Alternative Pastas
Are they good for you?
Healthier than the Traditional Kind?
Alternative pastas demonstrate that non-grain pastas can both be healthy and delicious. Wether you are on a low carb diet, would like to double down your protein intake or avoid gluten you no longer need to avoid your favourite pasta.
Healthier than conventional pasta, and just as tasty
Traditional pastas are made from semolina, a gluten-containing flour refined from durum wheat. Whether they include hearts of palm, quinoa, or beans, alternative pastas made from nutritionally dense, versatile, often organic ingredients help people plate up the same pasta dishes they love but without wheat.
Health benefits of alternative pastas are:
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Higher protein
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Higher fibre
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Lower carbohydrates
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Gluten-free
Some non-grain pastas offer up to 44 grams of protein per serving—nearly the recommended daily minimum protein intake for an average sedentary man or woman.
Many non-grain pastas feature a more pasta-like texture than those made from rice.
Trying to limit or avoid wheat and gluten?
Always check the ingredients. Some alternative pastas are grain- or gluten-free while others incorporate wheat or other grains.
No matter what your dietary preferences or needs, these eight alternative pastas can expand your pasta-eating palate.
Black Beans Pasta
Many black bean pastas are 100-percent black beans, maximising their fibre and protein content. In addition to standard pasta sauces—such as tomato and onions or pesto—you can also experiment with flavour combinations beyond the ole Italian boot. Southwest or Latin flavours can take on new life in a bowl of black bean pasta, perhaps topped with your favourite meat.
Chickpeas Pasta
Considered by many to be “the king of beans,” the chickpea is no stranger to being ground into flour. The chickpea has come into a great pasta option that can be completely grain-free and gluten-free. As one of the world’s most nutrient-dense foods, chickpeas come packed with nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, phosphate, calcium, folic acid, iron, B vitamins, and potassium. Almost a superfood.With a flavour that more closely resembles chickpeas than traditional pasta, the mild, slightly nutty taste of chickpea pasta pairs beautifully with cheese- or butter-based sauces
Spinach Lasagna
Lasagna, who doesn’t like a good lasagna? Made with these very thin sheets of spinach your lasagna is going to be healthier, tastier and full of nutrients.
Pea Pasta
One of my favourites in form of spaghetti, you won’t feel the difference cooking this pasta a Bolognese for example.
One thing to be careful will all these alternative pastas is the cooking time, try to strict yourself to what says on the instructions. Otherwise can turn into a pure or mash.
Also I realised that they are better just cooked in hot water instead of trying to be cooked in a sauce. Cooking them first in hot water and then mix with your favourite sauce.
