October 16, 2003

Prairie Fare: October is National Pasta Month

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

Whenever I can’t quite decide what to make for dinner, pasta comes to mind. It’s versatile, quick to prepare, inexpensive, and best of all, my kids love it.

October, National Pasta Month, is a good time to enjoy the variety of dishes possible with pasta. It’s an opportunity to combine fresh fall vegetables with pasta, too. Tempt your taste buds with steaming bowls of pasta-containing vegetable soups, cool pasta-vegetable salads or unique shapes of pasta topped by meaty tomato-based sauces.

You can bet more than a few North Dakotans will be joining you. North Dakota, the nation’s top durum growing state, celebrates Pasta Lover’s Week Oct. 19 to 25.

Americans eat about 14 pounds of pasta per person yearly. If that seems like a lot, put down your fork. That’s less than one-fourth the annual pasta consumption of Italians, who eat 62 pounds of pasta per person yearly.

Pasta is high in complex carbohydrates, and it’s fortified with iron and B vitamins including folic acid, which may help prevent certain birth defects. If you believe the popular high protein diet plans, however, you might think that skipping carbohydrates and digging into more protein and fat is the magic way to drop a few clothing sizes.

Weight loss, however, is about calorie deficit. Americans in general, however, aren’t operating their bodies on calorie deficits. We’re eating more. According to studies, Americans are eating about 500 calories a day more than the recommendation. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

Yes, you can eat potatoes (and pasta) but it’s best not to be a couch potato. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on five or more days of the week.

With all the pasta that Italians eat, you might expect them to be roly-poly. Actually about 37 percent of pasta-loving Italians are considered overweight or obese, compared with more than 60 percent of Americans. What’s their secret? They’re probably eating less of other foods and getting more exercise.

Some people blame the Food Guide Pyramid for the expanding American waistline. After all, the Food Guide Pyramid recommends six to 11 servings of grain foods daily. Consider this: A Food Guide Pyramid-size "serving" of pasta is one-half cup. A restaurant-size pasta "portion" might be three cups.

If you eat three cups of pasta in one sitting, you’ve eaten six servings from the grain group. You may have met the grain food recommendation for the day depending on your age, gender and activity level. That’s OK. You probably enjoyed every bite of it, too.

Here’s a quick and tasty pasta recipe from the National Pasta Association’s Web site: www.ilovepasta.org 

Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Basil and Garlic

1 lb. angel hair or capellini pasta, uncooked
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
5 c. tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp. basil
3/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
5 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Add hot pasta to skillet; toss well. Add chicken broth and stir. Toss with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Makes six to eight servings. Each serving contains 369 calories, 7 grams fat, 63.5 grams carbohydrate and 162 milligrams sodium.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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