1.1.05 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
This might just be the most asked for product review in history. Since Dreamfields Pasta began showing up on
grocery store shelves in February of 2004, we've been flooded with emails asking us for the "skinny" on this
almost-too-good-to-be-true pasta. But this is no ordinary low carb pasta... nor do they claim it to be. So Low
Carb Luxury took its time to make sure it is what it says it is before we were willing to go out on a limb and
stamp it with our approval.
Today, we officially do that.
The question of "digestible carbs" (and how Dreamfields arrives at this number) is a tricky one. It's not a simple
carbs minus fiber mathematical equation like most products use. There's a very specific science behind it.
It's one that
we had to do some investigation on our own. This meant long talks with the company, talks with R&D folks, reading
studies, and of course, doing our own studies. In point of fact, I was one of the guinea pigs who ate the pasta under
controlled circumstances, and then tested my blood glucose response over the course of 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours. My personal
results varied somewhat, but most definitely proved this was no ordinary pasta and was not causing a noticeable spike.
This revolution in low carb nutrition means that we can truly enjoy pasta dishes again... from a cool Macaroni Salad to
a rich Penne with Alfredo. And make no mistake about it — this is really good pasta. As good as any premium pasta.
And we checked that out for ourselves as well. For our review
testing, we tried all the varieties of Dreamfields: Spaghetti, Elbows, Penne Rigate and Linguine. But for our comparisons,
we stuck with the Penne Rigate for its shape, consistency, and mouthfeel. When testing, all pastas were served with only a butter
and olive oil mixture.
For comparison testing, we chose Barilla, Creamette, and Kroger's brand. We also tested against Atkins Low Carb Pasta... in all
cases, we used the penne. While about half of our reviewers preferred the Barilla brand to Dreamfields, the other half preferred
the Dreamfields. And Dreamfields beat Creamette 5 to 1. It beat the Kroger's 10 to 1 and in all cases, the Atkins pasta lost to
Dreamfields.
Those are pretty amazing results for a pasta that fits a low carb lifestyle!
Of course, we cooked up some great dishes with it too, since we wanted to try it with a red sauce, a white sauce, and cold
in a salad. Dreamfields actually has a better mouthfeel than most pastas that can easily get "waterlogged." It allows
rich sauces to blanket it, and it shines with a premium taste, hot or cold.
Dreamfields pasta comes in at 5 grams of digestible carbs (for more on how digestible carbs work, see our
article in the January 2005 LCL Magazine.) You can find it in the pasta aisle of most grocery stores,
or at Netrition.
03.10.04 :: Product Recommendation & Review:
Last year we were proud to spotlight Keto's great new low carb spaghetti, and this year we're just as happy to
recommend their newest offering, Keto Fettuccine! Keto's been working at this for quite awhile and it shows.
It's a great tasting pasta that marries well with most any sauce. And we tried a lot of them... from a creamy alfredo
style sauce, a basic butter sauce, and a cheese sauce to the basic "reds," notably their Keto sauces (see below.)
It has a traditional mouthfeel and no overt "soy taste."
At 5 grams of effective carbohydrates (after deduction for 2 g of fiber), and only 110 calories per serving, this is
a real fettuccine any low carb dieter can embrace! But the best part is that it's just delicious.
Now, let's talk sauce... the new Pasta Sauces from Keto are rich, thick and very authentic. In fact, they're made with
imported Italian San Marzano Tomatoes! They come in three varieties:
Marinara
Vodka Sauce
Meat Sauce
These sauces come in at 4 grams of net carbs per
1/2-cup serving and we can tell you that's a real carb-bargain.
If you're a pasta lover, run, don't walk, to buy these great new products from Keto. We highly recommend them!
The fettuccine is available from The Low Carb Connoisseur
or from Netrition.
The sauces are available directly from Keto Foods.
01.02.03 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
There's a new pasta out, and this one's such a winner! It's as close to real spaghetti with a tiny
fraction of the carbs as we've ever seen. The folks at Keto Foods have debuted their new
Keto Spaghetti and we think you're gonna want to keep this one in
your pantry at all times. It cooks very much like any spaghetti (and comes packaged the same way.) We
found it best when timed at 8 minutes from it being immersed in boiling water.
What surprised me was
that when I tasted it right out of the pan (before butter or sauce was put on it), it wasn't bad at all...
no heavy soy taste. By the time we added a sauce, it was really quite delicious. We were all commenting
that if it weren't a reputable brand like Keto, we might be questioning the carb count on this stuff.
It was that good. We tried it with several sauces including a classic meat and mushroom tomato-based
Italian sauce (our favorite), an alfredo sauce (superb with diced chicken), and with a carbonara sauce
(with plenty of bacon!) The spaghetti hold the sauces really well and doesn't get gummy or fall apart.
A single serving according to the package (it comes in 8-oz boxes) is 1/6 of the box and comes in at
5 effective grams of carbohydrate (after fiber.) Many of us found the serving size a little small
and felt 1/4 of the package was more appropriate as a main dish. That would make it 7 1/2 grams of
carb per serving... still very very reasonable!
If you've been missing spaghetti and need to keep those carbs down, this is the one. It's even low
calorie (at 110 calories per serving)... well, until you add those rich sauces [grin].
If you're one of those people who really love "leftover spaghetti" (we are)... we checked that out too. We stored about
a cup of cooked Keto Spaghetti in the Italian tomato sauce overnight in Tupperware, and reheated it the next day
in the microwave to find it was still delicious 24 hours later. In some ways, even better since the sauce had
truly "married" itself to the pasta.
Keto Spaghetti is available from The Low Carb Connoisseur
and netrition.
05.06.02 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
More Pasta, folks!
In the mood for a bowl of fettuccine? Want it covered in
a rich, thick, Italian sauce? You're gonna love the newest entry into the low
carb pasta market -- Pastalia Pasta and
Sauces!
The pasta itself comes in two varieties -- Plain Fettuccine, and
Tomato & Basil
Fettuccine.
Each are tightly wrapped balls of fettuccine noodles in resealable plastic
pouch-bags. They are prepared like any other pasta, but take a bit longer to
cook (directions say 15 minutes, but we found they were nicely al dente in 10
minutes... adjust as you like.)
Both varieties are very, very good. While it's
not true that they are identical to the high carb varieties of pasta, these
are the closest yet. As you might guess, there's a trade-off. They come in at
7 grams of carbs per serving (after fiber), but we think the serving sizes are
unrealistically small, and instead of 4.5 servings per bag, we think 3 servings
per bag makes for a very hearty meal. This makes them 10.5 carbs per serving.
But they're so good, we think they're worth it a few times each month for
a real pasta lovers' treat.
The Pastalia pasta sauces come in four varieties:
Fra Diavolo (with onions and lemon pepper), Vodka Sauce (with Parmigiano and Romano
cheeses, and Vodka), Puttanesca (with olives, capers, and anchovies),
and Classic Marinara.
No sugar added and low in carbs, these sauces are spicy delicious. The Puttanesca (which I
was surprised to find was all our favorites since it's made with anchovies) tastes
nearly identical to a sauce I used to get at an amazing Italian restaurant in
Chicago years ago.
We think you'll love 'em too! Pastalia pastas and sauces are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur.
07.24.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Are you one of those people that watch those TV Products ads and shake your
head? I used to be one of them (and still am with many things), but I have
a much more open mind now. Why?
Well, since low-carbing, I've seen the 'infomercials' that promote both the Atkins
Diet and the Protein Power Diet. There was a time I would have assumed these must
be scams since they were being sold in such a fashion. Now, of course, I know
better. So it was with a more open mind that I saw another "TV Product" — the
new line of Low Carb Due
Amici Pasta Lite!
No, I didn't get it from that infomercial — I got it from one of my favorite
low-carb vendors (Low Carb Dieter's Page), but we're sure glad we opted to
try it for the review group.
The great news is
that it DOES come in handy considering all the options they offer — Capellini,
Elbow Macaroni, Linguini, Penne Rigate, and Rigatoni.
You can make lots of traditional pasta-enhanced dishes and it's quite good. A little
"chewier" than traditional pasta (obviously since it's not starchy), but has a pretty
good texture and flavor that I think most will really like. It's much more like
a whole wheat pasta than "regular" pasta.
At approximately 3 carbs per serving (after 7 grams of fiber reduction,) it's
available online from The
Low Carb Dieter's Page or The Low Carb Connoisseur.
03.12.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Last August when the folks at Keto first introduced their Bread Machine
Mix, we'd tried making a pizza dough with it and were pretty pleased
with the results. The only two drawbacks were that it rose too much
(we had to use a "dough relaxer" [review to come soon] to hold it down)
and that the quanity was "off" for a pizza dough. We expressed a wish
for them to make a dough specifically for pizza crusts.
In the meantime, others have introduced Pizza crust (or kit) options. Most are pretty
good, but none have exactly hit that deep-dish pizzeria feel we were looking
for — a dough with a faint sweetness and a lot of "pull" to it. This
month, Keto grants our wish with their new  Pizza
Dough Mix.
Obviously, the first thing we did was set about making pizza. We went for
thicker crusts (came out the best), thinner crust (you'll need to "dock"
the dough for this), and a few in between. We really like the deeper dish,
but especially when we season the crust with some good Italian herbs and
garlic before baking. We also found it was worlds easier to let the bread
machine handle the mixing and kneading.
One of our members suggested trying a "Stromboli". Can you believe I'd
never heard of this? (People thought perhaps I'd been living in a cave — heck,
I thought it was a volcano.) Anyway, what it is is a great folded,
baked Italian sandwich (I assume that's where "Hot Pockets" came from.) Our
Stromboli expert, Jan, developed a quick and delicious recipe for this
amazing sandwich using the Keto Pizza Dough Mix and here's the recipe! We're looking
forward to what other treats we can come up with using the Keto dough.
You can order online at The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and of course Life
Services.
02.26.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
There's a new Pizza Kit on the Low Carb specialty market. Manufactured
by Low Carb Chef, the newest kit contains
the makings for
4 Big, Tasty Pizzas! Each kit comes boxed
in a no-frills style (to keep costs down) and includes 4 sealed packets of
crust/dough mix, a can of Hunts brand no-sugar Italian tomato sauce,
and a full shaker of pizza spices (you'll have lots of spices left over,
so plan on making some Italian dishes later!) Our group made pizzas
over two weekends with this mix and had good results every time.
The addition
of water, eggs and butter are all that's needed to get a great crust. Should
you want a really thick crust, add a 1/2 package of yeast and allow
the dough "rise time" on the pan before baking. If you're making a "sweet
pizza", sweeten the crust with a bit of Splenda and perhaps a little
cinnamon or cloves. We made a great Hawaiian pizza by adding diced ham
and unsweetened fresh pineapple cut into chunks (don't use canned pineapple — it's
far too high carb!) Sweeten a bit with Splenda if you like. Top with a mild white
cheese and even some slivered blanched almonds. To make a more traditional
pizza, use your favorite ingredients as usual. Remember to follow directions
and pre-bake the crust for 5-10 minutes so sauces don't sink in and make
it soggy.
We also found sprinkling the crust with a little shredded cheese
and oregano before the initial baking made for a delicious bonus!
A few tips for a great pizza — put a thin layer of shredded cheese over
the sauce before adding any ingredients, then add toppings and follow with
the rest of the shredded cheese.
Mixing cheeses also makes for a more
robust taste.
Different people wanting different toppings? Don't worry, just like
with a traditional pizza, you can still make a half-n-half topped
pizza. We made one side cheese and one side a "works" pizza. It came
out great!
Lastly, the crust — you'll want to make sure
you use a perforated pan to get a really crisp crust, too! The merchant
listed below sells the micro-perforated pans in case you don't own one.
And we really liked the effect we got when we sprayed the pan with
butter flavored non-stick spray and then sprinkled on a thin dusting of
sea salt (NOT table salt!) before placing the crust on top. The sea salt
slightly dries the crust bottom and makes it crisper still with a hint
of saltiness, but not too much.
Before toppings, the carb count works out to only 3 grams after fiber
subtraction for each 1-slice (1/6 of the pizza) serving, so calculate
accordingly. The Low Carb Chef's Low Carb Pizza Kits
are available online from The
Low Carb Dieter's Page.
01.13.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
For years at our house, it was just a "given" that anytime I worked long
hours and neither my cooking or our going out to dinner were options, my husband
knew he'd be reaching into the cupboard for that familiar blue box. The box
was — of course — Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. It was something he could
make for himself and yes, he really always loved it. I wasn't so much a fan, although
every now and then — especially in Winter — it was almost a comfort food for
me.
Then came low-carbing and we said our goodbyes to pasta. At least until low-carb
pastas made themselves known last Summer. But they were still simply an ingredient
for meal planning and not something Richard could grab out of the cupboard and
make up for himself with only a few minutes' prep-time. All that changed when
the folks at  introduced their creamy
new Low Carb
Macaroni and Cheese Dinners. At only 4 carbs per serving (after fiber), and
in an amazingly easy-to-make mix, their new Red
Box will now be
the standard.
It comes packaged with a dry mix that with a little butter and cream becomes a
very smooth white cheddar that blends into the macaroni and covers it in a velvety
richness. Add a little fresh black pepper and it was great.
But you know us — we wanted to know more. We tried it with a few twists when
our review group arrived.
We asked everyone their favorite add-in when they used
to make the old high-carb variety and we took it from there. We made one batch
with a can of chunk tuna (and a 1/4 cup of frozen peas if you can spare the few
extra carbs), as well as with browned beef and spaghetti sauce for a very filling
Chili-Mac. But one of our favorites was when we placed the prepared macaroni
and cheese dinner into a PAM-sprayed casserole dish and added mounds of finely
shredded cheddar and jack cheeses and baked till brown and crispy. This served
beautifully with a cool tossed salad. It should make a super main dish or serve
it with chops or chicken as a side dish.
The Keto folks have improved their pasta (now in a traditional elbow macaroni)
to taste even better, but we did note that it cooks more quickly than the
package directions indicate, so check it when it's boiled for 3 minutes.
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and Life Services.
07.02.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Did you ever go shopping for an outfit for a special occasion and find something
you liked, purchased it, and then the very next day found the perfect
suit/dress/etc that had eluded you the day before? I have — and that's just how
I felt when one day after writing the review for the proslim pasta
(still a fine product). I received an order of a new brand of pasta. Apparently
those little elves at have been hard
at work on a Shell Pasta/Macaroni! Receiving
it on a Friday, and having a panel scheduled for the next day, I decided it would only
be fair to our readers to get this one reviewed and tested right away.
So yesterday I told my group there was a change in the schedule and we had another
marathon pasta-cooking session. It was actually great fun. And here's what we
cooked up: Being a more sturdy shape than the noodles we reviewed the week before,
we decided to go right for Macaroni and Cheese. We did it two ways:
First, I used my mother's traditional recipe (I've posted
it here) with aged cheddar, heavy cream and
lots of black pepper. It cooks like a casserole and I was concerned the pasta would
not "hold up" like traditional macaroni. It worked like a champ and I got to have —
and share — a dish I haven't had in nearly two years. Wow. Then we decided to cover
the bases with those folks with little time. We took a package of the Kraft Macaroni
and Cheese (the white cheddar has no added sugars and no trans-fats). We tossed away
the unhealthy carby macaroni that comes with it and substituted the Keto Pasta. We
needed to cook it a few less minutes and used cream and water instead of milk, but it
came out just great. Lastly, we tried a batch with a simple basil-pesto sauce and
peppers so we could get a real taste for the pasta itself. We served it with some
sliced Keto Bread toasted with garlic butter. With, or without parmessan it was a hit.
We give this pasta 20 thumbs up (10 people — 2 thumbs each  ).
The best news is that each package contains 4 servings, was only $3.99,
and is only 4 carbs per serving! ( 4 Servings / 4 Carbs / 4 Bucks! )
Quite a bargain, any way you look at
it!
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and Life Services.
06.29.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Pasta... That thing low-carbers dream they could still have...
You might recall we reviewed a pasta
a few months ago (See review of 3-27-2000) called Pavico. We gave it
a plus for taste and nutrition, but the carb count was just too high for anything
but an occasional small side dish - and even then, best left for maintenance.
But now, there's a new option for us called Proslim!
They make a tagliatelle (a wide, wavy noodle) that is
well suited for traditional noodle
dishes from tuna or chicken casserole, to
alfredo dishes! And best of all, it comes in at 8.5 grams per serving — only
6.3 of them usable. Now these are carb counts we can live with.
Made with soy protein, egg whites, and wheat grits, they look, cook, and feel
almost the same as "regular" pasta — albeit a bit less "rubbery" since they are
not starchy.
So, how did they taste? Well, in a word — good. Eaten plain or with butter, you'll
see that they do have a slightly different taste than traditional pasta. Two
people on our panel referred to it as a "nutty" taste. But when covered with
sauces — we tried it with cream sauce, lowered carb spaghetti sauce, alfredo,
and garlic butter sauce — it tasted pretty much like any noodle. In other words,
almost no taste of its own — it takes on the taste of the sauce. My husband put it
best when he said "pasta is a great sauce delivery system!"
It comes in two pre-measured serving packets per box and is available from
The
Low Carb Connoisseur, Netrition, and The
Low Carb Dieter's Page.
04.25.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Hey ... remember Pizza? I mean real Pizza?
The kind with a crisp or doughy crust that gives a buttery goodness to your
favorite toppings! Thought that was gone forever on a low-carb diet?
Quite honestly, I thought I'd never have it again. At about 30 carb grams PER SINGLE
SLICE, regular pizza is just not something we can ever hope to "work in" to our daily
diets!
Well, the talented folks at Low Carbolicious have changed all that. A group
of five of us low-carbers got together last night to take their Pizza Kit
out for a spin. Everyone's reaction? Wow! This was really good pizza,
folks. I know it's been a year and a half since I've had pizza with crust, but this
was the best tasting pizza! I really enjoyed it! And I wasn't
alone. We got 4 "loved it"s and 1 "liked it."
It was surprisingly easy to make (we did two pizzas on two round pans with the holes
in the bottom to make 'em crispy.) The crust is easy-to-make with
only the addition of melted
butter and water, and the sauce tastes like a trip to Italy — no sugar included! We
made one with
cheese and beef only, and one piled high with the works. The works pizza took a few
extra minutes, but both came out superb. We give this high recommendation.
We cut each pizza into 5 slices and they work out to approx 6.5 carbs per very filling
slice.
You can order online at The Low Carb
Connoisseur.
03.27.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Hungry for "real" pasta? Well, there's good news and bad news. Pavico Pasta makes a really tasty
pasta product from Soy Protein Isolate resulting in a great selection of linguine,
fettuccine, angel hair and more that you can't tell from the pasta you've had all
your life. Is there a catch? Sure. While it's much lower in carbs (and made of
the healthier carbs) than ordinary pasta, the bad news is that if you're doing Atkins
(or anything ketogenic)
it is not for you while you're in induction. But
afterwards, here's where I see a good "fit" in the various diets:
For a "Somersizing" (Suzanne Somers) Diet, a Sugar Busters Diet, or a CAD diet, it can
be worked into a regular routine to give you a healthy pasta meal like you're used to.
For those on Ketogenic diets, it must be looked at as an occasional treat
and a "side dish" rather than the whole meal. For instance; their packages come with
little individual "swirls" of pasta that make a fine size side dish serving to accompany
a meal where meat is the main dish. Their recommended serving size adds up to 26 grams
of carbs. Too much for most of us, but a small swirl (about a 1/2 cup serving cooked) works
out to about 8-9 grams — manageable for most of us.
We wish they could work harder to further reduce the carbs — even if only in one version
of their pasta. They'd sell through the roof. I have been notified of another
company that will be introducing a very low-carb version later this year, but I will
keep you posted. To sum up, for Atkins-ers, this will likely be best as a treat once
you're on maintenance. For others, if your diet plan will allow it, the taste is great and
we do recommend it. Remember, the carbs it does have are
low-insulin-impact carbs, unlike pure wheat flour pasta. Can't find it locally or
want to read more? Go to
Pavico's site.
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