FitSugar

Healthy Gadget: Progressive Measuring Pasta Colander

FitSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Pasta is back on the table these days, because low-carb diets are no longer popular and noodles are cheap. Portion control with spaghetti, though, has never really been our strong suit here in the States. We're apt to pile the noodles onto our plates and eat up.

That's where this colander comes in handy; not only will it strain your pasta, but you can also measure out portions of long noodles like spaghetti and linguine in the holes on the sides of the strainer. I love a multitasking kitchen tool. You can pick one up at leslies-kitchen.com for $7. Even with portion control, I'd stick with whole wheat pasta, since it offers fiber and so many other nutritional benefits.

Healthy Recipe: Veggie-Loaded Penne With White Wine Sauce

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Pasta was never off my radar, but apparently it's making a comeback these days as home cooks are reclaiming it as a low-cost option. I love whole wheat pasta and prefer dishes that feature tons of veggies, almost to the point where the pasta doesn't appear as the main ingredient. My personal preferences inspired me to create this dish, and I have to say it's worthy of becoming a staple among my weeknight meals. It's a savory combination of vegetables and nutty penne, and while I made my meal with chicken, the recipe would be just as good without it.

To see the recipe, read more.

Veggie Loaded Penne With White Wine Sauce
Original Recipe

Ingredients

1 package whole wheat penne
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
5 ounce bag spinach
2 tomatoes, diced
black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Optional: 6 ounces roasted chicken, cubed

Directions

Set salted pasta water to boil
While the water boils, prepare all other ingredients.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If using chicken, add to pan and sauté until browned. Otherwise, sauté garlic and onions until softened, approximately 4 minutes.
Add sliced mushrooms, artichokes, and all seasonings. Stir over heat until mushrooms have softened, approximately 5 minutes.
Add wine and stir. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add pasta and stir until coated in sauce. If more liquid is needed, add more wine or use vegetable broth as an alternative.
Add tomato and spinach and simmer for another 3 minutes, until spinach has wilted.

Remove from heat. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Toss pasta and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 6 to 8.

Print recipe with images | without images

Forget Low Carb - Pasta Popular Again Because It's Cheap

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Some folks swear they've lost weight by sticking to a low-carb diet. Cheese, meat, and fresh veggies aren't cheap, though, so while this diet may help you shrink your waist, it's doing the same for your wallet. With the economy the way it is now, new stats show that pasta is back. Sales of pasta products including frozen, refrigerated, canned, and boxed pasta, soup mixes, and prepared dinners have risen five percent. That adds up to $6.4 billion worth of pasta. With this type of food being pretty inexpensive, people can feed themselves and their families on a smaller budget. Of course, the pasta companies are thrilled since the low-carb fad really hurt pasta sales. Now people are looking for ways to stretch their paychecks, and they've rediscovered pasta. This is a good thing since eating carbs can boost serotonin levels in your brain. In pasta's honor, I may have to whip out my I Love Carbs t-shirt.

Tell me, are you eating more pasta because it's less expensive?

Source

Healthy Eating Tip: Cook Pasta in Green Tea

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I was perusing the October issue of Shape and found an interesting tip in one of their dinner recipes. They suggested boiling your pasta noodles with bags of green tea. I thought it was a little odd at first, but then I read that it actually makes your pasta healthier because the noodles soak up the rich antioxidants from the tea. So I decided to give it a try, adding six green tea bags to six cups of boiling water. When I cooked my two and a half cups of whole wheat penne, the green tea added a subtle earthy flavor similar to spinach pasta. Give it a try the next time you make noodles and let me know what you think.

Source

Whole Grain Pasta Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:15:00 -0700

Who doesn't love a big bowl of pasta? Penne with tomato sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, spinach lasagna, spirals with pesto. There are so many healthy recipes you can make using pasta and now there are so many different kinds of pasta to choose from.

Whole wheat pasta is all the rage right now, but it's not the only healthy pasta out there. Want to see how whole grain pastas compare nutritionally? Then read more.

Here's the nutritional info for 1/2 a cup of dry pasta.

Pasta	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Corn	214	1	51.4	2	1	5
Durum semolina	200	1	41	2	2	7
Kamut	210	1.5	38	6	2	10
Kamut and quinoa	210	2	40	5	2	8
Kamut and buckwheat	200	1.5	39	5	3	9
Quinoa	180	2	35	2.5	3	4
Rice	200	0	44	2	0	5
Rice and corn	204	.43	49	1.8	.5	5
Rye	200	0	44	8	1	6
Soba (buckwheat)	190	1	37	3	2	8
Spelt	190	1.5	40	5	4	8
Spelt and buckwheat	210	2	41	4	2	6
Whole wheat	180	1.5	35	6	1	7

Since all of these pastas have unique flavors and textures, and they're pretty similar nutritionally, it'll all come down to personal preference when choosing which one to eat. Tell me, what's your favorite kind of pasta?

Al Dente Is Good For Your Health

FitSugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:45:00 -0800

There are many ways to measure the health value of a food, and one such way is the glycemic index. Foods rated high on the index create fluctuations and even spikes in our blood glucose and insulin levels, which is something to be avoided. The lower the GI number the better for your glucose levels. The ratings range from zero to 100 and pasta is generally between 30 and 60 on the GI scale.

To keep the GI rating of your pasta low, you need to eat it al dente. The firmer the noodle is the longer the digestion time. Slower digestion means a lower spike in blood sugars, and that is healthy!

So cook your pasta al dente, which literally translates from Italian to mean "to the tooth." Your noodles should give the sensation of slight resistance when chewed.

Source

What Does a Serving Size Look Like?

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:45:00 -0800

When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, there is so much talk about portion size. Since we're living in the age of Super Size Me, bottomless this and all-you-can-eat that, we've really lost sight of what an actual serving size is.

I made a chart to help us get a handle on what a serving size of most foods looks like. Want to see it? Then read more

Food	1 Serving Equals...
Breads, pasta, cereal, cooked grain, etc.	1 slice of bread (looks like a CD case) 1/2 a bagel (the size of a hockey puck) 1 cup cereal (looks like two hands cupped together) 1/2 cup cooked grain or pasta (one cupped palm)
Fruits	1 piece of fruit (the size of a tennis ball) 1/2 cup cut up fruit, raw, cooked, frozen, or canned (looks like 7 cotton balls) 1/4 cup dried fruit 3/4 cup 100% fruit juice
Veggies	1/2 cup cut up veggie, raw, cooked, frozen, or canned (looks like the bulb part of a light bulb) 1/2 cup cooked, canned or frozen legumes 1 cup leafy greens 3/4 cup 100% vegetable juice
Meat, chicken, or fish	3 ounces (looks like a deck of cards or a checkbook) 1 egg
Dairy	1oz. of cheese (1 oz. looks like 2, 9-volt batteries) 1/2 cup ice cream, cottage cheese or pudding 1 cup milk or yogurt
Nuts	1/3 cup (a small handful) 1 tbsp nut butter (size of both your thumbs)

Source

Annie's Mac and Cheese

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:30:00 -0700

To say I have a weakness for mac and cheese would be an understatement. As a picky eater, I grew up on the stuff along with PB and J. It's a wonderful comfort food, perfect for Sunday evening or when you're feeling under the weather.

I grew up with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but now that I can actually read labels, I won't touch the stuff. Enriched macaroni product just doesn't do it for me anymore.

I'm a huge fan of Annie's Shells & Real Aged Cheddar. Her mac and cheese is made with organic semolina pasta shells from durum wheat. Plus it's made with real cheese instead of cheese sauce mix.

Want to see how I make it even healthier? Then read more

On the box, it says that there are two and a half servings per container, but that's a really tiny serving (I think). I usually end up eating half the prepared batch and I add tons of broccoli too which ups the amount of calcium. Just cut up a cup (or more) of broccoli, and when the pasta has a minute left to cook throw it in the boiling water. Then after a minute, drain the water out, add the cheese mix and milk, stir and enjoy.

Serving Size	1/2 the box prepared
Calories	337
Total Fat	5g
Saturated Fat	3g
Cholesterol	12.5mg
Sodium	662mg
Carbs	57g
Fiber	2.5g
Sugar	6g
Protein	12g

This mac and cheese is creamy, smooth and delicious. The cheesy flavor isn't very strong, so sometimes I even add a little extra shredded cheddar on top. The sodium content seems a little high, but since we can have 2,300 mg a day, it's really not that bad.

Fit's Tips: This tastes great with cooked carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, and corn too. Experiment with all your favorite veggies and this familiar meal just got healthier.

Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta: Good Stuff

FitSugar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:45:00 -0700

Fiber Gourmet has been the talk of the health world due to it's claims of 40% fewer calories than standard pasta (Fiber Gourmet has 130 per serving). What's more? One serving has a whooping 18 grams of fiber and it only amounts to 2 Weight Watchers Points. With statistics like these, I had to give it a shot.

I am always hesitant when it comes to new foods that claim wonders, but I put it to the test last night using my dad's tried-and-true old fashioned meatball recipe. The pasta is prepared just as you would any pasta and it's done in about 9 minutes. Aside from noticing a teeny bit of texture differences, I think it tasted just like regular pasta -- My husband could not tell a difference at all. I'm sure an Italian grandmother would not touch this stuff with a ten foot pole, but if you like to have pasta from time to time, then you should definitely give it a shot. You really can't beat that fiber content -- I give it two thumbs up!

To try for yourself, visit FiberGourmet.com. The only caveat right now is that it seems you can only buy it in bulk which is 12 bags (5 servings per bag) for $40, which ends up being a little over $3 per bag.

Diet Tip: Quality and Quantity

FitSugar — Fri, 11 May 2007 08:45:00 -0700

In many people's minds "DIET" is a four letter word, if you know what I mean. So, instead of dieting, these folks just decide to eat "healthy." Which I must say I commend. However, if you are trying to lose weight you have to look at both the quality and the quantity of the food you are consuming.

For instance we all know that nuts are good for us, but if you are trying to lose weight you need to keep the portion small since they are high in fat. One handful a day is plenty, and I have read that if you are trying to lose weight, to only eat nuts every other day.

With this in mind, I urge you to measure out your food for a while, to really become acquainted with portion sizes. A serving of Kashi Go Lean is a cup; so pour the cereal into a measuring cup before pouring it into a bowl. Do the same with milk. This way you know that you are eating the recommended serving size and how many calories you are consuming. The same with pasta, and I might add, if you are shooting for both quality and quantity it should really be whole wheat pasta since it has so much beneficial fiber in it.

While you are pondering how you eat, remember to focus on all those fruits and veggies you can add into you diet not what you have to eliminate.