Catelli Smart Pasta vrs Whole Wheat
 

Is the Catelli "Smart Pasta" really as good as the whole wheat stuff? My husband refuses to eat whole wheat pasta. I love whole wheat but he won't touch it and says the smart stuff is the same as the wheat stuff. I tried to look it up online but couldn't find a side by side comparison. I plan to check the next time I'm in a grocery store but I was wondering what you guys thought about this.

I've never seen the Smart Pasta but the web says it is white flour not whole wheat. I'd have to look at the packaging I think to guess what hey are doing with the white flout to make it more healthy.

I'm TOTALLY with your husband on the whole wheat pasta. I hate hate hate it. Yuck, phooey, blech! However, I have found two whole grain pastas that I really love and they cook up just like regular old pasta and reheat as left overs like regular old pasta too.

One is Bella Terra 8 Whole Grain pasta. At my store it is in the
health food section because it is organic. I see they sell it on Amazon too. The other is Racconto 8 Whole Grain pasta which I've seen in the regular pasta section at the store. A quick google suggests the two are part of the same company. The Racconto is cheaper but I like the Bella Terra a bit more although the differences are very subtle and both pass for regular pasta once you cook them up.

My husband hated whole wheat pasta too, or so he thought. He just didn't like the brand I bought. He loves TJ's ww pasta, and Whole Food's 365 Everyday brand. He likes Archer Farm's ww pasta, but will not eat any whole wheat pasta from a "regular" grocery store. He has a point, they tend to be gummy and grainy, instead of firm and nutty like TJ's.

After some Google love, here's what I came up with:

Catelli
Serving Size: 3/4 cup
Calories: 300
From Fat: 14
Total Fat: 1.5g
Sat Fat: 0g
Total Carbs: 66g
Fiber: 9g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 11g

TJ's:
Serving Size: 3/4 cup
Calories: 210
From Fat: 15
Total Fat: 1.5g
Sat Fat: 0g
Total Carbs: 42g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 10.7g

Here's my beloved Bella Terra for comparison:

Serving Size: 2oz which cooks up to about 3/4 cup
Calories: 190
From Fat: 10
Total Fat: 1g
Sat Fat: 0g
Total Carbs: 40g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 7g

So it's not as good as whole wheat but it's better then regular white. That's about what I expected.

Maybe I will try a different brand... I wonder how I can convince him to try it though.

Well, a box of pasta is pretty cheap and cooking it up is easy. Buy some, try it on him. If he absolutely hates it you can have regular pasta cooked up and ready to go in under 10 minutes. And he might just like it!

The trick though would be getting him to put it in his mouth.

I found an interesting article (posted in the Food Talk section) that says the reason white pasta (breads etc) is not nearly as good is because it lacks the fiber of WW. So maybe the Smart pasta is a little better then I thought.

The article is a timely find, since I'm eating the pasta right now for lunch.

I like whole wheat but do buy the Smart because it has more fiber than the whole wheat. I can't figure it out but it does. :shrug:

I'd rather have the whole wheat but like I said.. hubby won't touch the stuff.