The best options for non-flour pasta

What are the best non-flour kinds of pasta? Non-flour pastas are having a second in the limelight: You can now consume pasta made from brown rice, quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, and much more. But are they just as good as the real thing?

Gold flaxseed flour with low carbohydrates and high fiber.
This soft and versatile flour is made from the press cake of golden flaxseed. This is finely ground after the flaxseed oil has been extracted. In contrast to the dark flaxseed flour, the gold flaxseed flour is not tart but rather nutty in taste.

Few carbohydrates, fiber, and the lack of gluten distinguish the flour. Therefore, it can be used in many ways—bread, rolls, or as dough in savory muffins or quiches. Even the base of a low-carb pizza tastes great with the gold flaxseed flour.

My exchange tip
The golden flour can be exchanged for other deoiled seed flours (sesame flour, dark flaxseed flour, hemp flour) or hearty flours such as walnut flour or pumpkin seed flour. However, please consider that the taste constantly changes because most flours have a more pronounced inherent flavor.

The renunciation of wheat for one’s health

Some people make a conscious decision not to consume wheat and wheat flour. In most cases, this conscious decision is made from a health perspective. The reason may be a sugar disorder, for example. People who suffer from insulin resistance or diabetes avoid wheat and white flour products because they harm blood sugar levels.

But there is another group of people who must even necessarily do without wheat flour. For these people, pasta without flour is virtually the only option. These people are those who have celiac disease. Those who have celiac disease are intolerant to the gluten contained in wheat.

Gluten is a protein present in wheat, among other cereals, and other grains, known as gluten. In pasta dough, gluten is a great helper because it makes the dough pliable and ensures that it can be rolled out comfortably without tearing.

However, people who have celiac disease are now known to be allergic to gluten. They suffer from indigestion, abdominal pain, fatigue, and even anemia if they consume wheat. Many more symptoms can indicate celiac disease. This can become so bad that sufferers lack any quality of life, so they tend to avoid all products containing gluten. This usually includes pasta. But celiac disease no longer has to be a reason to avoid pasta because there are great recipes for gluten-free pasta.

Bean-based pastas have the most fiber

Dried pasta made from chickpeas, lentils, or black beans has more protein and fiber than regular pasta. That is because this kind of pasta is made from legumes. It can be made in various ways; sometimes, the bean is ground into flour and combined with thickening agents such as tapioca or xanthan gum, and on occasion, the bean powder is merely blended with water.

One popular kind of bean pasta, Banza, utilizes chickpeas in place of wheat. It’s also gluten-free–but it’s not always much lighter. A two-ounce serving of Banza is approximately 190 calories, while penne packs about 200.

Vegetable noodles are the healthiest option

Fresh vegetables used at the place of noodles are the safest option. One favorite way to make vegetables like sweet potato, cucumber, or zucchini look like noodles would be to spiralize them or use a machine to split them into long, wavy strands.

Related: Lentis: Powerful superfood or dangerous liability – Read more here 

You may then cook these so-called “zoodles,” if you wish, by massaging or sautéeing them. Other stringy veggies like spaghetti squash have a similar pasta-like look.

Vegetable noodles are next to konjac noodles, the only low-carb noodles you can make yourself. They are always fresh, very cheap and varied delicious! In addition, they are virtually noodles without carbohydrates!

On this page, you will learn everything you need to know about:

Low carb properties
Advantages
Nutritional values and
Which vegetables you can use to make pasta

Vegetable noodles are noodles that you make from vegetables. For this, you need a device that cuts the vegetables into strips, ribbons, and sticks.

You can do this with a peeler, but it can only make wide ribbons that are only as long as the vegetables themselves. Likewise, you can only make endless spaghetti and spirals with a spiral slicer.

These are the vegetables you can make into vegetable noodles
The list of vegetables you can make into low-carb pasta is very long!

• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Celeriac
• Kohlrabi
• Cabbage
• Pumpkin
• Turnip
• Parsnip
• Parsley root
• Radish
• Beet
• Turnip
• Zucchini

Common varieties include cucumber, radish, kohlrabi, carrots, and turnips. Perfect for use as low-carb zoodles are zucchini. This is also the most popular vegetable used to make vegetable noodles.

Rutabaga is an excellent fall-winter vegetable. You can use a spiral slicer to make them into flavorful pasta or eat them as delicious fried noodles. Be careful not to use specimens that are too large, though. They are often a bit woody and complex.
Parsley root and parsnip are also particularly popular in the colder months. These vegetables are very similar on the outside, but a nutty, sweet flavor characterizes both. You can enjoy both varieties in pasta form raw, roasted, or steamed.

Celeriac is also delicious as a raw vegetable for processing. However, before it goes into the vegetable noodle cutter, you should peel the thick tubers and shape them appropriately.

Pumpkin is also suitable for the vegetable spaghetti cutter. However, you must first clean and peel nutmeg and butternut squash well, and then the shaped flesh is ideal for the most delicate spiral noodle dishes.

“From a nutritional standpoint, it is excellent,” says Keith Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. “It is just a lot more work, and you will require equipment.” Another downside is that new vegetable pasta can not be saved like regular pasta, which goes bad more quickly. The most significant con of all: veggies taste nothing like actual noodles.

MORE: Five grains you should add to your diet now

Veggie pastas are not necessarily worthwhile

Don’t be tricked by pasta that features vegetables in its components, such as green spinach pasta or red tomato paste. Spinach pasta is just regular pasta made with spinach, frequently in powder or puree form. “It’s excellent eye appeal.”

Though many companies claim their veggie pasta has a whole serving of veggies, it is no substitute for an authentic vegetable dish since spinach pasta might not have all the nutrients you would otherwise expect out of lettuce.

Quinoa pasta is a good gluten-free option

Veggie or even legume-based pasta tends to be gluten-free, but quinoa is a trendy choice as it doesn’t become mushy when it is cooked. It tends to be high in protein compared to other fermented varieties, and it contains high levels of fiber, fiber, and iron. Another plus: it cooks fast.

Quinoa: What is it anyway?

Quinoa is an ancient annual crop and, like amaranth, belongs to the foxtail family. You can eat the young shoots and leaves of quinoa, but mainly you use the seeds by simply cooking them like rice (see 8. Recipes).

White quinoa is the most common and usually a little cheaper. It is the lowest in fat and nutty in flavor. The cooking time is 10 to 15 minutes.

Black quinoa doesn’t taste any different but is harder, and cooking time is 15 to 20 minutes.

Red quinoa, similar to black, takes a little longer to cook. But, because it keeps its shape and looks pretty.

Puffed quinoa is the popcorn of the Incas, and like quinoa flakes, is used primarily as a cereal ingredient.

Quinoa mixtures with two or three colors are also frequently found. Because the Inca grain, unlike rye or wheat, is not sweet grass, the seeds are gluten-free. Therefore, the plant is also referred to as a “pseudocereal” because in practice, there is hardly any difference between it and cereals.

The quinoa plant is undemanding: it is sown in loose, preferably weed-free soil; fertilizing and watering are practically unnecessary and may even reduce the yield. However, cultivation is now causing social and economic problems in the countries where it is grown – see item 9: Sustainability.

2. nutritional values: Is quinoa healthy?

The Incas revered quinoa as a miracle plant – and rightly so: Its nutritional values make the pseudocereal extremely healthy. Quinoa is an excellent source of essential amino acids such as lysine, tryptophan, or cystine and provides polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, quinoa has a high content of minerals – including magnesium (about 300 mg), iron (about 8 mg), potassium (about 800 mg), and calcium (about 120 mg), but also manganese.

That made quinoa a healthy protein source interestingly and for an inevitable hype with conventional healthy nutrition. However, one does not become “healthier” because one eats quinoa. And in a balanced diet with regional fruits, vegetables, and grains, you can get by in this country without the Inca food, whose procurement is associated with sustainability problems.

Quinoa and carbohydrates: Is the trend suitable for low-carb diets?

Eating quinoa as a grain substitute as part of a low-carb diet does not make sense. The pseudocereal is very high in energy (around 400 kilocalories per 100 grams, depending on the variety). It also provides this energy via contained fats (mainly unsaturated), but primarily carbohydrates.

Even regular pasta can be healthy

The healthfulness of any form of pasta, regular or other, depends primarily on which you serve with it. “Pasta is a great vehicle for other food,” says Ayoob. Typically, that means ground steak or heavy, creamy sauces. “Alfredo is among the highest calorie pasta you can eat,” says Ayoob. “It’s exactly what I call ‘once a year’ pasta.”

Instead, top yours using tomato-based sauces, vegetables, or yesterday’s leftovers. You might even consume whole-wheat pasta full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. Try serving it as a side dish instead of a primary to decrease portion sizes. “Pasta, such as refined-flour pasta, isn’t a brand new food–it has been around long before the obesity crisis,” Ayoob says. “Pasta isn’t a matter of yes or not. It’s a matter of just how much and how frequently.”

Pasta without wheat – a basic recipe

If you want to make pasta without wheat or gluten-free pasta, you can follow the following basic recipe, which is for four people:

Ingredients:

400 g buckwheat flour
120 g chickpea flour
280 ml water
salt
Working time: approx. 10 min. / Cooking/Baking time: approx. 10-12 min. Resting time: approx. 60 min. / Degree of difficulty: simple

Preparation

The preparation of the gluten-free pasta is done according to the coming steps:

Knead all ingredients to a homogeneous, elastic dough.

Shape the dough into a ball and wrap this ball entirely and tightly in plastic wrap.

Let the wrapped dough rest for at least one hour.

Then make the desired pasta. Depending on your options, you can use the pasta machine or make the pasta by hand.

Cook the pasta in hot water. Due to the flour mixture, the cooking time is only about one to two minutes.

Ready are the noodles without wheat! Buckwheat is one of the knotweed plants and, contrary to its name, is not a grain. Therefore, the flour obtained from buckwheat is gluten-free and perfect for making gluten-free pasta. With this recipe, even those with celiac disease will never have to go without tasty pasta again.

Preparing fat-burning dinners can’t ever be this fast. Get 250 meal plans that amazingly help you lose weight! Learn more