Pastaahhhh! The ultimate food for quarantine
Stock up on pasta during the quarantine: your body, family and the planet will thank you!
“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti,” actress Sophia Loren once was famously misquoted…
It may not have been true for her, but it is true for me. I was raised by a family of pasta machine makers. My great grandfather started DEMACO (DeFrancisci Machine Company) in 1914.
My great grandfather Ignazio’s family owned a pasta factory in Palermo Sicily called Pastaficio Virga. Using his knowledge of pasta making and his ability to create machinery, he found a niche. As thousands of Italians came to America, the need and demand for pasta increased. Working with Italian pasta entrepreneurs, the DeFrancisci family were able to supply this growing market with the machines.
So, why does this come to mind for me right now? This incredibly shelf-stable product allows us to eat healthy during this time of crisis. We can buy a lot of it at once and it will sit pretty on our shelves, allowing us to avoid multiple trips to the supermarket.
What people don’t realize is that in making pasta, the carbohydrates in the grains are heated and condensed, making it slow for the sugar to get absorbed into the system (low glycemic index). A recent study reinforced this, finding that people on a low-GI diet still lost weight when eating pasta, and pasta did not cause any weight gain or increases in body fat.
Of course, pasta is only as good as the carbohydrates put into the machines, so I recommend buying pasta made with ancient organic grains. I would make sure that any pasta you buy has at least 2 grams of fiber in it. Even more than that is better because it means the grains are striped less of their husk, making them less processed. For my kids, I love Barilla Protein Plus pasta. It is packed with plant-based protein and my picky kids do not seem to notice a difference. You don’t need a protein source in the meal — just add some veggies and it is complete.
For the gluten intolerant? It is worth noting that it could be the type of gluten you eat which makes you feel bloated, not the gluten itself. Many people say when they go to Italy, the pasta does not make them feel as bad. That is because Italians often use better wheat and do not allow GMOs. Buying ancient grain pastas like Sfoglini organic brands may reduce that bloat.
Pasta, in addition to being quarantine friendly, helps the planet. It is easy to manufacture and does not leave a carbon footprint. Eating pasta with rotation crops adds an extra planet friendly boost like Sfoglini rye pasta. Why is this? Because rotation crops like rye allow the soil to rest from the nutrients drained from growing wheat. This means using less fertilizer, which means less need for manure and cows. This also means less run off of the fertilizer into the rivers and the lakes, which means less toxic allergy blooms which kill the fish underneath. Win. Win. Win.
For the quarantine, stock up on pasta! Your body, your family and the planet will thank you.
