Is Barilla Plus pasta as good for you as the whole wheat/whole grain pastas?
 

Thanks to everyone who answered my previous question about whether whole grain pastas were supposed to be bitter. I've thrown away my Hodgson Mill since it was just inedible. I bought the Barilla Plus and Ronzoni. I've been eating the Barilla plus this week and really like it. I only tossed a few strands of the Ronzoni in one day to see what it tasted like, and its definitely a bit more wheaty, and when I finish my Barilla plus, I'll try it as a meal on its own. When I tasted it, it seemed better than the Hodgson Mill.

I really like the Barilla Plus, but I've noticed that it is a multigrain pasta and not a whole wheat/whole grain pasta. Does this mean that it's not as good for you?

Thanks for the help!

I think of it as a point along a line rather than good and bad. On that line, regular white pasta is at one end, and whole wheat (grain) pasta at the other. Barilla and Ronzoni, etc fall somewhere in between. I like the Barilla best myself, and I know it's "better," that is more towards the whole grain end of the line.

I really like the Barilla Plus, too, but I discovered Ronzoni's whole wheat "egg" noodles and LOVE it.

I just heard a doc talking about pasta on the radio this morning. Her take was that the Barilla plus was good because they add fiber, protein and flax? and ww is good because it's whole grain. It really comes down to splitting hairs which is better. I would say eat what you enjoy the most. We love ww pasta here, but I think we are in the minority.

I also love whole wheat pasta (and quinoa and brown rice pasta) and buy organic so haven't tried the Barilla but from what I have seen it seems to be a better choice than white! Look at the protein/fiber/fat and comapre it to white and whole wheat and I'm sure it *will* be pretty much in the middle ;)

After looking at the nutritional info for both, it looks like the Barilla might be slightly better than the Ronzoni. They add additional fiber to it, plus some of the grains used are legumes (beans), which have not only fiber but also a significant amount of protein.

I would say don't get too hung up on which is better. Use the one you like, or use them both.