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Step 1
Read nutrition labels in the store before you purchase your pasta. While lower carb pastas may contain some of the same ingredients as regular pastas, they have less of certain ingredients or substitutions of ingredients. Look for pastas that contain less flour or which substitute soy flour for regular flour. Also look for pastas that contain more egg and vegetable protein as well as increased dietary fiber.
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Step 2
Look at the pasta boxes on the store shelves. Pastas with lower carbs usually have it written across the front of the box in plain view for those who don’t want to read the nutrition labels. Note that lower carb pastas tend to cost a little more than regular pastas.
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Step 3
Pay attention to the different kinds of carbs in the pastas. Some carbs are digestible carbs and others are net carbs. Digestible carbs are carbs that can be broken down by the gastrointestinal tract before enzymes from digestion reach them, which results in fewer carbs being absorbed into your bloodstream. Net carbs have to do with the glycemic load in foods which measures the amount of digestible carbs in foods. In order to differentiate between digestible and net carbs, you need to find the food’s glycemic load and have your glucose levels tested by your doctor. Glucose levels can also be tested at home with a glucose monitor. You can find glycemic values of pastas at Glycemic Index (see Resources below).
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Step 4
Shop at an organic or health food store which sells healthier food options. These stores contain pastas made from ingredients such as durum wheat semolina. Durum wheat semolina is actually a high quality wheat ingredient used in making carbs. In addition to offering a lower amount of carbs in pastas made with durum wheat semolina, it has a great taste.
