How great is it to enjoy a hearty bowl of pasta? It’s true comfort food, but conventional white, or even whole wheat pasta weighs us down, bloats us up, and offers little to no nutritional value. The good news is that there are so many great choices when it comes to pasta now, made with nourishing ingredients. Try choosing a product that is wheat-free and gluten-free, loaded with the good stuff our bodies need and crave, and make your whole family very happy. Remember to read the ingredients on every package when shopping!
Tinkyada This al dente pasta is made from brown rice and water. It’s a wheat-free, gluten-free alternative to traditional pastas, and the texture, flavour and mouth-feel is super close to the “white stuff” that we really need to stop consuming. It comes in many shapes, but make sure you buy their organic products, cook it (even over cook a bit), and rinse it really well (it’s super starchy and you want to wash that all away!).
Sea Tangle Konaberry Kelp Noodles These noodles are made from sea vegetables, and are fat-free, gluten-free, and contain almost no carbs or calories. Konaberry is added, which packs in extra antioxidants. Kelp noodles are great either hot or cold and toss well into any salad with any dressing or sauce. The best part about these noodles? No cooking is required – just rinse and enjoy right out of the bag!
King Soba Organic Black Rice Noodles These beautiful wheat + gluten-free noodles retain a deep, dark purple color when cooked, and look beautiful in any dish you make, especially if using bright veggies for contrast. Also, black rice contains several times more protein and minerals than ordinary white rice, and is rich in iron, calcium, zinc, manganese, selenium, and B vitamins. What more could you want from a pasta?
truRootOrganic Ancient Grain Pasta Made from a blend of whole grain brown rice, quinoa, amaranth and corn flours, this gluten-free and organic pasta keeps a firm al dente texture after cooking to provide an authentic experience.
Kaslo Sourdough Pasta Made from fermented sourdough, Kaslo’s Sourdough offers 11 different flour combinations (including rye, spelt, millet, kamut, quinoa, amaranth, and more) – all grown organically in Canada. Your family will love their family recipe!
Solenzi Organic Gluten-Free Sorghum and Purple Carrot Penne These noodles are made with just four simple, certified organic ingredients: organic sorghum flour, organic purple carrot, and water. Sorghum is a gluten-free wholegrain that is easy to digest and offers higher protein content than many other grains.
Better Than Foods Konjac Noodles Konjac is a low calorie, high fibre root vegetable that has been eaten in Japan for centuries. These carb-free noodles are made from organic Konnyaku flour from the Konjac plant.
Lotus Foods Millet & Brown Rice Ramen Ready to eat in just 4 minutes, these traditional Japanese-style noodles are made from organic millet and brown rice (both fairly easy-to-digest grains). Lotus’ ramen come in dried “noodle cakes”, perfect for making a quick single serving in very little time. Just add it to a bowl of miso soup, a stir-fry, or a cold noodle salad. I love it for “build your own ramen bowls” for a fast family dinner.
Explore Cuisine Green Lentil Lasagne Forget any other lasagne noodle you’ve used before; this one is made from a combination of green lentil, green pea and brown rice flours – all organic . Not only do these noodles pack 11 grams of protein and 3 grams of fibre in just a 2 ounce serving, but they are “no boil” which means you can skip that entire step in lasagne making! Explore Cuisine also makes great mung bean fettuccine, various bean spaghettis and more, plus instant noodle cups, which are staple for us when we travel or when the kids go on school trips.
Chickapea Shells Not only is this pasta made by a local small business (out of Collingwood, Ontario), but its two ingredients (just chickpeas and lentils) are organic, non-GMO, nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan. The shells are the perfect pasta for a plant-powered mac and cheese, and will give you 23 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, iron and B vitamins in every serving, even if served plain! Chickapea plus a jar of any organic sauce in a glass jar makes for the ultimate fast food around our house!
