# Pasta no-no for carb restrictions



## yankeefaninseattle (Feb 8, 2007)

Hey All,

I am determined to be able to eat pasta even on my new restricted carb lifestyle change. I need some answers from an experienced baker/cook. 
1) W/ homemade pasta, can another type of flour be subbed for the semolina, or added w/ the semolina to decrease the actual carb count in the pasta itself?
2) Why is it that there are more carbs in pasta, rice, grains UNCOOKED than there are in cooked?
3) Is there a basic principle that needs to be learned/taught about making pasta? I mean, going w/ ? #1, is there a basic formula? Has anyone made pasta out of rye flour or oat flour for instance? Is it the semolina itself? What about whole wheat pasta? That comes from WW flour, right?

Thanks for digging your brains on this one. Do you know how many carbs are in pasta??? Although my body can't handle it anymore, I still want the luxury of eating some real pasta when I choose to suffer the consequences.

B.


----------



## Alix (Feb 8, 2007)

Hmmm. Good question. I will have to go ask some folks for help on this one. How are you with eggs? I suspect that either rice or potato flour would work well, as long as you get the consistency of the pasta right it should be fine. 

As to the uncooked vs cooked piece, thats the gluten thing and I don't explain it well so I will leave that to ourchemist buddies. Breaking bonds etc etc.


----------



## Alix (Feb 8, 2007)

Oops. Meant to ask, are you having trouble digesting the pasta? or is it that you are restricting your carb intake or looking at "better carbs" on the glycemic index? That makes a bit of difference to what folks will recommend for you to do.


----------



## kadesma (Feb 8, 2007)

_Yankeefan,_
_I had this problem when diagnosed with diabetes. How much could I eat with out a rapid and truly high b/g reading..What I did was measure out 1 cup of pasta,..took a b/g test before eating it, waited an hour checked again, way to high, waited another hour still hig but coming down..So the next time I measured out 1/2 cup bingo, I can eat 1/2 c of pasta, and I know that isn't much but fill in with salad, low carb veggie NO bread, no desserts..Then if you decide you want a dessert one night cut out any carbs with the meal and have a small dessert..All the while do test your b/g that is how you will learn where your body is with the b/gs and give you an idea of amounts you can safely handle. If you decide that you want to do testing and learn about your body, here is how I do it, a fasting test on rising each morning, you want a reading100 or below..two hours after a meal 140 and coming down I do this 3-6 times a day..I know it seems excessive, but I  have more control and seldom have high b/g._
_kadesma _


----------



## Uncle Bob (Feb 8, 2007)

Kadesma...

You da man!!!!!! er... lovely lady I meant to say 
Your post above is right on.

I can find NO flour that is not high in carbs...some more than others but still over all high. Believe you me I have looked..The key is smaller portions and less often...And as you say..one must "know" ones own body. 1/2 cup of potato is fine with me..1/2 cup of rice I get higher numbers.
I returned today from my 6 month check up..my A1C was 5.5% ..opposed to 8.8% when I was diagnosed with Type II six months ago..My 30 day avg. is 97...So Uncle Bob doing good!! My doctor was duly impressed!!


----------



## BreezyCooking (Feb 8, 2007)

I know that you're interested in homemade pasta, but have you tried the Barilla "Plus" brand of pasta?  It's made from whole-wheat & legume flours & is really quite good.  The legume flours cut down on the "wheaty" taste that many pure whole-wheat pastas have.


----------



## Silver (Feb 8, 2007)

A few opinions on this (my opinions aren't worth much, but I like to give them anyway):

All flours (except to a certain degree soy flour, I don't know if it really counts as a flour) are high in carbs because they're pretty close to being pure starch, which is a form of carbohydrate.  If starch is an integral part of pasta, which I presume it must be,  then by nature, it'll be high carb.  On that note, however, certain types of flours will have a lesser effect on BG levels (assuming that's your concern).  For example, a lower GI flour like whole wheat should have a reduced effect on BG levels.

If you're going for low-carb for weight loss (a la Atkins), don't.  It's just outright not good for you.  Carb control is a much better method...and carbs CAN be controlled and maintained within completely healthy limits that encourage weight loss by eating ordinary serving sizes of pasta.  I repeat, there is nothing redeeming about Atkins style low-carb eating on a regular basis, for most people.

As for the cooked vs. uncooked weight, do you mean that 30g dry contains more than 30g cooked?  If so, that's simply from water content.  30g dry cooks out to...what? 100g?  Something like that.  Further to that, a small amount of starch will be lost in the cooking process, but it shouldn't be significant.  Otherwise, I'm not sure I actually understand the question.

I have heard very good things from Barilla "Plus" from fitness minded individuals.  From what I've seen of the nutrition information, it looks pretty good, too.  I wish we had it up here in Canada.


----------



## kadesma (Feb 8, 2007)

Uncle Bob said:
			
		

> Kadesma...
> 
> You da man!!!!!! er... lovely lady I meant to say
> Your post above is right on.
> ...


Uncle Bob,
a 5.5 bravo, I can tell you've been working at this..Way to go.I know doing all we have to can be a drag at times, but boy it sure keeps the wolves at bay. I find pasta and rice don't cause as big a b/g rise as potatoes do for me..So I'm pretty careful about the amounts I have. I think each of us has a different tolarence for certain foods and must take them into consideration in our meals. It sure is nice to find someone who thinks along the same lines as I do on diabetes and foods.

kadesma


----------



## Loprraine (Feb 8, 2007)

Yankeefan, have you tried speghetti squash? Definitely not the same, but better than nothing. Maybe with a shot of Jim Beam on the side.


----------



## kadesma (Feb 8, 2007)

Loprraine said:
			
		

> Yankeefan, have you tried speghetti squash? Definitely not the same, but better than nothing. Maybe with a shot of Jim Beam on the side.


Nice idea Loprraine,
but he still has to count carbs..If he wants to lower b/g's and triglycerides, testing ourselves and finding out the carb count in what we eat is important...Certain veggies do have a higher carb count than other..Now the Jim Beam 

kadesma


----------



## yankeefaninseattle (Feb 9, 2007)

Well people, I thank you for your input. Unfortunately I cannot indulge in alcohol due to the meds I am on.
I am not doing the atkins thing, as he is dead from heart complications of some sort, isn't he?
I have a carb restriction of 45g per meal, and 15g per snack (2/day). They found a fatty liver, and it takes my body 4x as long to regulate my glucose. My triglycerides were @ 540, then @ 320, which is still THE highest they can go. This lifestyle change is to live healthy. I am only 37, Found out diabetes runs in my family too. Had no earthly idea this was going on. I can have no bread, pasta, rice, brown beans, corn or potatoes, and have been living this way since thanksgiving, no less.
I found that since starting this venture, I cannot eat pasta, granola, or basically carb laden items like I used to. My stomach does not like those carbs I guess. But, I cannot live w/out SOME pasta. 
This is the reason for my questions about low-carb pasta, and the technical questions as to what pasta should be made out of exactly...
But, I tell you, if I could stick my face into a bowl of fettucini alfredo w/ parmesan garlic bread...ohmigod....

B.


----------



## Silver (Feb 9, 2007)

In that case, it sounds like something like small portions of Barilla Plus may be your single best option, but I would consult with your doctor or nutritionist first.


----------



## BreezyCooking (Feb 9, 2007)

Okay - I've got a box of "Barilla Plus" Rotini pasta here in front of me.

Front of box says:  "Enriched Multigrain Pasta, Good Source of Fiber and Protein, Contains ALA Omega-3".

Ingredients Panel says:  Semolina, grain and legume flour blend (lentils, chickpeas, oats, spelt, barley, egg whites, ground flaxseed, and wheat fiber), durum flour, niacin, iron (ferrous sulfate), thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid.

The box is, of course, chock full of info, so if you want me to copy anything else, let me know.  Barilla does have a website though in case you want specific info on their products - Barilla Pasta, Italian Recipes and Entertaining Ideas.

And like I said before, it's quite good.  Doesn't have that heavy "wheaty" taste that whole wheat pastas do.  Hope this helps you!


----------



## Alix (Feb 9, 2007)

yankeefaninseattle, long before Atkins became popular there was a book out called the Carbohydrate addicts Diet. I learned a lot about how we process carbohydrates from that book, and the diet it espouses is actually quite healthy. It does not eliminate carbs, just regulates when you have them so that you don't crave them quite so much. Give it a read and see if it helps you out at all.


----------



## yankeefaninseattle (Feb 12, 2007)

I will definitely check out the Barilla plus pasta. Thanks for the link. And, I thank you all for your input. This is why I continue to come to this forum. I go back for blood test at the begin of March, so I'll keep you informed on my pasta search, and the results of this limited carb lifestyle. I'll also check into the carb addicts diet book. I am thinking that all the info I can get will be a big help in maintaining this lifestyle.

B.


----------

