1) They hold no nutritional value
2) They give you a quick energy and blood sugar surge, and then a big dip
3) They made me feel sleepy and bloated
Now, that's not to say that I cut out all of them - I still loved pasta and continued to eat that, but my bread was strictly wholegrain. As you know I've gone on a massive health journey this year, and in the past few months my emphasis has really been finding alternatives to white bread and pasta (even noodles too), so I thought I'd share a few of my finds with you, and why I love them...
Spelt pasta & spaghetti
- As I mentioned above, normal pastamakes me bloated and tired, but spelt pasta is a revelation. Whereas some wholewheat pasta can be a bit on the heavy side, this is light, didn't weigh me down, and so much better for your digestive system. It goes well with all kinds of sauces, and I urge you to give it a go. Wholewheat spaghetti is also a great option, but I steer clear of wholewheat (I'll refer to it from now on as WW) fusilli etc, and they are quite dense and heavy.
Gluten-free Chickpea pasta
- A very new find for me, literally just saw it in the supermarket today. I think this is such a wonderful idea for a type of pasta and I will definitely be trying it out and telling you what I think. There are so many wonderful gluten-free products out there, and even if you're not affected by it, they are great to try.
Rye bread & crackers
- Two massive loves of my life. Sometimes I wanta bit of a flavour change from just regular WW bread, and rye is such a fantastic choice. If you have been living off white bread for all your life then this might take some getting used to, but I promise that when you make the change from white to brown, you won't regret it. Justthe otherweek I went to a farmer's market and bought this amazing rye bread with nuts and seeds in it; it was a little dense, but that worked to my favour as I only needed to have a little piece to feel satisfied - winning! Rye crackers are great with anything from peanut butter to yoghurt, and great at tea time.
Wholewheat noodles
- Now if I thought spelt spaghetti was light, I hadn't tried these noodles yet! They cook in minutes and are so airy and wonderful that there is no bloating after eating them, and they absorb and go well with any flavours/sauces you want to add! I'm a noodle nut, so this was a wonderful discovery :)
Wholewheat, Oat and Granary Breads
- Just a quick note on these breads that are fast becoming massive hits on supermarket shelves. Statistics show that the sale of brown breads is surpassing white bread more and more each year, as people strive to become more health conscious. If you've never tried any of these breads before, I urge you to give them a go. They provide you with slow-release energy, which means you won't have peaks and lows, like you getwith white bread. Every week there seems to be a new type of brown bread coming out, so have a look next time you go shopping. If making the switch still seems a little daunting, why not try a 'best of both' bread, which combines white and brown, to ease yourself into it?
As you can see, there are so many ways to start incorporating more WW and wholegrain products into your life. Of course, the carbohydrate food group also contains sugary products, like muffins for example, and I haven't covered those here - I'll leave that for another entry :) - but as bread and pasta are diet staples for many people, I thought I'd start with them. Don't just look in your supermarkets; if you have a farmer's market near you, or a local bakery, check out their breads, and you'll be supporting local farmers and workers as you do so. I hope this quick summary has inspired you to add a darker side to your diet, and branch out from the worn white bread - your body will thank you for it!
Nati xXx
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