Zucchini Pasta vs. Regular Pasta

Without a doubt, every time I flip through health or fitness magazines, there is a...

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Without a doubt, every time I flip through health or fitness magazines, there is a feature on a “low calorie” pasta dish. Very alluring, right? Don’t let the smoke and mirrors trick you, my friends: these “low calorie” pastas are photographed in tiny little bowls to make the portion look larger. To achieve this calorie count advertised in the magazine, you most likely will be eating a large fistful of penne or a baby fistful of spaghetti. Bo-ring.

We’re smarter than that here at Inspiralized. Ditch the magazine and come here for real recipes that truly are low calorie, low carb, hopefully delicious and most of all: full of veggies! With zucchini pasta, not only are you literally eating a bowl of veggies, you’re enjoying the same great flavors that regular pasta offers (without the high carbs and cals!)

To really prove my point, I bought a food scale and measured out portions and did mathematical calculations (eek!) to offer honest information. If you haven’t already bought a spiralizer, you will now. These calculations don’t include the marinara sauce!

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with love, Ali

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comments

  • Zucchini is healthy, but carbs are NOT evil, they are what our body functions on, glucose. Carbs are energy! You don't 'run off' carbs either, because carbs are always converted into energy they are not stored in our bodies. It should not be about calories, but how much nutrition and energy your food gives you, and carbs give us lots of healthy energy that our bodies need be healthy! I would eat the zucchini and pasta together!
    • this is simply not true, gwen. carbohydrates are not just "used as energy," if one does not use the energy provided by a carbohydrate it is stored as fat. though this process is less efficient than using the carb, it still happens. carbs, fat, protein are all "just energy" and if you consume more calories than you exert through respiration, exercise, base metabolism, your body will store excess calorie containing foods as fat. carbohydrates also spike insulin production, which in turn tells the body NOT to burn fat reserves. so in addition to adding excess fat to the body, eating hi-carb also prevents the body from losing fat.
      • WRONG eating carbs does not prevent your body from losing fat. BIG SHOCKER. You body actually NEEDS carbs PRESENT in order to oxidize fats. which means, heres the kicker guys NO CARBS = NO FAT LOSS. MIND BLOWN WHOOOOA. Of course course a lower carb diet will help BUT as long as you are tracking your macros it is all irrelevant.
      • Biochemically, Gwen is more correct. You can use your own stored fat for energy, only if insulin levels are very low. Insulin inhibits the release of fats (Fatty acids) to be used as energy. The use of zucchini in place of wheat pasta launches an insulin response, but nothing compared to the magnitude & time of the pasta insulin response.
    • Carbs are "evil" for a diabetic,so this is a great alternative to traditional pasta!
      • Actually, fat is what causes diabetes. a high-fat diet raises the levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) in the blood, which interfere with glucose metabolism. In order to gauge your blood sugar and decide how much insulin to secrete, the beta cells in your pancreas have little glucose-sensors hanging out on their surface. Those sensors are maintained by an enzyme called GnT-4a glycosyltransferase. High levels of FFAs interfere with two of the proteins necessary for producing GnT-4a, leaving beta cells unable to figure out how much glucose is in your blood. When that happens, those cells can’t release the right amount of insulin to keep your blood sugar in check. Wham, bam, diabetes.
      • To the anonymous poster on January 19th...fat does not cause diabetes. A type 1 diabetic can not produce insulin - the pancreas no longer functions and has shut down. A type 1 diabetic can eat carbs, but not high amounts and has to take insulin shots so the blood sugar levels don't spike. Pasta is something we can't eat in our house with a type 1 diabetic - with just 1 serving of pasta (3 oz) his blood sugar spikes to above 300 of insulin is not taken..this causes his kidneys to work harder, he could damage other organs, and even his eyes. Fat did not cause this - his non-working pancreas did this. Please educate yourself on type 1 diabetes...it is not the same as type 2.
    • I am insulin resistant so with all due respect this is not true. Not only for people like me but for anyone that doesn't burn off what they take in. In my case what I eat my body doesn't use and what my pancreas produces it doesn't use. Welcome to my struggle. To those who posted this recipe, thank you it's an incredible option for those that need this. I would have never thought of using it like that, I often add zucchini chunks anyways but using it as a noodle is fabulous!
  • Let's zoodle!
  • I don't know what it is in pasta, but every time I eat it, I get lethargic! They put me to sleep and I feel horrible! Switching to zucchini noddles gives me much more energy and my stomach does not bother me! I am not a diabetic and don't have celiacs, but some thing bad happens when I eat pasta, especially whole wheat pasta!
    • Gluten? Celiac's disease?
  • No wonder we are all confused!? :(
  • Let's just appreciate that someone did this leg work and left this out here to do with what we will. No reason to attack someone and nay-say another human. Do you own research, talk to your own doctors. IMO, I love finding things like this and doing more research on what's best for me.
  • Pasta makes you lethargic because your BP drops after its initial sugar spike. Take any biology class in college and they will tell you that excess glycogen is stored as triglycerides. So complex carbs do need to be limited at a certain point and simple carbs need to be eliminated all together.
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    • You can subscribe here: http://bit.ly/subscribeinspiralized
    • We're so happy to hear it!
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  • BALANCE, its all about BALANCE. Too much of anything can be bad!
  • Just eat, listen to your body and stay physically & mentally active and don't forget to spend as much time on rest and relaxation. Stop bullying.