Pasta to live and love

[pmasoft]

Hi all
Probably already cropped up here but Zen B pasta maybe a godsend. Ot is made from yellow peas not flour. So a protein source not cards. Not cheap but worth a try if you love pasta dishes.

 

[Antje77]

Picture copied from their website.
So 51 grams of carbs per 100 against some 70 for regular pasta. Still a lot of carbs.

 

[EllieM]

I may sound like a broken record here and probably only practical when they are in season, but courgetti spaghetti is the best (spiralised and fried courgettes).

 

[AloeSvea]

And konjac root rice and pasta substitutes. I love them. Don't provide nutrition as such, but they are carb-free, and do a pretty good job 'passing'. Especially the 'rice'.

 

[Stephen Bond]

I have just been reading about restrictive starch in rice and pasta which seems like a very good option. Both work fine f reheated, so i will be experimenting with both and will report back

 

[Zhnyaka]

I may sound like a broken record here and probably only practical when they are in season, but courgetti spaghetti is the best (spiralised and fried courgettes).

I just read this thread. This is the first time I've heard that spaghetti can be cooked with courgetti. How do you cook it?

 

[HSSS]

I just read this thread. This is the first time I've heard that spaghetti can be cooked with courgetti. How do you cook it?

You spiralize (slice longwise really thin or use a spirulizer or a julienne slicer) the courgette (zucchini)and either drop it in some boiling water or stir fry it in some butter. Be warned it doesn’t take long at all. Personally I barely cook it at all but make sure whatever sauce etc goes on top is piping hot and heats it through. I like more texture than the mush if it’s overdone

 

[Goonergal]

You spiralize (slice longwise really thin or use a spirulizer or a julienne slicer) the courgette (zucchini)and either drop it in some boiling water or stir fry it in some butter. Be warned it doesn’t take long at all. Personally I barely cook it at all but make sure whatever sauce etc goes on top is piping hot and heats it through. I like more texture than the mush if it’s overdone

When I used to use it, I didn’t bother to cook it, just put it in a very hot bowl and stirred before adding whatever sauce was going on top. Left it with an “al dente’ texture and was nicer than cooked which was often a bit limp.

An alternative is to slice and sauté the courgette.

 

[HSSS]

When I used to use it, I didn’t bother to cook it, just put it in a very hot bowl and stirred before adding whatever sauce was going on top. Left it with an “al dente’ texture and was nicer than cooked which was often a bit limp.

An alternative is to slice and sauté the courgette.

Yep heat it up rather than “cook” it is definitely the way to go imo too

 

[TriciaWs]

I have just been reading about restrictive starch in rice and pasta which seems like a very good option. Both work fine f reheated, so i will be experimenting with both and will report back

It appears that the research published in this area by Dr Robertson was just a pilot study so far.

 

[sw600]

bit of an old thread, but fyi, red lentils make excellent pasta. I had a pack in the cupboard so I whizzed them up to flour in the food processor then made pasta (1 egg to 100g of flour, no other ingredients). Lentils dirt cheap, eggs slightly more expensive but miles cheaper than a lot of the shop bought pasta alternatives.

It's remarkably close to 'real' pasta, just slightly less silky as there is zero gluten. You only need to cook for 5 mins though as it can go slightly mushy otherwise.

Excellent nutritional profile (LOTS of fibre):

Approx 50g carbs and 15g fibre per 100g, lots of protein also.

 

[Antje77]

Excellent nutritional profile (LOTS of fibre):

Approx 50g carbs and 15g fibre per 100g

Many of us would have their BG shoot up very high from eating a portion of pasta that high in carbs. I don't think 50% carbs is a very good nutritional profile for most T2's.
We all react different to carbs so for some this may work, especially if you're on the lower side of prediabetes. Do you test before and after meals to see how your blood glucose reacts to it?

 

[sw600]

Yes it’s somewhat easier for me as ‘pre’, but a serving of dried pasta is usually about 50g, so that’s 25 carbs. Plus you’d get 7.5g of fibre at the same time which should slow absorption.

 

[sw600]

I have been using a libre but run out, got some more arriving in a day or two so will do a test

 

[Paule Foster]

New T2 here. Usually I can hardly look at pasta without shooting up but out in Italy (impossibly hot) at mo. & fresh pasta with veg toppings fine! Why????

 

[HSSS]

New T2 here. Usually I can hardly look at pasta without shooting up but out in Italy (impossibly hot) at mo. & fresh pasta with veg toppings fine! Why????

Are you walking more, eating/drinking differently in other way? Testing the same way? Less stressed?

 

[Paule Foster]

Ah certainly less stressed as on holiday. Walking a bit more but not hugely but it is very hot so I guess expending a lot more energy. It is taking a lot less to bring my BG down. I obviously need to live in Italy full time!

 

[Paule Foster]

Also testing is the same(CGM & blood test same time -ish every morning after I get up).

 

[HSSS]

so is the biggest difference the pasta meal on the cgm or is it all much improved? Whichever enjoy it whilst it lasts.

 

[Paul_]

New T2 here. Usually I can hardly look at pasta without shooting up but out in Italy (impossibly hot) at mo. & fresh pasta with veg toppings fine! Why????

Could it be what I've come to call the "macro combo effect"?

Generally, for ease, we all look at each individual item in a meal, rather than the meal as a whole. I typically stick to 10g of carbs per meal or less, so would dismiss 50g of pasta as an option, however if the total meal is a) high fat, b) high fibre, i.e. more fibre than carbs, c) high protein vs carbs in meal, or d) a combination of all these points, my BG reaction to higher carb content meals is less - to a point.

Fairly new to this game of T2 diabetes management and low carb dieting, but my testing seems to support this - albeit very non-scientific and limited testing. I'd also add that from what I've read, the points mentioned can cause a delayed BG increase, or for spikes to avoided but BG is higher for longer periods, so it could just be the 2hr post-meal BG reading is too soon for meals where the "macro combo effect" is a factor.

Haven't got as far as testing all the detail on myself yet, but knowing Italian cooking, it's probably not short in supply of olive oil in the meal you're having.

Also, any alcohol with these meals? That can have an effect.