With the transition to clean eating, I had pretty much given up eating pasta. Not an easy feat! I was raised in an Italian family where just about every family meal had a pasta dish!! We had angel hair pasta, pasta with shrimp, lasagna, vegetable lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, pasta with butter, soup with pasta. You get the picture!
Last week on my grocery shopping trip, I decided to try the fresh pasta. You know, the kind that is in the refrigerated area. Then when I came home, I checked in my pantry and saw that I had just about every variety of dry pasta they make! I had veggie pasta, chickpea pasta (is that even pasta?), “regular” pasta, and whole wheat, whole grain pasta.
I know from making recipes that I love the taste of “regular” pasta and the veggie pasta was pretty good too. I also know that I did NOT like the chickpea pasta or the whole wheat, whole grain pasta. I have been able to adjust my taste buds on many food items, but not on the pasta. So, I decided to give the fresh pasta a try and I enjoyed it with the tomato sauce from the Fixate cookbook and spicy turkey sausage. But then I got worried that I shouldn’t have enjoyed it and decided to do a side by side comparison of the nutrition facts to see if I was making an OK choice or not. I organized the information in a tidy chart so I could see what was what!
First off I saw that the serving size was larger for the fresh pasta and for the “regular” pasta, while the calories were not that different. Fat content was also comparable, but the chickpea pasta was highest in fat. The sodium content was quite a bit higher in the fresh pasta, but I figure I can drink more water and not add any salt when eating to rationalize this one. Carbs were comparable, but the fiber was lower in the fresh than in the whole wheat (even at the larger serving size) and the protein is also lower when the serving size is considered. So, that’s what’s up. The fresh pasta is not a complex a carb as whole grain pasta, so it’s not as “good” for me. There isn’t as much fiber, so it doesn’t take a longer time for my body to digest.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with the fresh pasta once in awhile though! I checked the ingredients and it only has durum wheat flour, eggs, water, salt, and soy lecithin. Since I am eating mostly unprocessed foods these days, I’m willing to take a chance on that additive now and then. I do realize that I haven’t tried whole grain pasta, so I am going to pick that up next time I’m at the grocery store. Here’s a label for Barilla whole grain pasta I found online.
