Nancy, I have a quick question. When choosing a pasta to incorporate into my meals for starch, is there a difference between pasta made from wheat flour compared to chickpeas? I am wondering if one is better than the other for performance or if it does not matter. Thank you!
Answer: You want to look at the whole meal, not just the pasta. Barilla chickpea pasta offers about 11 g protein and 8 grams fiber per 200 calories, as compared to standard Barilla wheat pasta with 7 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
The bigger questions are: What else are you eating in that meal? What else have you eaten in the whole day? Looking at one food in isolation is missing the boat. Is chickpea pasta your main source of protein for the meal? Or are you serving it with some tofu or turkey meatballs? (The goal is about 20 to 25 grams of protein per meal.)
The answer also depends on how you want to spend your food dollars. A 16-ounce (1-lb) box of Barilla rotini ($1.50) is a lot less expensive than the 8.8-ounce box of Barilla’s chick pea pasta for $3.00
To answer your question, the better pasta is the pasta you truly want to eat. (The E in Eating should stand for enjoyment.) Both kinds of pasta can be a part of a well balanced, wisely chosen diet.
Enjoy your dinner!
Nancy
Such a great answer to a common question about choice – this or that in terms of “healthy.” I definitely think about all the foods in my day and in each meal. I did not realize 20-25 grams of protein in each meal was important. I also snack, so perhaps I will spread out the protein IF I can’t get it all in one meal. Thanks, Nancy! I recommend your book often to the athletes I coach (in mental training) – because how they feel about their body and manage their body — nutrition is very, very important!