Saturday, September 24, 2011

The first step is admission...

I have a confession to make. I have the word Foodie in my blog name, but I am somewhat of a picky eater. In fact, if this were a straight-up food blog, I might be so inclined to name it The Finicky Foodie. That doesn't mean my blog name is a lie. I do consider myself a foodie. I love trying new and unusual flavor combinations and I have a great appreciation for well thought out, passionately crafted meals. I just have very strong preferences as to what my food should taste like. Actually, taste is only part of the equation. I am extremely attuned to texture with food. My husband is constantly making fun of me for this because, in his mind, if it tastes good, it is good. For me however, it can taste good, but if the texture is off-putting, I won't eat it.

Which is why I was very excited to come across this healthier type of pasta about a year ago at Whole Foods. Instead of whole wheat pasta, which I abhor for textural reasons, it's quinoa pasta.

For those of you who don't know, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA) is an ancient grain-like seed that is packed with protein. It looks and eats like a grain, but it is much higher up the scale of health benefits than wheat or rice.

Since I adore pasta but know its health benefits are slim to none, I have tried all different kids of pasta alternatives: whole-wheat pasta, brown rice pasta, buckwheat pasta, you name it, I've tried it. But all of them have failed to satisfy the taste and texture of semolina pasta -- until I discovered quinoa pasta.

The texture is identical to semolina pasta and the taste is pretty darn similar. The quinoa pasta is a tad bit nuttier, but all in all, if I were serving it at a dinner party, I doubt anyone would notice, let alone balk at the flavor and texture.

In fact, this pasta is so good, I often just serve it with just some garlic, olive oil, parmigano and a sprinkling of basil. I like the pasta itself to shine because it further emphasizes my elation that I found a healthier pasta alternative that doesn't make me wince at the awkward texture and/or flavor.

So I encourage you to give it a try sometime if you haven't already. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much you can't tell the difference between the healthy pasta and the less-than-healthy pasta. Mangia!

14 comments:

  1. I love quinoa and eat it in all forms. My favorite is the Ancient Harvest Red Quinoa.

    I agree with you about the palatable texture and taste of the pasta; the proof for me is that my husband will eat this without complaining and he won't touch the whole-wheat variety :)

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  2. Wow! What a great find! I'm so glad I live in a city with a Whole Foods :)

    I, too, have a huge issue with textures... and I, too, suffer the incessant teasing. I've tried about a hundred different shapes and brands of wheat pasta and I just don't like it. I will definitely try this pasta!

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  3. YOu know, I've bought quinoa pasta before and we did like it. I also make quinoa as a grain. But we really like good-quality whole-wheat pasta cooked al dente, so that's what I usually buy.

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  4. I'd love to try quinoa pasta, have to look for it. We've just started to finally enjoy whole wheat, this would be a nice change.

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  5. This sounds great. I do love quinoa. But mostly I like my pasta the semolina style. :<) Now, you know what I think. I think it is the finicky, picky eaters who ARE the true foodies. Many people barely taste what they eat. Those of us who are discerning eaters (discerning is always my word when someone else says picky!) can tell the difference between tastes. To me, a foodie isn't someone who likes everything. A foodie is a particular kind of eater. Can you tell I'm one? :<) And texture - oh yeah. Why I don't eat mushrooms for example.

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  6. I just discovered quinoa last spring and love it. Have never seen quinoa pasta, but that may just be because I've never looked for it.... would definitely like to try some!

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  7. I'll have to try this. We have not had much luck with quinoa, but maybe as a pasta it would work for us. We're currently using soba noodles (buckwheat) or the Al Dente brand of whole wheat pasta which isn't 100%, so I don't know if it's that much healthier.

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  8. We like the quinoa pasta too - it has a nice texture. I like a certain texture to my pasta too, so I'm not as fond of whole-wheat pasta.

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  9. I don't know if we have quinoa here. Will have to take a look for it.

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  10. I would love to try quinoa pasta! I love pasta, and I prefer healthier options, so I always buy whole-wheat pasta, which I adore. But I love trying new foods, especially healthy foods. Thanks for sharing your find with us!

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  11. Your words and pictures make it sound delicious. I'm going to look for it and give it a try. I like your suggestion of serving it with garlic, oil, parmesan and basil. I often do that with angel hair pasta.

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  12. I never heard of this before! I am not even sure if we can get this in the Netherlands. It is surely interesting since I am too a huge pasta lover!

    Here is my weekend cooking post: http://shelikesbento.blogspot.com/2011/09/weekend-cooking-herbal-cheese-pancakes.html

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  13. I love quinoa- and Marg we definitely have it in Australia. I've been hesitant to try the quinoa pasta though, but will give it a try sometime now.

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  14. I would love to try this when I find it .

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