Can you still eat pasta and lose weight? We explain all

Pasta is known for being carb-heavy and it often gets a bad rap – especially when it comes to dieting.

However, you can’t cut carbohydrates out forever! And we at The Healthy Mummy we don’t believe in banning pasta! Not for long-term healthy living.

Carbohydrates such as pasta, bread and potatoes are an essential part of a healthy balanced diet.

But there a few important things you must know about the different types of pasta you should consume.

Get the recipe for our Healthy and Creamy Carbonara Pasta here.

How you can still eat pasta and lose weight

1. Ditch the white pasta

A bowl of white pasta can contain around 357 calories. And it will contain even more if it contains butter or cream.

Try switching the white pasta for brown pasta, rice pasta or soba noodles.

2. Watch your portion sizes

It’s very easy to accidentally over-eat on pasta, as it can be very more-ish. The best thing to do is to watch your portion sizes.

3. Make your own sauces

Pre-made pasta sauces often contain a heap of sugar in them. Try making your own! We have a heap of delicious, healthy recipes on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

4. Include veggies

Bulk out your pasta with veggies, you can even try making zoodles, which has strips of zucchini made into the shape of spaghetti. Either have this instead of the pasta or mix it together.

5. Cook al dente

Eating your pasta al dente, aka not completely soft, is actually healthier for you. Hot water breaks down the molecule bonds starches in pasta, the more they are cooked the more they are broken down.

Get the recipe for our yummy Chicken Baked Spaghetti here.

Study on how people who ate pasta lost weight

Meanwhile, researchers from St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto found that eating pasta does not make you put on weight.

Researchers looked at 30 trials involving 2,500 participants who ate pasta instead of other carbs as part of a low-glycemic index diet.

They found that those who ate around one-and-a-half cups of cooked pasta a week lost weight.

“These results are important given the negative messages with which the public has been inundated regarding carbohydrates, messages which appear to be influencing their food choices, as evidenced by recent reductions in carbohydrate intake, especially in pasta intake,” the study, led by Laura Chiavaroli, reads.

“Contrary to these concerns, the available evidence shows that when pasta is consumed in the context of low-GI dietary patterns, there is no weight gain but rather marginally clinically significant weight loss.”

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Super simple spaghetti prawn marinara

Here is a show stopping dinner that is sure to impress. The best part is that this delicious seafood pasta dish is actually very easy to prepare.

This recipe comes directly from our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge. Thousands of mums have joined the challenge, gaining access to stacks of recipes like this one each month.

Delicious Healthy Mexican Lasagne

Try serving it with light sour cream, or a simple guacamole of avocado mashed up with lemon/lime juice and salt and pepper.

On the side you could serve a colourful salad of iceberg lettuce, diced tomato, diced red onion, diced red and yellow capsicum, grated carrot and cucumber.

This is a great recipe for a dinner party – and your guests don’t need to know it’s healthy!

For more recipes like this, check out our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.