The # 1 problem with our favorite pastas is their high glycemic index (GI). Concretely, this means that the sugars contained in spaghetti, penne and other tagliatelle pass suddenly into our bloodstream: to regulate the phenomenon, our body is forced to produce insulin, a hormone … which promotes the storage of fats in adipocytes. And hop, we get fat.
Fortunately, to lower the GI of pasta (which is around 60 on a scale of 100), a few tips exist:
- Opt for al dente cooking – that is, the pasta is neither crunchy nor soft. Typically this corresponds to a cooking time of 8 minutes for spaghetti. But, if in doubt, always read the instructions on the package …
- Ideally, choose whole or whole pasta. If that's not your thing, at least opt for egg pasta and banish “3 minute cooking” pasta, which is too high in sugars. Same: prefer dry pasta to fresh pasta.
- As an accompaniment, bet on one or more acidic foods (tomato sauce, capers …) and / or green vegetables and / or meat, fish or a portion of eggs.
- Good to know: the glycemic index of reheated pasta is lower than that of pasta that comes straight from the pan. The good tip: let them cool for a few minutes then put them back in the pan with the sauce. Yum !
How much pasta for 1 person? This is a rather complicated question because depending on the dough chosen (a spaghetti, a penne, a tagliatelle …), the raw weight / cooked weight ratio varies. On average: 80 g of dry pasta (all varieties combined) gives about 200 g of cooked pasta. And 200g of cooked pasta provides about 44g of carbohydrates. For 1 person, we therefore recommend a portion of uncooked pasta between 60 g and 80 g. To accompany with 175 g of steamed vegetables, for example …
⋙ Find out quickly 15 pasta recipes that don't make you fat (and you'll love!)
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