DISGUSTING Low-Carb Pasta

[Kathy in Cambridge]

Warning to all Low-Carb DUers: I made Mac & Cheese last night with elbows from Due Amici. No amount of cheese and cream can disguise the texture and flavor of this pasta. It was $.49 at Ocean State Job Lot-now I know why.

I have found a good low-carb pasta called Bella Vita. It's $2.19 at Trader Joe's and my Italian-American husband will eat it, which is a good sign. He almost puked last night from the Due Amici stuff.

[HuckleB]

1. Use whole grain pasta!

It's great. Remember, all carbs are not equal.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

3. I could but I'm wheat-sensitive

my sister has celiac disease (wheat allergy) and I have a touch of it myself. I become bloaty and gassy from wheat products, unfortunately (not that it stops me from cheating with pizza)...I prefer whole-grained stuff when I do eat wheat.

[supernova]

2. I don't know what I tried

it was a l-c pasta w/ alfredo dressing. But like you, I couldn't stand the texture. It was the Atkins brand. Some of those are hit or miss. I like the bread, it's good. Virtually indistinguisable from the real thing. But the pasta I can take a pass on.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. The Atkins stuff was gross, i agree

I tossed it in the garbage-and as I recall, it was pretty pricey!

When will low-carb products become cheap?

[HuckleB]

12. I doubt they ever will. It's a selling point.

Whole grain products aren't cheap, and they've been around for much longer.

[hlthe2b]

4. Thanks... I won't waste my money now...

I think I may stick with spaghetti squash, but I'll look for Bella Vita..
While we don't have Trader Joe's in Denver, they did just open a low carb market across town. I'll have to check it out. Everyone's been trying to get Whole Earth Grocery to carry more, but they won't if it isn't organic...

[Hawkeye-X]

14. Where is the low carb grocery

in Denver? My parents are on a Atkins diet, and my wife and I will be, soon.

Hawkeye-X

[hlthe2b]

15. Hey HawkeyeX : one of the tv stations did a blurp on it a week or so ago

It's out on Arapahoe Road (and Hampden, I think). 'Don't know the name, as I just saw a blip as the store was finishing. I'm going to try to find out more (i.e., the name). I'll let you know when I do.

[hlthe2b]

16. It's called VIVA LOW CARB

Viva Low Carb, A Store With Lo-Carb Only Items

Nov 28, 2003 5:00 pm US/Mountain
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (News 4) News 4 featured a store Friday that sells nothing but lo-carb food.

It opens at 10 a.m. Saturday.

It is located on the northeast corner of Arapahoe and Peoria next to Quiznos in Centennial.

[omshanti]

6. Question: what's in low carb pasta that makes it low-carb?

Is it just a ton of fiber or something?

[GOPisEvil]

7. Probably made with soy flour.

Just a guess though.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

8. Soy flour vs. regular flour

and other vegetable-based binding agents

[LuminousX]

9. Trader Joe's

While being one of my favorite stores, I still found the low-carb pasta disgusting.

Fundamentally, carbs have been a staple in our lives since the beginning of time (ok, at least since Egypt). We've only gotten fat currently. That isn't because of carbs. It is because we have an unhealthy relationship with food and don't exercise. We eat too much and move too little.

I think Aitkins, raw foods, veganism, etc. are forms of anorexia - ways to make us hate food.

[toddzilla]

10. many low-carb tortillas are good

i've had quite a few of these and never found them to be bad. make some fajitas or burritos w/0 beans.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

11. If you're diabetic, Atkins is basically the diabetic diet

As a country, our carb intake has increased and exercise has decreased. I don't think diets are a sign of anorexia, unless you overdo them.

What diet works for you depends on your body chemistry. We have wheat-sensitivity in my family, hence veggies/protein work best for us.

I GAINED weight when I was vegetarian. I consumed mounds of rice and beans and tons of pasta, and at that point ran 5+ miles 5 days a week. So it had nothing to do with not burning it off-it had to do with my body chemistry.

[supernova]

13. Nah,

Plans like Atkins or the Atkins-Lite "The Zone" work off the theory that it's the highly processed carbs we need to be watchful of. Especially the wheat flour that makes up things like breads and pastas, and baked goods (and makes them taste so good!). :D And let's not get started on all the sweet stuff and hidden sugar in a lot of foods.

If you have a problem processing these things your body will work overtime to produce insulin. This helps you store fat b/c insulin basically tells your body to use the energy that you are currently eating rather than using fat stores.

Atkins bypasses that problem by having you not eat so much of those types of foods. You basically eat "caveman" style: protein (normal amounts, it's not a high-protein plan), low-carb veggies and fruits (not so many sugar molecules) and nuts.

That's it. It's very simple and certainly doesn't cost more to eat this way than to eat more breads and things.

[markus]

17. Same theory of the Sugar Busters diet

which my sister in N'wawlins has sent us, and which my wife has tried to follow (not that you need it dahlin).

One interesting thing about the Sugar Busters diet: starting looking at the sugar content of everything you eat. It's pretty scary. I reconigze that not everything labled under sugars under carbohydrates is refined sugar, but I know that a lot of it is.

[supernova]

18. Yes, hidden sugar is the worst

IMO. I've developed a real game for myself trying to find products that AREN'T full of sugar. Or finding replacements for them because I don't want to develop diabetes.

Take fruit juice, for instance. Think you're being healthy by by drinking fruit juice?

Think again.

A typical 6 oz serving of apple juice has about 27 grams of sugar. And if you drink say a 12oz or even 16 oz can or glass of the stuff, well, you've had more than your sugar quota for the day.

And that's just juice! Certain pasta sauces are also loaded up with sugar. Ditto lots of favorite morning cereals.

Is your wife having much luck w/ sugar busters?