What to eat instead of pasta

[Cloud44]

I don’t know if it’s becoming older but I seem to feel rubbish after eating pasta. It’s so easy though just to whip up some pasta, add some veg / sauce after a long day but I don’t want to eat it if it’s making me feel rubbish… what could I swap it for instead?

I'm around your age and find I can get a bit that way with milk when I never used to.

I do think most of our meals involve rice, potato, bread and pasta in that order.

We used to have courgetti and lot and I did like it. Haven't had it for ages but I did like it. You could try some of that with some wholemeal pasta.

I am now partial to a salad and I ever used to be. M&S do some good superfood mixes that I like

something like this

@ringoffiire good point - I only eat rice noodles so I didn't think about that! But yes... rice or wheat free noodles!

40's is quite a normal age for it really, with peri menopause around the corner if you're not there already. Don't sweat it, just adapt your diet to things that make you feel better.

Too much 'white carbs' (especially normal bread, rice and potatoes, we don't have white pasta) definitely doesn't do us any favours. DH is prediabetic and it's pretty much like eating sugar.

I struggle with porridge oats now.

Dh makes a bolognese sauce or chilli and I have it with green veg...leeks, broccoli, sprouts, any kind of green veg that I steam in the microwave for 6 minutes. I also feel rubbish after pasta or rice and love having something crunchy with mince, or curry.

Couscous and orzo are pasta!

I have bolognase with roasted veg. Don't miss the pasta.

Give pearl barley a go!

I eat a lot of courgetti and swoodles when I’m low carbing.

💯

I really struggle with carbs - tired, sluggish, as someone upthread said, clearly a bit of an intolerance.

Until v recently I refused to change tho - I felt I 'needed' my carbs!

I exercise intensively daily, HIIT, weights, running, Spin. Recently I was competing & was shocked to find I was struggling compared to others I would have expected to do better than.

Finally pushed me to up protein intake, reduce sugar, reduce carbs. All the things we are supposed to do, really!

My favourite quick dinners that are light on carbs are usually a bit of a pick and mix. I always keep sausages, bacon, halloumi and eggs in the house. Quick and easy to cook, low carb, high protein. Doesn’t bloat me. If you need a bit of carb I throw in some toasted sourdough. Cooked chicken thighs, olives, tomatoes, roasted kale, carrots & hummus, boiled eggs. All quick to prepare.

Chop up a celeriac into wedges and oven roast with some olive oil, garlic and seasoning.

Lentil “pasta”? Looks like reddish fusilli but made from 100% lentils. Tesco has it in own brand but I’m sure it’s everywhere.

If it's wheat that is the problem, then orzo, couscous or wheat noodles won't help you.

Have you tried polenta, it's made from maize, so it's naturally gluten free.

I haven’t stepped away from pasta, but do have a smallish amount of it compared with the 6ft teenager. With rice, I’ve always found basmati indigestible, so now I just have about 1/3rd of a naan bread instead or a small amount of white or brown easycook/longgrain rice

Couscous is pasta

You can replace it with bulgar wheat, freekeh, pearl barley

Or just veggies with whatever sauce you were going to have

I seem to live on potatoes more than pasta these days.

Yes same as you, gave up bread (and most bready type products) some years ago, noticed a pattern with joint pain, swelling, bloating, particularly in the face and hands, joints etc, so that included pasta of course

Used to love the stuff

Tonights tea is roasted cauliflower with a sauce that you put on ribs (just out a bottle), root mash and some chicken thigh

I have bolognese with potato and aubergine (a bit like a very non traditional mousaka)

aldi do chickpea or green pea pasta that I find nice with tomato based sauces or pesto.

to get a similar vibe to macaroni cheese but without the pasta I have cauliflower, broccoli and leeks cooked in a cheese sauce. Obviously not the same but nice in its own right.

is it the sauce or the pasta?
my lovely mil thought it was the pasta but then realised that she reacts to olive oil.

Gluten free pasta, or risotto

Loads of places do lentil/pea pasta
https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-the-foodie-market-gluten-free-green-pea-penne-250g/4088600206479
Up the veggies you mix with it.

Cous cous is my favourite alternative. Xx

I've tried zen b pasta, it's made with yellow peas I think , doesn't have that horrible pea tang though and is a lot lighter on the tum, it's pricey though!