Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Sponsored: October is National PASTA Month!

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN • Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN • Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

Many trendy diets like keto, whole30, paleo and carnivore all slam carbohydrates and particularly pasta, but pasta can be part of healthy and nutritious meals.

Here are a few tips:

1. Pick your Pasta - Do you typically buy elbow macaroni or spaghetti? How about experimenting with different  shapes of pasta...bowtie, farfalle, linguine, rigatoni...some shapes are better with chunkier sauces and others work best in casseroles or cold salads.  Picking the right pasta for your recipe can actually improve your meal. https://pastafits.org/pasta-dictionary

2. Pasta and Fiber - Whole wheat or whole grain?  Up the fiber content with whole wheat or whole grain pastas or pastas with added fiber. 

3. Plan  your portion - It may be tempting to eat a big bowl of pasta but unless you're a long distance runner you probably don’t need all of those carbohydrates.  Don’t go overboard with your serving size.

4. Pair your Pasta - Pair your pasta with plenty of vegetables, a side salad and lean protein for a balanced meal or substitute beans for part of the pasta in a recipe. 

For more recipe ideas see Pasta Fits: https://pastafits.org/pasta-recipes

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

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800-334-4936

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