have you tried it? I found it at Walmart the other day and got the angel hair after reading about it in the Sonoma book. I really liked it! I made it into a self-invented version of Shrimp Portofino from Macaroni Bar and Grille and it turned out really excellent. Here's a qhote from their website.
Barilla PLUS goes far beyond the benefits of whole-wheat pasta, first by offering a taste, color and texture similar to traditional Barilla pasta, resulting in a palate-pleasing meal, and also by delivering twice as much fiber as regular pasta. With 40-percent more protein than regular pasta, Barilla PLUS also is a good source of protein. Furthermore, Barilla PLUS contains heart-healthy omega-3 and is lower in fat than other protein sources like chicken, ground beef and salmon – nutrition never tasted so good.
This stuff is soooooo good - my family has been eating it since our store starting carrying it and we like it better than "normal" pasta. I was so excited to see it was an acceptable carb on this diet.
I'm going to get me some of this pasta, I've been reading a lot of good things about it. Everyone that has tried it really likes it. I'm going to walmart. I'm alway looking for new things to try.
My husband simply adores pasta, so I'm thrilled that there is a wonderful and healthy way to satisfy all the needs. I'm anxious to try it for him, decided to sample it myself first and not turn him off completely by trying to edge something in that is different than one of his real *favorites*.
My last experience was with the natural, unsweetened peanut butter. Gah, he adds honey and now is happy. :-)
Barilla Plus Pasta is ok with low carb diets? I've not tried it or really even checked into it, i'm doing low carb and thought that all pasta's were out of the picture so I stay out of the pasta isle. This would be great!
I like the stuff a lot. I also like whole wheat pasta, but the rest of the family thinks whole wheat has a funny texture. The Barilla Plus gives them the texture and taste that's more like regular old pasta while giving me the extra fiber that I want. It's win-win. :-)
I buy the penne, angel hair, and spaghetti. Typically I serve it with something like chicken cacciatore or a shrimp dish, and we'll also usually have broccoli, roasted green beans, or a big salad with it. It's definitely filling enough for us.
To be honest, I do eat pretty close to a full serving of the stuff - well I only just got it but that's what I did. I made 2 servings worth and ended up with three meals. Here's the recipe I used - the original and my healthier modifications. It was really yummy, a T or so of butter would improve it - I always have liked to use a little butter in cooking, it doesn't take much. But you know for now I'm trying to be a lot more on. I'm pretty close to where I want to be weight wise so I'm pretty much on Wave 3 at this point anyway, but I try to stick to the right foods and the basic concepts. I LOVE this dish from Macaroni Bar and Grille and man look at all the BUTTER. It really is outstanding and I thought my light version was great, too.
Macaroni Grill's Pasta Gamberetie E Pinoli
Serves 2
6 T. unsalted butter, divided(keep 4 T. chilled)
2 tsp. minced garlic
12 medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 C. dry white wine
1/2 C. heavy cream
1/3 C. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
salt & fresh-ground white pepper to taste
2 T. plain dry bread crumbs
2 oz. fresh spinach, stems removed, washed & dried (about 51/2 C. loosely packed)
6 oz. angel-hair pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 T. toasted pine nuts*
In a large nonreactive skillet, melt 2 T. butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and saute about 30 seconds or until the shrimp is just half cooked. Add the wine and, using a wooden spoon, stir to loosen any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Let cook 2 minutes, stirring, to finish cooking the shrimp and reduce the liquid. Remove the shrimp to a warm plate & cover with foil.
Add the heavy cream to the pan & let cook 3 minutes to reduce. Stir in the lemon juice. remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining chilled butter, 1 T. at a time, stirring in the next piece after the one before it has just melted. Season with the salt & pepper & stir in the bread crumbs..
Return the pan to the heat, add the spinach and cook, stirring, 1 1/2 minutes or just until the spinach has wilted. Add the shrimp & stir to coat and heat through.
To serve, divide the angel-hair pasta between two warmed serving dishes or bowls. arrange the shrimp on top, spoon the remaining contents of the pan equally over the tops and sprinkle with the pine nuts.
*To toast the pine nuts,: spread nuts in a single layer on a baking pan and bake in a preheated 350degree oven 6-8 minutes or until slightly browned. shake the pan once or twice to toast the nuts evenly.
So here's what I did - used about 2 T of good olive oil and a heavy spray of butter flavor pam in the skillet at the beginning. I used lite sour cream instead of heavy cream and added about 1/2 a cup of chicken broth instead of all the butter and just left out the bread crumbs. I had 3 absolutely gorgeous huge prawns/serving (so 6 in total) and used the Barilla Plus angel hair.
So I found the Barilla Plus on sale at Safeway a few weeks ago and stocked up.
Here is a SILLY question but I can't figure it out -
for COOKED pasta, how much is a portion?
I was using 1/2 C since that's the normal pasta portion size, but the BP packaging info is based on dry weight, which is NOT very helpful for a single gal who cooks first, measures later (I know, bad)
I don't know for sure channycat on the Waves - but it feels like in a reasonable size the Barilla would be a grain for Wave 1.
I've done so well on the whole lifestyle - I don't follow it perfectly, but a lot of the principles most of the time. I just needed to shave off 5 or 6 pounds when I started and it did work - honestly I never weigh myself but I can tell my clothes fit so much better. I'm feeling excellent and it feels so in control and maintainable.
The proof (as they say) is in the long-term pudding. We'll see if I feel this great by Christmas. ;-)
Barilla Plus Pasta
That stuff is so yummy though.
WineBrat
