I ask because I have recently started a diet of wheat spaghetti and protein shakes (those are not the only things in my diet but the ones I have tried so far). I am a die-hard pasta and sausage/meat sauce kind o’ gal and my taste buds are bummin at this point. I tried to slather the wheat pasta with things of the past and it still sucked. Am I just going to have to get used to it?
Don’t forget that you can use cheeses in moderation. Try for parmesan - sure it’s fatty but you don’t need a lot of it for flavour. Feta cheese is another good one to use with pasta; use it with a little bit of olive oil (not too much, remember it’s still fat), finely chopped olives and lots of fresh basil.
Another thing you may want to keep in mind is to go easy on the pasta - you can still get fat from it. Try to have more salads, use Google on ‘salad recipes’ for ideas.
Rabid part of the problem is that I doused the wheat spaghetti in parmesan to no avail. I really wonder if my pallet is so used to junk that it’s just not possible to find healthier things yummy.
GARLIC!!!
I think we need a better understanding of your diet…
but I second garlic.
Sat on Cookie: I haven’t dieted (‘healthy’ eater by choice), but I’ve heard that it does take time to adjust your taste buds. In the mean time, get aquainted with herbs and spices and learn to appreciate quality over quanity.
Hope it goes well.
Agreed on the garlic. Try shallots, too.
Generally speaking (not pasta-related), health-food-types often turn to spicy vegetables such as chiles and/or savory herbs like onion. Aquiring a taste for fruits probably helps, too.
6 oz. chicken, green/red peppers, some white onion, crisp lettuce, few small blocks of cheddar + low fat ranch dressing.
6 oz. teryaki chicken, white rice (the good kind), sprinkling of cheddar, diced veggies, whatever sauce you’d like wrapped up in a wrap and microwaved so the cheese melts.
In the mornings, Cheerios + All Bran + a protein shake + a banana.
Eggs + green/red peppers + onions + some cheddar (yes I am a cheese freak) + some sort of meat diced up to make awesome scrambled eggs. Include toast with peanut butter (For EFA’s!) and have a glass of juice with it.
Sometimes I’ll just cook up some beef and slap it into bread with bbq sauce.
It’s all about the protein. It’s much easier to feel full on protein. Plus the thermogenics of protein are like ~30% ! (meaning 100 cals of protein is actually 70 cals because your body uses 30 cals of energy to break down + absorb it!)
Never buy pre-made crap. It is crap.
Thanks RyanV!
Eating healthy and eating tasty go hand in hand (not that I don’t mind some fatty, salty, sweet junk now and then–just not all the time). Anyway, most ethnic Asian food is pretty good for ya and tastes great. You just have to stay away from gloppy chop suey or Mandarian Chinese joints (not all). Japanese noodle soups with seafood are wonderful; just about anything Korean will dazzle your stomach and give you extensive garlic breath. Thai and Vietnamese are great in fall–especially Vietnamese pho beef noodle soup, which is also incredibly cheap.
Health food doesn’t have to be only tofu and wheat germ.
Oatmeal, yogurt, nuts
My diet has never been good but it’s become even more tragic lately. Fast food, PF Changs, subs, you name it. This is just such a change for me but I’m hoping to find some things I genuinely like. I have been nibbling on a cookies & cream Myoplex protein bar (for two days - they last a long time) that is OK.
Kashi Good Friends Cinna-Raisin Crunch and Silk soymilk. Mmmmmm. Lots of fiber to fill you up and make you regular, too.
P.S.
I’m not sure of a really good way to ask this so I’ll just say,
Does the whole “wheat pasta” thing make you poop more?
I’m not sure I’m totally understanding you, but just adding wheat pasta to your diet is not going to significantly change your eating (or pooping) habits. If you were to change the entire composition of your diet (ie: 40% veggies, 40% whole, unrefined carbs, 20% healthy proteins, beans, chicken, fish) you’d notice that you’ll start pooping slightly more often, but much more comfortably 
beans!
Love em.
Also barley and millet are quite tasty.
Thank you guys for giving me your favorites to far. But, perhaps I should add a humble request…how do you cook/prepare what you find delicious?
Oooh! I just had this last night, and it would fit really well with wheat pasta.
Saute some thick slices of onion in a largish pan. You can use PAM if you’re trying to count calories, or some olive oil if you’re counting carbs.
When the onion starts to carmelize, add zuchini slices into the same pan and brown them on both sides.
When you flip the zuchini to brown the other side, add thin slices of tomato to the top, and add your favorite italian spices and a sprinkle of parmesean or romano cheese.
Yum
I’ve recently made the change to eating a lot healthier… the first couple of weeks or so was very hard, I wanted my chinese food and pizza, etc! And white bread, good god, I would have killed for white bread. But now it’s been about… 4 months, and I don’t miss it at all. I used to be a sucker for chocolate and now I’m not even tempted. I was doubtful, but it’s so true that you stop craving it once you give your body a change to adjust.
My current fixation: Quaker Oats popcorn cakes, buttered popcorn flavor. Yummm!
Popcorn is better for you than lotsa junk food addicts realize, lots of fiber and whole grain virtues. Sucks without butter. Look at the side of the box with microwave popcorn, figure out how many servings to a bag (2? 3?), how many calories per serving. Orville Redenbacher makes a couple of varieties with 220 calories a bag. Tastes great to me. Drink water with it and you’re full for a long time. Only drawback: major league saltiness. Pucker lips. Not good if you have high blood pressure.
I looked at a long list of Things to Do to Live Healthier. Said, no, no, not that, nope. Stuck on one: Eat fish four times a week. Everything from sardines through blackened tuna. Damn that’s easier than I thought, and gives me a self-righteous glow. Now I’m gonna try eating nine servings of vegetables a day, along with everything else I feel like eating. It’s always easier to do it bit by bit than, er, cold turkey.