Pasta - how to make this family favourite more healthy

 
Claire Turnbull pasta breakfast TV

Love your pasta n sauce? Or maybe you have kids that do! Check this Breakfast interview out….A big topic for a small time frame so some extra notes as always to help.

SODIUM (Salt)

  • Upper level for an adult is 2000mg sodium/day (equates to approx. 5g salt/not quite a tsp of salt (6g is 1tsp), to reduce risk of chronic disease <1600mg (4g).

  • For kids, the upper level is less!!!! <1000mg/day for the little ones is the upper level.

  • You only NEED a very small amount of sodium to survive so don’t think you need to add a bit of salt to be healthy.

PASTA

  • Dried plain pasta is lower in sodium than fresh plain pasta.

  • A serving size for most people of 60-80g dried is a good amount, about ¾ - 1 cup cooked (for busy/hungry teenagers/super active people it's obviously ok to have more).

  • If you are in need of a GF pasta, go for the buckwheat or quinoa ones or pulse ones (edamame bean, black bean etc) as they are MUCH higher in fibre compared to the white corn/rice GF pasta.

  • Fresh filled pasta - the highest I found was 810mg and lowest 499mg in ½ packet so it really pays to check before you buy.

Some more good tips here and here.

SAUCE

  • They vary A LOT so check the back! Some have no salt added at all, others 590mg in a 150g serving…that’s MASSIVE, especially for a kid for one meal.

  • Always look at the back of canned tomatoes and choose ones without salt in the ingredients list.

  • Pesto: Delmaine = 500mg sodium nearly 1.5 times as much as Geovali = 343mg per 100g

  • I make my own, recipe is here.

MAKE PASTA MEALS HEALTHIER

  • Serve with salad/veg

  • Make mac n cheese with cauliflower in the mix too

  • Add lentils/grated carrot/chopped mushrooms into mince to add goodness

 
Health Advice, Television, RecipesAll Recipes, Dinner, Kid Friendly