Product Review: Grainy Pastas

GrainyPasta
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

The markets are becoming full of whole-grain products now. As my friend Jenny says, "Now is a great time to be on a diet." There are so many high-fiber, low-fat products now. I'm still skeptical about sugar content, but I haven't really done much investigating in that area yet.

In response to the fact that most Americans like their pasta smooth and white, several manufacturers are making blends of white and whole wheat. This Barilla line, called "Plus," is kind of a happy medium between Mueller's Whole Grains and Creamette's white, highly-processed products.

Here's a mini-comparison of three kinds of pasta. I'll just compare calories, fat, fiber and sugar for one serving (56g or about 1/2 cup):

Mueller's Enriched Macaroni-Cal 210, 1g fat, fiber 2g, sugars 2g

Barilla Plus Penne-Cal 210, 2g fat, fiber 4g, sugars 2g

Mueller's Whole Grain Rotini-Cal 190, 2g fat, fiber 5g, sugars 4g

So the whole grain is the lowest in calories, but the sugar content is twice as high. I suspect to make it more palatable to the average American consumer. But you do get 1g higher fiber and lower calories, which drops the Weight Watcher's point value:

Mueller's Enriched-4 points

Barilla Plus-4 points

Mueller's Whole Grain-3 points

The kids liked it. Actually, I should say they didn't dislike it. Ok...they didn't say anything at all. But neither did I. I assume they noticed...especially Taylor, who has a heightened sense of smell and taste, as well as being the most observant member of the family. I did not volunteer that the pasta was different and they did not comment that it was. So I passed that test.

I made a dish from "Cooking Light" magazine that had spinach, asparagus, bacon and parmesan in it. They gobbled it right up.

The Mueller's Whole Grain pasta was good, but a little too Euell Gibbons for us. Even for me, I thought. It was pretty dense and somewhat chewy. I like chewy in my pasta, but I thought the texture was just a little too apparent. I like my pasta to be a vehicle for the sauce...a background singer, if you will. I don't want the pasta itself to make any statements of its own.

Both pasta were more expensive than the regular stuff. Like about 50 cents higher per box. But I'll buy the Barilla Plus stuff a lot now. When I'm not busy making my own, that is.