Healthy Italian food..

[Brand Nizzle]

Oxy moron?

 

[Tonyfish141]

What Italian food are you talking about? My whole family has been eating food our whole lives and we are all healthy except for a few people who ate too many happy meals.

 

[elcapitan]

italian fodd in italy is far from "italian food" in the states. . .. real italian food is pretty healthy, this is hard to explain but ask a real italian guy and he can probably explain the differance

 

[PIT FIGHTER]

You can substitute whole wheat/buckwheat/soy pasta for most noodle dishes...also a lot of traditional Italian foods from certain parts of Italy is fairly healthy, as elcapitan pointed out.

Also, genuine Italian pizza is a lot healthier than the jazzed up US version.

 

[jar3ds]

keep the (EVOO) extra virgin olive oil to a minium... stay away from cream sauces... tomato based pasta sauces are much better than white sauces... whole wheat pasta is a great tip...

garlic bread is dangerous because of the amount of butter sometimes put on it... if you make it @ home use minimal butter / paramian cheese w/ good whole wheat bread...

eat salads with lots of spanish, LOTS OF VEGGIES LIKE TOMATOS ETC... more vinager than oil... or just use fat free dressings

i have found VERY few frozen pizzas that are even exceptable by my standard... however pizza from food chains will never be even close to healthy...

i personally love italian food(s)... ya just have to keep your eye on it...

 

[GreenRecon]

Every Wednesday I go home for dinner. My family is Italian. I eat so much food its unbelievable. I basically just treat that meal as a cheat meal.

 

[Tonyfish141]

Everyday I eat Italian. Some favorite meal ideas:
Angel Hair with broccoli sauce and grilled chicken
Sausage and Peppers
Pasta Salad
Beans and Pasta soup
Antipasta
Capocola with turkey sandwhichs

there are a ton but most are healthy, it really depends on who is cooking it and how much oil/butter they add. I guess if you are going to the olive garden or something and eating alfredo and lasagne then it might be unhealthy. For the most part though I think Italian food, based on what I eat (My whole family is italian and I live in New England where there are tons of great food) is mostly healthy, it just depends on what type you eat.

 

[joey roastbeef]

olive garden is horrible. you call that italian food?

 

[Tonyfish141]

Did you read my post?

 

[joey roastbeef]

Did you read my post?

does a bear shit in the woods?

 

[Tonyfish141]

does a bear shit in the woods?

I thought the quote was " Does the pope shit in the woods". Anyway, I was saying that unless you were eating at like an Olive Garden or something, Italian food is generally healthy depending on what you eat. There is Italian food with tons of oil and crap in it that makes it unhealthy but then there are tons that have vegetables and garlic which makes it healthy. Olive Garden is Italian food as Taco Bell is Mexican Food.

 

[Brand Nizzle]

Thanks for the posts guys.

 

[Grady]

Real Italian food from Italy is generally very healthy.

American-Italian food varies from healthy to really bad.

You can get some great dishes that include fish, chicken, garlic, pasta, and reasonable amounts of fats from cheeses and olive oils. Or -- you can get Pizza Hut which is essentially white bread saturated in oils and smothered in high fat cheese and meats.

One of my favorite dishes is a the simple pasta & beans dish, "Pasta e ioli."
here is a decent receipe, although I make one based on a light red sauce myself: http://italianfood.about.com/od/legumesandpasta/r/blr0155.htm

 

[Tonyfish141]

Pasta and Beans is where its at. My dad gets mad at me because I call it pasta fongul then bit my fist at him.

 

[sleepwalk]

Chicken and broccoli rabe
Escarole and beans
Veal or chicken piccata

 

[Amy Robinson]

One of my favorite foods is spaghetti, to make it healthier I use this Barilla Plus pasta, which is multi-grain and has protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids, and tastes just like regular pasta. If you want to be really good, don't use sauce, instead have your pasta with chunks of tomato (cooked in a little EVOO), or use a little bit of pesto. If you really prefer sauce though, I recommend Ragu Light.

 

[Colby18***]

I thought the quote was " Does the pope shit in the woods". QUOTE]

i thought it was :

"does a bear shit in the woods...and wipe his ass with a white rabbit?"

 

[GreenRecon]

One of my favorite foods is spaghetti, to make it healthier I use this Barilla Plus pasta, which is multi-grain and has protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids, and tastes just like regular pasta. If you want to be really good, don't use sauce, instead have your pasta with chunks of tomato (cooked in a little EVOO), or use a little bit of pesto. If you really prefer sauce though, I recommend Ragu Light.

The barilla plus is good stuff. It does tastes just like regular pasta. I like it with olive oil and garlic.

 

[fat_wilhelm]

Spelt Pasta = The Shiznit. Vita Spelt Light, to be specific. Whole wheat pasta isn't very tasty, in my opinion.

 

[Duncon76]

keep the (EVOO) extra virgin olive oil to a minium... stay away from cream sauces... tomato based pasta sauces are much better than white sauces... whole wheat pasta is a great tip...

garlic bread is dangerous because of the amount of butter sometimes put on it...

What!!!!!..What is wrong with butter, EVOO and Cream ???????