If you are a healthy weight and eat pasta...

[luminousloops]

I hear a lot of bad press concerning pasta, and am in this category.
I am lucky in that I haven't experienced any weight changes so far in my life (50) or health problems that might affect it. But I have always eaten pasta several times per week, including decent bread for toast and other white horrors.
That said, my daily food intake is fairly healthy over all.

I would like to know if pasta is still in a state of disgrace , since most of the internet gives it a big red flag. I know about the calories in it, but they don't seem like a terrible amount per portion.

It was something of a staple when I was growing up, part of a decent balanced diet, although not every day. Chucking some fresh tomato and pesto on it was a favourite, quick student meal for me. I don't recall anyone complaining about it being calorific.

Personally I believe in 'everything in moderation', generally, although food does seem to affect a lot of us in different ways. I don't know a great deal about insulin but appreciate that this concerns some.

So is it still popular in your house? Or do you find it problematic?

Not a problem. Unless you eat huge portions. We have pasta every week. A winner I make is bacon chicken and mushroom with crème France. It’s amazing.

We eat it about three times a week, so I hope it's not too bad! I add loads of veg to make it as healthy as possible.

I love farfalle with spinach, pine nuts and a drizzle of lemon & garlic pepper....aaaah! A bit of parmesan dusted on top. Sprig of basil and some olives. My favourite is plain old wholewheat spaghetti with pesto though, always <3

I eat pasta and my bmi is 18.5! I also eat rice and potatoes. I've just got quite a small appetite so don't eat loads of anything but I do eat carbs including pasta

We eat loads of pasta. And it’s white not brown. We’re all pretty slim.

My step dad ate nothing but pasta for a whole month once.
Just straight pasta 4 weeks straight.

I love it and I'm average size, more importantly every Italian I've ever met eats tonnes of pasta and none have been particularly unhealthy

I eat carbs. My weight had gone up, but I am now back to a healthy weight and I still eat carbs. I love pasta and do a lot of low fat versions.

No, not a problem. I'm 61 and have a BMI of 23. I usually eat pasta on a Friday night so I have plenty of energy for ParkRun on a Saturday morning. Always wholemeal and normally without cheese.

Last night was wholemeal spaghetti putanesca. Followed by fruit and a slice of home made lemon drizzle cake.

This morning's run was completed in pouring rain but it felt good. 🙂

Entire generations of Italians have eaten it every day. Avoid wholewheat, it's revolting. If you want to make it healthier eat the fresh egg pasta, which is nicer anyway, or make sure you buy the more expensive brands made from durum.

Italians also tend to have smaller portions, less sauce, and more tomato/ vegetable based, rather than cream or cheese or meat based. Cucina povera.

(And they scoop up excess sauce with bread.... Double carbs, fab)

Unless someone has a medical condition that causes insulin resistance or similar, pasta is absolutely fine. I have lost 130lbs, I’m maintaining a BMI of around 20.8 and I eat loads of carbs. DH affectionately jokes that I’m a ‘Carbie Girl’.

(I'm autistic and have ARFID, so my palate is very limited - and very beige)

Healthy weight (though did have a phase of a couple of years where I was slightly overweight). I eat carbs every day. Pasta at least once a week. Wholegrain pasta if with bolognaise or tomato based sauces but white pasta for carbonara or any cream based sauces.

I also eat full fat dairy.

Everything I eat is cooked from scratch which I think helps with feeling full and keeping sugar intake down a bit. Perfectly capable of eating half a batch of chocolate brownies in one go though but seem to get away with it.😅

I eat pasta 2-3 times a week and have always been on the lower end of normal bmi. I’m a vegetarian and it with lots of veg and some form of cheese.

I was clinically classified as severely underweight for the first 20 years of my life, I have dietary issues and while wasn't vegan but naturally ate quite a vegan style diet.

Pasta (tomato/garlic based) with veg mixed in and bread was virtually the only thing I ate (definitely my 'main' diet) except maybe sometimes chips.

Once I started adding cheese bases (so cheesy pasta sauces and cheese pizza) into my diet I gained several stone and became 'healthy' weight. It definitely has to do with the saturated fat element of cheese, once I added that I shot up about 2 stone in weight in just a few months.

I still eat a lot of pasta especially in warmer months when I can eat cold pasta salads etc... and I lose weight when it takes over as the main food in my diet.

I don't think pasta (or carbs like bread, potato, rice) are bad at all. My DH never eat pasta before dating me, now when he goes to the gym he diets by switching to pasta based meals and it always works for him to boost weight loss.

Pasta is fine if not particularly nutritious. It's the things like Bolognese and cheese and fatty ingredients that give it a bad press for putting on weight. Tomato and basil etc - great!

I've got MORE into pasta as I age.

I prefer wholewheat pasta as otherwise I tend to feel hungry very soon after eating. Always have it with healthy fats. One of my fave meals is wholewheat penne with a piece of cooked from frozen mackarel broken into it, with peas, olive oil, what ever other veg. Or fresh pasta.

I also had some steel cut pasta. My god. That stuff if you can find it is the pasta of the gods.

Eating more beans is also very good. Basically the Mediterranean diet is the best.

I am glad to hear it is still getting some love!

Have heard true lovers of Italian cuisine hate wholewheat, but I do prefer it in the spaghetti, the white feels slimier in comparison. I prefer penne to be refined.

For anyone who loves green pesto (store bought), the Mr Organic basil and chilli version is HEAVEN! I know a lot of people prefer it homemade but I could never quite get the balance just right.

We have an ASD child, so we have to go a lot with what he will eat, we have pasta at least twice a week and all of us are slim. It’s such an easy staple to add veg to.

When I first left home I lived off pasta and again, have always been slim. I don’t buy pre-made sauces though as prefer making them myself so miss out on the additives/preservatives.

You are all making me suitably hungry now, think I know what I'm having this eve...

OK at this point I'm just here for these fabulous pasta recipes

Put it this way- most people in Italy are very slim and they eat pasta most nights, and 99% of that is white pasta, not wholemeal.

Their portions are fairly modest though

I also love filled gnocchi. Similar recipes to my pasta meals but with some wafer thin ham, olives, fold some fresh spinach into it before serving, again lemon.

A pack of Rana gnocchi can be split in to 3 portions and frozen, so lovely with grilled sweet peppers and a bit of sauce.
If you want to loose weight don't be put off! 10 balls of gnocchi with a ton of seasoned peppers, ham or chicken, and whatever other veg/herbs you fancy is a wonderful, healthy meal. it's very filling.

Wholewheat pasta is way better for me. And I prefer the taste, but then I was brought up in a very healthy family (with hardly any treats) and we were all very fit and slim,

If I eat white pasta I end up hungry again within an hour or so. Also end up bloated.

I tend to use around just under a cup, or 100g of spaghetti.
I know a lot of people say they can eat too much of it, but I do think it's extremely filling, especially if served with lean meat and veg. I never pair it with cheese though, not fond of the combination. Maybe the creamer pasta's are more calorific?

I do agree that it can be part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Another great and healthy alternative to a fast food favourite would be homemade flatbread or a fresh pizza base topped with mozzarella balls, garlic paste, tomatoes, herbs, olives, sliced peppers, chilli, thinly cut spinach - and season with rosemary, basil.....I am guessing but I reckon about 350 cals for a good small pizza!
Dribble some pesto on for good measure and bung it under the grill for 10 mins.

Surely bread is worse? Lots of people practically live on bread