A Pasta Not To Pass Up

 

When my husband turned 40 he got fearful of getting a gut. He'd noticed a lot of his buddies were suddenly expanding and he didn't want to follow suit.  He decided to radically cut back on carbs.  That also meant a change for me - one I wouldn't exactly call welcome.  Pasta became limited to the occasional rainy or cold day when I rationalized that my grandfather's homemade red sauce simmering on the stove would take the chill off the house.  However, I've recently started serving pasta regularly again after getting turned on to a healthy, nutritious brand that'll keep my husband happy while keeping my Italian side fulfilled. 

 I was having lunch with a nutritionist, Karen Sherwood, at L.I.F.E.  (Live-In Fitness Enterprise)  in Marina del Ray and raised my eyebrows when their in-house cook brought in a pasta for our lunch.  I was surprised they'd be serving pasta at a facility aimed at fitness, weight-loss and health.  Karen told me it was a whole wheat pasta - a new brand made by Barilla. Whole grain pasta typically leaves me unsatisfied and when I've served it to the kids they've pushed their plates back and folded their little arms in a haughty stance as if to say, "Are you kiddin' me?" But this pasta was delicious!  

"Barilla Pasta with Omega 3 tastes very similar to white pasta. The difference in taste is subtle. But the best thing is it's an excellent form of carbs to include in your diet. You'll get your Omega 3's - i.e. the healthy fat that you want to have.  Omega 3's are what you get in salmon, flaxseed and soy.  This pasta is another way to include it in your diet.  And, by the way, unlike some whole grain pastas, the difference in taste is subtle.  You're kids won't even know they aren't getting the regular pasta."  

Her last line had me curious.  Hmmmmm could I possibly slip these guys a pasta mickie?   I covered the Barilla penne as best I could with marinara (no onions mom!)and subtly slid it on the table with my back casually turned as I tossed the salad (no tomatoes mom!). Sure enough, by the time I got the salad to the table, the arms were unfolded and the forks were jamming pasta in mouths at breakneck speed.  The ruse had worked (what's for dessert mom?). I sat down and silently toasted myself with a glass of red wine.

Comments

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I read in a health article that pasta is one of the food you must consider to eat when you are in a diet. Check this out:

http://healthytips101.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/great-eight-foods-to-lose-weight/