Does anyone actually like whole wheat pasta?

[dtbach]

I've given it a try for 2 years now. It is generally awful. I'd much rather spend an extra hour on the tread mill rather than eat it.

Give me standard pasta any day.

 

[Midpack]

We were never able to "acquire a taste" for WW pasta either, so we just have smaller portions of quality 'standard' pasta. We usually have 1½ oz each of pasta for a serving. When we were young, we'd routinely eat 4 oz each - hard to believe it now.

But we do prefer brown rice over white since we're talking starches...

 

[W2R]

It's not bad if you just don't look at it. It is very filling. Guess the same could be said of Elmer's Glue, though. Maybe you could try eating white pasta, but just half as much? Then the extra time on the treadmill wouldn't be necessary.

Like Midpack, I eat brown rice, though. In fact I have some cooking in my rice cooker right now as I type.

 

[Katsmeow]

I actually do like it. More to the point, I don't notice it while eating to be different from regular pasta. I actually eat some frozen dinners with whole grain pasta (I had one today for lunch adding an additional 2 servings of vegetables to it). It was great. I have also had it at some restaurants and it has been great. I will say that some of the whole wheat pastas I've eaten at home have been uneven in quality.

 

[F4mandolin]

I don't mind it at all. I do think the white tastes better though. Been eating just brown rice for a while as well.....took a number of times to get used to it, but now I like it better.

 

[audreyh1]

I've given it a try for 2 years now. It is generally awful. I'd much rather spend an extra hour on the tread mill rather than eat it.

Give me standard pasta any day.

Yes, but only certain brands.

We like the "Central Market" brand of whole wheat pasta, but you probably can't buy that outside of TX.

If they have any funny stuff other than whole grain wheat added to increase the fiber, it'll probably be awful.

 

[samclem]

I don't like the whole wheat pasta as much, but it is okay and that's what we buy and eat most of the time.
I can't let my palate dictate my diet or it would be bacon for every meal and months between broccoli sightings.

 

[plex]

Yea, I definitely prefer it. I like both Trader's Joe's whole wheat fusilli, and the only decent priced whole wheat product from my nearby grocery store, their Mac & Cheese w/ whole wheat pasta, problem with that though is it has yellow 5, so I'm stuck not eating Mac & Cheese very much.

I like brown rice too, but it tastes a bit plain, I like the brown jasmine rice better.

 

[dessert]

I love pasta and "rice and gravy". I feel the same way you do about brown rice. Several have already said how they love brown rice but I could never acquire a taste for it.
I live fairly close to W2R and in this part of the world if I spend hours cooking Shrimp Etouffe or Crawfish Stew, I just can't see putting that on a bed of brown rice because it changes the taste of the dish too much. I finally had to give up on it and just exercise more.

On the other hand I do love Wheat bread over white bread so I'm not all bad.

 

[dtbach]

I don't like the whole wheat pasta as much, but it is okay and that's what we buy and eat most of the time.
I can't let my palate dictate my diet or it would bacon for every meal and months between broccoli sightings.

For me Bacon is good, broccoli is bad. Reminds me of "Sleepers" where in the future, ice cream and fudge were healthy and veggies were "bad"

 

[ERD50]

I like whole grain breads, but not the pasta. I dunno, it just doesn't seem to go with the sauces or cheeses we use on it.

-ERD50

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I do like 100 percent whole wheat pasta. It is good cooked al dente and has a nice "nutty" taste to me. I also like brown and wild rice much more than white rice. Curiously, I am not a big fan of fresh pasta...too soft for my taste.
I will eat some white breads but really only a French baguette (with that good crust) or a sourdough. Otherwise it is some kind of health bread. Not that I am a "health nut". Far from it as I eat too much cheese (it has to be good cheese) and don't exercise as much as I should.

 

[CoolChange]

I like whole grain breads, but not the pasta. I dunno, it just doesn't seem to go with the sauces or cheeses we use on it.

-ERD50

Like a few others here, I actually tend to like the whole wheat pasta better most of the time; but, I am usually a red sauce with meat kind of guy rather than white creamy sauces. So, I wonder if that makes a difference.

Whole wheat bread and brown rice most of the time as well. But, I do also like white bread, white rice and normal pasta on occasions.

 

[Alan]

We prefer WW pasta, but as mentioned above you need to be choosy what you buy.

 

[Amethyst]

It's OK, but it doesn't really taste like wheat. We love the taste of wheat - wheat germ, wheat crackers, whole wheat bread.

Amethyst

 

[samclem]

If they have any funny stuff other than whole grain wheat added to increase the fiber, it'll probably be awful.

So many of the "high fiber" products are boosted with cellulose. I guess it's high fiber because we aren't really designed to digest it.

The stuff reminds me of the "bread" made largely from sawdust that the Russians made and ate during the seige of Leningrad. I guess they were just ahead of their time.

 

[ronin]

My wife likes it. I don't. But I guess you can get used to just about anything.

 

[IBWino]

FWIW, my wife's aunt and uncle have switched to buckwheat pasta as part of a gluten free diet and they claim that it's very good.

 

[Ready]

I'm not aware of any known health benefits of eating whole wheat pasta over white pasta, so I would just eat whatever you think taste the best.

 

[Bikerdude]

I mix WW pasta 50/50 with "Dreamfields" pasta. Works for me.

 

[Midpack]

I'm not aware of any known health benefits of eating whole wheat pasta over white pasta, so I would just eat whatever you think taste the best.

Lots of articles noting benefits associated with whole wheat pasta FWIW. Just one...

Whole-Grain Pasta vs. Regular Pasta | Healthy Eating | SF Gate

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't mind whole wheat pasta, though when I use eat the stuff it is usually a 50/50 mixture with regular pasta.

 

[Ready]

Lots of articles noting benefits associated with whole wheat pasta FWIW. Just one...

Whole-Grain Pasta vs. Regular Pasta | Healthy Eating | SF Gate

They seem to focus on the fact that whole wheat pasta has more fiber than white flour pasta. But whole wheat pasta is still loaded with gluten, a substance that we are seeing more and more evidence associated with obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. And the carbs in whole wheat pasta will spike your blood sugar just as much as a snickers bar. So if the only benefit you are getting is a few extra vitamins and a little extra fiber, I still say eat whatever you enjoy, and take a few teaspoons of fiber if you need it, or eat a handful or raw nuts. Either way you will get more fiber than an entire portion of whole wheat pasta.

Food companies tend to hype the benefits of whole wheat pasta by pointing out relatively obscure things that may be slightly better than white flour pasta, while ignoring the fact that it is still very high in calories, and generally not a very nutritious food. It's more or less a treat to be enjoyed from time to time...much like a snickers bar.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm a dinosaur when it comes to things like that.

Actually, I'm not keen on anything whole wheat, including bread. We have two different breads in the house, white for me and WW for DW.

I conceded to go from whole milk to 2% and now to 1% but that is as far as I'm going. I have no interest in "white water".

 

[MooreBonds]

I mix WW pasta 50/50 with "Dreamfields" pasta. Works for me.

Aldi's brand of whole grain pasta (the "Fit and Healthy" line in a white box, or whatever its' called) is 51% whole wheat, and 49% 'regular processed' wheat. The appearance and taste are fairly similar, so perhaps you would like that far more than the 100% ww, while still getting some of the benefits of more whole grains in your diet....