“Life is a combination of magic and pasta,” said filmmaker Federico Fellini.
Walking down the aisle of my local Whole Food it seems clear that the ‘magic’ of today’s pasta is the wide range of ingredients such as quinoa and legume such as chickpeas and lentils available. Whereas traditional pasta is made from semolina, a refined flour derived from durum wheat, these new noodles appeal to people interested in cutting back on barbs, avoiding gluten and looking for plant-based proteins.
What do you put on your pasta?
Canned pasta sauce can be an indispensable ingredient when making spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna and other pasta dishes. Unprocessed choices are typically healthier than processed options. It’s important to read the nutrition facts label to confirm the sauce fits into your meal plan.
Processed American pasta sauces are loaded with excess calories, tons of salt, and loads of added sugar that might surprise you. These jarred, ready-to-eat sauces from the grocery store are often made with oils that are full of inflammatory omega-6s—a stark contrast to the oleic acid found in extra virgin olive oil that actually helps you lose belly fat, not gain it.
Prego “Traditional” sauce is free of any extra virgin olive oil and only contains canola oil. That’s not the only problem—the sauce also boasts as much sugar as a French Cruller donut from Dunkin Donuts. ( Per 1/2 cup: 70 calories, 1.5 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 480 mg sodium, 13 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 2 g protein)
Ragu Chunky Tomato, Garlic and Onion sauce is full of more sugar than a bowl of Froot Loops cereal and fats entirely from likely pesticide-laden soybean oil. (Per 1/2 cup, 128 g: 90 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 460 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 2 g protein)
Ragu Old Style Organic Traditional sauce uses all organic products in their Traditional sauce. (In case you didn’t know, Ragu’s “Traditional” sauces differ from their “Marinara” sauces because of the addition of Romano cheese). Unfortunately, there’s plenty of inflammatory soybean oil and sugar to the sauce. (Per 1/2 cup, 125 g: 70 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 470 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 2 g protein)
DIVABETIC TIP: One way to lower the sodium content of any jarred sauce is to combine it with a can of salt free tomato sauce or diced tomatoes.
Enjoy Best-Selling Cookbook Author Holly Clegg‘s healthy delicious recipes for our Divabetic ‘Spaghetti Western’ Father’s Day Celebration. Holly’s menu includes Southwestern Roasted Vegetables, Asparagus with Zucchini Rings., Vodka Pasta, Beer Bread , Butternut Squash, Black Bean and Feta Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, Southwestern Pasta. READ
Find out how our Divabetic ‘Spaghetti Western’ themed Father’s Day Celebration is shedding new light on ‘Great Silence’ aka Erectile Dysfunction (ED) in this guest blog by Janis Roszler MSFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND READ
LISTEN NOW: Lorraine Brooks reads ‘I Woke Up This Morning’ on June’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast. Guests include singer Alfa Anderson, Diabetic Macular Edema patient Maryanne Kass, Artist Bryce Chisholm, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Poet Lorraine Brooks and Mama Rose Marie. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring selected songs from several of Maxwell’s albums courtesy of SONY Music.
