Pasta

[maggiesara]

Tonight I had a carb jones like.....like a monkey on my back, man. I've been at least semi-low-carb for so long that it feels totally normal to me to eat my burgers without buns, to pull the filling out of sandwiches, to eat stir-fries without rice, etc. I have small bites of things, but almost never what normal people think of as a serving. But tonight I was just going bonkers. And I finally broke down: I had bought some Gluten-free pasta on the Evil Empire a few months, ago, and I boiled some up and tossed it with butter and cheese. It was the first pasta I have eaten in nearly a year, since my surgery. And DAMN it was good. Great noodles? Nope. But just fine. I don't imagine I'll do this a lot, but holy JEBUS it made me happy. Now I'm praying praying praying that I don't pay for it.

[bboop]

What kind did you buy? I haven't found a low carb pasta substitute. I saw an ad for Quest pasta but haven't tried that one yet.

Hope you didn't pay for it...how's that part going?

[goodkel]

That was my main craving, spaghetti with white clam sauce. Lots of oil and sprinkled with an abundance of cheese.

I tried Dreamfields and that was a painful scam. Finally tried gluten free last year and could eat very little. Maybe two or three small forkfuls. It was more like white clam sauce soup. I've never been a fan of pasta, anyway. What I crave is what it carries.

Most gluten free is made of rice. Slightly better carb wise than flour, but far from low carb.

[jpcello]

All, please remember that gluten free doesn't mean low carb.

For me personally if I want pasta, I eat REAL pasta but I'm also 11 years post-op. I also didn't touch pasta for more than a year after my DS. When I do eat it, I try to be conscious of the amount I eat and that most of the time I will experience some additional gas and bloating. If I'm home, I actually still weigh/measure the pasta I cook. Its very eye-opening when you realize exactly what one serving of pasta really is.

[Melinda]

Same as Janet. I'm coming up on 12 years and if I want pasta, I eat real pasta. I don't go hog wild, but if I want some lasagna, I eat it. I make it with lots of extra meat and cheese, that sort of thing. It's also common to see some of the noodle left on my plate with all the meat and cheese "scraped off". Spaghetti I find I don't eat much of a serving of noodles, but I pile on the sauce with meat. I personally didn't have this surgery to have any food be a "never". The further out I am, the less things affect me. The protein first rule seems to be a constant in my life, like it really does become a lifestyle and habit.

[newyorkbitch]

I ate a bowl of rigatoni bolognese for dinner last night. Regular pasta, with lots of meat sauce.

[goodkel]

I envy you guys.

I still find regular pasta painful to eat.

You should see what I do to lasagna. When I am done, my plate looks like a battlefield and the noodles lost.

[Girlrocker]

I eat real pasta too now, and not quite 3 years out from my revision, it doesn't bother me, but I do get very full and if it's too much, I get gas. Same for rice. I eat both seldom and when I do usually a small portion, and the staples in my cabinets are brown rice, brown rice pasta from Trader Joes which actually delicious and quinoa. I just work any/all of that into my day/week of eating, I keep a running mental checklist of my protein/carb/ grams in my head so it all balances out. Every once in a while I eat it as a main event like I use to. Pasta used to be a mainstay for me food-wise, hot or cold, lived on pasta salads all summer long, so I too worked on breaking the habit when I switched to higher protein/moderate carb eating before my surgery. So now, after years of obsessing, and pasta being one of my emotional meltdown foods - consuming a 1l boxes with butter and cheese - it's in a nice happy place now Bet it will be for you too Maggie, if doesn't 'talk back'.

[Melinda]

Kelly, you'll be amazed how it changes in another 5 years. There are times I literally forget I ever had surgery. I do sometimes get like a "weird fullness" if I eat certain things, but they don't make me run to the bathroom or anything like that. More like a small brick is sitting in my stomach for a little bit. It's rare but it happens on occasion. I might get full quick from pasta but I can still eat some with no ill effects. A little tiny bit goes a long way, which is fine with me! Same with a little bit of rice. If we go out for Chinese food, I might have literally a tablespoon of steamed white rice and then a pile of meat with some veggies on it. (I'm even picky with the veggies, mostly broccoli or mushrooms).

[goodkel]

It has actually been a saving grace. I love Italian food and eating around the noodles is what I should be doing, anyway. Plus, I love mussels marinara and the thought of the painful lump of noodles in my gut is usually enough to drive me towards the healthier choice.

[Melinda]

Yeah it's funny. I used to be addicted to certain carbs. Now a bite or two will do.

[Girlrocker]

I looooove mussels. I hear you LOUD and clear! I always refer to myself as a recovering carb addict and there are certain buttons of mine that still get pushed, but I have made huge headway. Bread/pizza is my achilles heel, once I start, hard to stop. But pasta, rice even french fries/potatoes, under control now, never thought I'd live to see it happen!

[west4thavenue]

Jul 25, 2014 11:15:57 GMT -5 goodkel said:

I envy you guys.

I still find regular pasta painful to eat.

You should see what I do to lasagna. When I am done, my plate looks like a battlefield and the noodles lost.

I laughed until I hurt over this! Thanks, Kel.

[DSwitcher]

DW makes killer Japanese Eggplant Lasagne and there is no missing the noodles.... Also eat lots of spaghetti squash, especially with white sauce and seafood. Don't currently crave "real" carbs after 4 yrs post Sleeve. I miss flour for oven fried chicken and Tilapia and sometimes use almond flour. Miss breakfast cereal sometimes... Not worth it to me to cheat, especially concerning regain. I had an "affair with carbs" at Christmas last year and regained 45# of 144# Now approaching DS, have lost 15# and hope I can stay on program over the holidays. Again it's just NOT worth it...

[mistercy]

Just went to Costco today - found a new brand of Gluten Free spaghetti they are selling. The ingredient list is black beans and water. That's it! Plenty of protein and fiber to go with only 15 grams of carbs per serving. We had it tonight along with our fake chicken parmigiana - gourmet chicken burgers baked with sauce and mozzarella cheese. YUM! The pasta did not have the perfect consistency, but I thought it tasted pretty good! And, overall, a very DS freindly dinner had by all!

[illinids2]

Pasta, rice, potatoes, cake, ice cream, pie, just about all veggies (carrots and tomatoes don't do well but I can do any tomato based sauce)none of those have really given me any issues. I don't eat huge servings of any, but so far they have have not hurt me unless I eat too much. I was jonesing for nasty old tuna casserole one night, just the kraft macaroni and cheese, can of tuna and cream of mushroom soup kind.....so I had some and way too much of it......it bloated my stomach horribly so I learned not to do that again....but eating reasonable portions of pasta with a lot of creamy or tomatoey sauce (with protein) has been no issue at all.


BTW, we were at Olive Garden (I know, crappy chain food) a few weeks ago and it shocked me that Lasgna there has less carbs than most of their dishes and was high protein.

[Leonie]

It is easy for me to eat around the pasta. If my plate looks sad, I even add a few strands, but to me they are truly tasteless and I leave them in the plate. I am quite happy to order a pasta dish in a restaurant. I just ask them to leave out the pasta.

I have been doing the same thing with pizza. I eat most of the first slice, then just eat the toppings of the rest of my half of the pizza. But last night we went to the opening of a new restaurant just up the road. They had the most delicious toppings, and the very best, tastiest base I have ever had in my life. Before I knew it, I had eaten three whole slices, leaving just a tiny smile of edge. Man, am I paying this morning!

[illinids2]

Jul 26, 2014 3:46:25 GMT -5 Leonie said:

It is easy for me to eat around the pasta. If my plate looks sad, I even add a few strands, but to me they are truly tasteless and I leave them in the plate. I am quite happy to order a pasta dish in a restaurant. I just ask them to leave out the pasta.

I have been doing the same thing with pizza. I eat most of the first slice, then just eat the toppings of the rest of my half of the pizza. But last night we went to the opening of a new restaurant just up the road. They had the most delicious toppings, and the very best, tastiest base I have ever had in my life. Before I knew it, I had eaten three whole slices, leaving just a tiny smile of edge. Man, am I paying this morning!

I tend to agree on pasta being flavorless for the most part and I do the eat around thing as well.....LOL, I actually eat one or two of my wife's portabella stuffed ravioli and I kind of suck the sauce of of it and then cut away the edges only eating the middle part.

Pizza, we get thin crust and if the crust is good and crisp I will have 4 or 5 squares (small squares) then the rest of the meal I just eat the toppings.  I go with the "have a little bit" method and it does me well.   The crust has never bothered me afterwards (but the topping do sometimes...just too greasy sometimes) it just fills me up too quickly if I have too much.

[songbird177]

There's an Atkins frozen meal that is called a pasta bake or something but it is more like a meat soup with 5 penne noodles. I enjoyed those 5 noodles . There's a good low carb lasagna fake out that even had my husband eating it. No eggplant no noodles. Well you make fake noodles out of eggs, cheese and cream cheese. Lots of fat and protein but can be time consuming. I will find the link. I miss pasta

[illinids2]

Jul 27, 2014 16:06:36 GMT -5 songbird177 said:

There's an Atkins frozen meal that is called a pasta bake or something but it is more like a meat soup with 5 penne noodles. I enjoyed those 5 noodles . There's a good low carb lasagna fake out that even had my husband eating it. No eggplant no noodles. Well you make fake noodles out of eggs, cheese and cream cheese. Lots of fat and protein but can be time consuming. I will find the link. I miss pasta

Try some regular pasta...it has a good deal of protein and a couple carbs won't hurt you...unless pasta cause you GI pain.   As a diabetic nutritionist told me years ago, you are allowed to cheat now and then with something "bad" but you just have to take that away from your carb allotment for the day...that is if you were to eat 50 carbs a meal (on a 3 meal per day plan back then) and you had a 100 gram piece of cake you only get 50 for the rest of the day....now she didn't say have cake every day but you get the concept.

FYI - Pasta really doesn't have that much carbs, unless you eat a bucket full.   Even if you do a full cup of whole wheat it is only 37 grams of carbs and 7 grams of protein.    www.sparkpeople.com/food_vs_food.asp?food=57_60_pasta_versus_whole-wheat-pasta

[meq815]

Whole wheat pasta <gag>. I was never a big pasta fan pre op, and I tolerate it just fine now, along with any kind of rice. I also do well with white bread (or air bread, as I call it), but the dark, nutty, delicious heavy breads damn near kill me. Go figure.

[illinids2]

Jul 27, 2014 19:18:05 GMT -5 meq815 said:

Whole wheat pasta <gag>. I was never a big pasta fan pre op, and I tolerate it just fine now, along with any kind of rice. I also do well with white bread (or air bread, as I call it), but the dark, nutty, delicious heavy breads damn near kill me. Go figure.

I actually prefer the taste of whole wheat pasta to regular flour pasta (I do like really eggy pastas)...did long before this surgery and as you know I do not try to specifically avoid carbs now. 

I can eat any bread, but the fluffy part of the bread bloats my stomach so I have started eating the crust or grilled part of the bread on a sandwich and peeling away the center part. That way it doesn't expand like a sponge in my stomach. I am usually drenching it in olive oil or some other sauce as well, because it keeps the expansion away as well.

and by the way I can eat the heck out of rice especially if it is drenched in sauce from the dish I am eating or lots of soy sauce....I can drink that shit straight up.  

[jpcello]

This thread goes to show how we're all so different even though we all had the same surgery. I still have issues with certain types of rice at 11 years post-op. Pasta doesn't bother me at all. When I eat a doughy bread I usually scoop out the middle (subs or bagels). Most bread doesn't bother me at all but I tend to eat whole grain/wheat breads simply because I like them better.

[angelise]

Jul 25, 2014 21:35:35 GMT -5 mistercy said:

Just went to Costco today - found a new brand of Gluten Free spaghetti they are selling. The ingredient list is black beans and water. That's it! Plenty of protein and fiber to go with only 15 grams of carbs per serving. We had it tonight along with our fake chicken parmigiana - gourmet chicken burgers baked with sauce and mozzarella cheese. YUM! The pasta did not have the perfect consistency, but I thought it tasted pretty good! And, overall, a very DS freindly dinner had by all!

I'll played around with this black bean pasta. I think it's made by taste Asia. Good amount of protein and while not perfect has decent texture. I submitted it as an item for netrition a while ago. I think they sell it there. 

[illinids2]

Jul 28, 2014 5:24:19 GMT -5 jpcello said:

This thread goes to show how we're all so different even though we all had the same surgery. I still have issues with certain types of rice at 11 years post-op. Pasta doesn't bother me at all. When I eat a doughy bread I usually scoop out the middle (subs or bagels). Most bread doesn't bother me at all but I tend to eat whole grain/wheat breads simply because I like them better.

Exactly like me on the bread.

[newyorkbitch]

Not only are we all different, but things change over time.

[jpcello]

Jul 28, 2014 10:02:18 GMT -5 newyorkbitch said:

Not only are we all different, but things change over time.

NYB that is the understatement of the year.

[Girlrocker]

Jul 28, 2014 14:06:22 GMT -5 jpcello said:

Jul 28, 2014 10:02:18 GMT -5 newyorkbitch said:

Not only are we all different, but things change over time.

NYB that is the understatement of the year.

Exactly, we are SO different, and I can already see a lot of changes and I'm not even 3 years out of my revision yet.

[songbird177]

Here is the link for that lasagna I was talking about. Sorry it took me so long to find it.

peaceloveandlowcarb.com/2011/12/just-like-the-real-thing-lasagna.html

[nursemelanie]

Jul 28, 2014 21:09:44 GMT -5 songbird177 said:

Here is the link for that lasagna I was talking about. Sorry it took me so long to find it.

peaceloveandlowcarb.com/2011/12/just-like-the-real-thing-lasagna.html

Songbird, this looks A-mazing! And has an enormous protein count! I have pinned it to my DS recipes. Thanks