motd Monday Sept 12, 2011

[Guest guest]

OODLES OF

NOODLES

Monday, 12 September 2011

I

know I've told you before how much my father loved

cookbooks. He had quite the collection and, of course,

I just loved looking through them. I'm telling you, my

dad created some of the most unbelievable dishes you've

ever tasted from his vast cookbook collection.

As I

looked through them, I noticed lots of his cookbooks had

a section on Italian cooking, specifically pasta

dishes. And my father, extraordinary chef that he was,

mastered many of them. Back home in New Orleans, we

usually had pasta on Friday because we didn't eat meat

that day. (Yes, I was raised Catholic.)

He made spaghetti with a homemade marinara sauce. He

also made fettuccini alfredo fit for a king. Oh

wait...I think I gained half-a-pound just mentioning

those two dishes! LOL.

Now

as you know, some pasta dishes come loaded with cream,

butter and eggs. (Ka-ching, ka-ching.) And

no, I'm not adding up dollars. I'm adding up

calories!

For

years, pasta was considered fattening. And yes, some of

the dishes I just talked about are loaded with fat and

calories. But wait a minute. Those fat and calories

aren't coming from the pasta. They're coming from the

sauces we put on top of our pasta. But let's forget

about the toppings and for now, let's focus only on the

pasta itself.

A half-cup of pasta equals one portion. When

I was a kid, the only kind of pasta you saw was

light-colored. But today, you can go into any

supermarket and pick up some really good-for-you whole

wheat pasta, which is darker in color. It's an

excellent source of fiber and complex carbohydrates. By

the way, the carbs in pasta come in the form of easily

digestible starches. And why is that important?

Well, because those kinds of starches are absorbed more

slowly into the body. That means, after finishing a

serving, you'll feel satisfied for a longer period of

time. Athletes like to load up on pasta because it

gives them a longer-lasting burst of energy.

(So-o-o-o...that's how they win all of those

gold medals!) And oh yeah, further busting the "pasta

is fattening" myth is this. Pasta, by itself, is almost

totally fat-free.

I like my pasta al dente which means I like it more firm

than mushy. Most pastas take 10-12 minutes to cook

after you drop it into a pot of boiling water. Okay,

now that your pasta is all done, what're you going to

top it with?

I sometimes like to spray my pasta with a I Can't

Believe It's Not Butter then sprinkle it with

some grated parmesan cheese. Other times, I'll put a

little chicken broth into a skillet, add some tomato

slices and basil then reduce the heat until the sauce

thickens. When it's done, I pour it onto my rigatoni

and let me tell you...boy, is it ever good! The other

night, I had fusilli pasta with olive oil, chopped

parsley, and diced red chili flakes. Another tasty and

good-for-me dish!

Hey,

don't be afraid of pasta...it's good for you!

Just be careful with those toppings and, I'm

telling you, pasta can be a welcome, guilt-free addition

to your weight-loss program!

Love,