the rest of my life. I did him one better. I take 22 supplements a day, including calcium, C, D and a dozen others. I'm 71 and hike 5,000 foot mountains in the North Cascades. I put up my own tent. I haul my own pack. No one helps me do anything because I'm so healthy, I don't need it. I know I will someday, but my mom was an amateur bowler who rolled two 300 games in her old age. She looked 20 years younger than any of her friends (Dad too). I'm sure I have a genetic boost, but good nutrition is so helpful.
Have you heard of spaghetti squash? You cut it in half lengthwise and LITERALLY scoop out something that looks exactly like pasta.
But don't get hung up on food. Allow yourself an ordinary but satisfying diet. Our goal is to eat normally and make sure we get a full complement of nutrients and vitamins. You should also be taking daily vitamins. My surgeon told me I'd have to take 2 multis a day for the rest of my life. I did him one better. I take 22 supplements a day, including calcium, C, D and a dozen others. I'm 71 and hike 5,000 foot mountains in the North Cascades. I put up my own tent. I haul my own pack. No one helps me do anything because I'm so healthy, I don't need it. I know I will someday, but my mom was an amateur bowler who rolled two 300 games in her old age. She looked 20 years younger than any of her friends (Dad too). I'm sure I have a genetic boost, but good nutrition is so helpful.
Eileen Freund
Member
Okay no problem like I said I wasn’t sure if was allowed. I was just giving another option.
KeriK
Member
I like zoodles (zucchini noodles) a lot, but my hubby isn't a fan, so I mostly have that when he's not home, lol. Banza, as mentioned above, is our fave healthier pasta (I buy their penne) and has 11 grams of protein per serving. Barilla also has a protein pasta, though I don't know what else is in it. Costco also sells a protein pasta that is tasty (I'm kinda protein focused 
), though I don't recall the brand.
It's fun to experiment and try new things...my recommendation would be that, when the time comes, you give them all a try, listen to your body and go with what works and tastes best.
), though I don't recall the brand.It's fun to experiment and try new things...my recommendation would be that, when the time comes, you give them all a try, listen to your body and go with what works and tastes best.
dianeseattle
Member
Personally, I won't eat food I feel is processed extensively. As to pasta, I just eat regular stuff, but much less of it, and drown it in whatever sauce topping I use. I'd probably use a nice, hard French bread if I needed to sop up the sauce, but only a little.
If you eat a balanced diet, consuming smaller portions, you should be fine with pasta and breads. Your pouch is tiny and you want to keep it that way, so a couple of tablespoons eaten very slowly is usually a good way to go.
If you eat a balanced diet, consuming smaller portions, you should be fine with pasta and breads. Your pouch is tiny and you want to keep it that way, so a couple of tablespoons eaten very slowly is usually a good way to go.
KeriK
Member
Mmm...I love a good, thick bolognese sauce and am now thinking that I'm gonna have to make some soon!!
I haven't had pasta since before the surgery. I did have zoodles once but that's fresh, spiralized zucchini. Pasta is my sons go-to thing to cook...he and his girlfriend got their own place last month and I gave them all the pasta, lol. I guess we all have our evasion techniques, lol though I think it's Awesome that you & your hubby took a pasta making class together!
Ange6012
Member
I'm also not big on pasta but being Italian the family is. After my hubby's stents we stayed away from traditional pasta and went with chicken pea pasta which was good and pea lasagna noodles also good. But since my surgery for me and this is a personal choice, IF I'm going to have pasta I will have pasta. Of course since we have already tested and tasted the others I may still choose to use them but more importantly is what I'm using it to make, how many I'm feeding and price. For me the vegetable replacements aren't the same.
Ange6012
Member
Love B
Love Banza
Ange6012
Member
Love B
Love Banza
suzannethemom
Member
Before I had bariatric surgery, I promised myself that I will figure out a way to allow ALL foods into my life (reasonably). I love pasta so much and tried a few bites of regular pasta at month three. It didn’t sit well, so I decided to try vegetable pasta. It is so good and digests so well. My family loves it too and cannot tell the difference. I refuse to go without pasta for the rest of my life!
