{"id":24389,"date":"2015-01-21T22:55:40","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T03:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/?p=24389"},"modified":"2019-10-30T09:38:55","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T13:38:55","slug":"favorite-pastas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/favorite-pastas\/","title":{"rendered":"My 7 Favorite Pasta Recipes (and How to Make them Vegan)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m here to come to the defense of pasta.<\/p>\n

We’ve been conditioned to think of pasta dishes as inherently unhealthy.\u00a0Carbo-loaders, sure, but beyond that? Junk. An indulgence, and nothing more.<\/p>\n

But why? I’ll concede that wheat and most grains aren’t exactly bursting with nutrients per calorie. And if you have a gluten sensitivity, then certainly, you’ve got to use an alternative grain. But these days, that’s not hard.<\/p>\n

Pasta, the protein source?<\/h3>\n

There’s a serious misconception out there: that pasta is “carbs” and nothing else.<\/p>\n

Yes, it’s mostly carbohydrate.\u00a0No fat, in most cases.\u00a0But protein? Here’s the surprise.<\/p>\n

Most elite vegan athletes I’ve talked to say they get anywhere from 12 to 15 percent of their calories from protein. Guess where whole wheat pasta falls?<\/p>\n

That’s right — 15 percent protein! In other words, if you ate nothing but whole wheat pasta — while you’d have a lot of problems — protein wouldn’t be an issue! (Okay, if you want to get technical, then sure, you’d be deficient in certain amino acids. But in simple terms of protein per calorie, whole wheat pasta is exactly where you want to be.)<\/p>\n

So this food that we’ve always considered the carbo-loader is actually quite high in protein — another great example of how eating whole foods (as opposed to pasta made from white refined flour, in this case) gets you all the protein you need.<\/p>\n

Nobody’s saying that pasta is the next superfood. But it’s a solid base on which to build great-tasting meals with loads of vegetables, and that’s why I love it.<\/p>\n

My Love Affair with Pasta<\/h3>\n

In what feels like a past life before I became vegetarian, I was a pasta fiend. I spent Sundays (and too many weekdays) making gnocchi<\/a> and fresh linguine and ravioli, all from scratch. As authentic as I possibly could.<\/p>\n

While my priorities have shifted somewhat as I’ve gotten older, pasta is still a standby. That little island of decadence in the middle of the week that my kids will actually eat. The one meal with which I still spend time pairing with the perfect wine.<\/p>\n

And a meal that, contrary to popular belief, can be one of your healthiest of the week — with just a little effort.<\/p>\n

4 Ways to Make Your Pasta Healthier<\/h3>\n