Whole wheat pasta

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 1:58pm

So far every single one I've tried does not taste like white pasta, nor does it have a texture anything like white pasta.

Has anyone discovered a good one? I eat a lot of pasta and it would be great if I could switch to whole wheat.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:03pm

I'm just so used to it now that I don't notice a difference. Barilla Plus is a good multigrain pasta.....

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:03pm

I thought it was just me. I keep wanting to like it, but . . .

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:06pm

Same here, I hate it. Tastes too gummy!

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:16pm

I find if you under cook it a bit, the texture is better. I got used to it, and really did not mind the difference (before I gave up most what - brown rice pasta is much gummier).

It is like white rice and brown rice. At first, the brown rice tasted a bit walnuty to me, but I quickly got used to brown rice and now prefer it to white.

I used Trader Joe's pasta when I ate whole wheat.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:32pm

When I was first diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic, I was told the only pasta I could have was whole wheat. I found it to be dreadful. Since then, Dreamfields pastas have received very good ratings in various diabetic publications. It tastes pretty darn good but is expensive. Every once in a while it goes on sale and I stock up.

Dreamfields makes a lasagna noodle that enables me to make a low-fat, diabetic friendly lasagne with low-fat cheeses and Egg Beater.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:38pm

I love it. But I love whole wheat anything.

[kooky]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:41pm

I started eating it a while ago... I guess I just got used to it .... I enjoy it ... with gravy,
and some grated cheese, and also a little bit of crushed red peppers ... I can't taste the difference anymore .... It is better for you. Trader Joe's has a whole wheat pasta that
is good ... if you happen to have one by you ....

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:55pm

I use brown rice and whole wheat pasta (Trader Joe's- cheap, too!) all the time. It does take a little getting used to, like anything else, but if you "doctor it up" right, with spices, veggies, protein, etc., it's delish. And helped me to lose 45 lbs this year. I actually like the "nutty:" flavor. In fact, I just made a chinese stir fry, using leftover chicken, celery, onions, and bell peppers, and asian condiments, served over brown rice and it came out really good. You have to experiment a bit re: the cooking time (45 minutes for brown rice), 10-15 for WW pasta. Good luck.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:01pm

Love it. I still prefer regular pasta with lots of pecorino romano butter if I got to eat anything and never get fat, but its a nice alternative since that is certainly not the case.

I had whole wheat gnocchi recently and I gotta say it wasn't that great, but non- potato-based pastas are fine.

I love it with squash with Auribella and Asiago, in particular.

P

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:14pm

thanks for the replies, guys!

It doesn't sound very hopeful for me, with all the "I got used to it" "after a while you don't notice the difference", lol.

I guess it's stupid for me to expect one that's as good as white.

My biggest problem isn't the taste, but that grainy texture of the ww.

btw, I eat brown rice every single day for breakfast, but to me the rice doesn't have the problems that the pasta does.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:17pm

That's because you're used to it.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:22pm

LOL! Touche, PJ!

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:27pm

Welllll, not really PJ. I liked brown rice the first time I tried it.

I just did some research on line and read several tasters' surveys. There wasn't one person who could even approximately equate any of the ww pastas with white.

I buy my pasta in the Italian import store at Chelsea market so I think at least the quality is good. I'm going to have to stick with the white and try to limit my portions. There are certain things in life that we don't want to give up!

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:14pm

Whole wheat pasta will absolutely never cook the way white flour pasta does.

Jane - if you're shopping at Buon Italia, try their Taralli al Pepperoncino as well as their soppresata and raschera cheese. All of which are extremely reasonably priced.

In fact, the cheeses are priced better than at Trader Joe's, and they actually come from Italy, as opposed to Wisconsin.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:16pm

The trainer I'm working with advised me to never use whole wheat pasta and always go for whole GRAIN pasta. I'm actually glad he told me this because I find the texture in the whole grain pastas much better and I actually like the taste more, as well.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:21pm

what are some of the examples of whole grain pasta,Jordan?

Cheno, I'll check it out, although I don't usually go the Italian route for cheeses.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:28pm

Jane, the one I like the best is Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest 7 Grain pasta.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:48pm

What about the texture?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:53pm

To me, it cooks like regular pasta. It's a tad firmer but I like that anyways.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:59pm

sounds good!

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 6:03pm

Jordan is right - stick with whole GRAIN, not whole wheat, and Ronzoni is VERY good.

I have found that whole grain/whole wheat pastas are best in shapes as opposed to spaghetti/angel hair style. With a red sauce on top, it's hard to tell the difference. I am particularly fond of Ronzoni's Bow Ties and I have also found some fantastic whole grain Campanelli (my fav pasta shape) around. (Wegman's, but that's only in upstate NY)

P

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 6:03pm

wait a minute, whole grain is the same as whole wheat!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 6:04pm

Give it a try! I'm told the carbs in it are better than the carbs in whole wheat which is good enough reason for me to make the switch. :)

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 6:40pm

Jane I use Barilla Plus which is also whole grain.