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Everyone loves pasta. From classics like spaghetti and lasagna to the children’s favorite, macaroni and cheese, pasta offers something for everyone. Pasta in one form or another is served all over the world… from spaetzle to fettuccine to ramen to couscous. Pasta is truly an international food.

Easy on the budget, pasta is also a healthy choice. You can find pasta that is free of eggs or cholesterol. Pasta is enriched with many needed nutrients like folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids. You can find whole grain pasta, garlic pasta and colorful vegetable pasta. It is a safe food for diabetics because it is low on the glycemic index. This means it will not make their blood sugar levels spike.

Unlike bread, pasta is not made from white flour. Durum wheat is ground down into semolina flour, which gives pasta its yellow coloring. Pasta is a good carbohydrate. The body gets most of its glucose from carbohydrates, so pasta gives you energy for your body to function properly.

Since pasta is always eaten with other ingredients, it is part of a balanced meal. Pasta is usually served with a sauce that may also contain meats and vegetables. The Mediterranean diet that the New England Journal of Medicine reports will reduce your risk of death from heart disease and cancer has pasta as a primary component that may be eaten every day.

Pasta is a comfort food in many parts of the world. It can be used for simple fare like macaroni and cheese to haute cuisine when topped with pesto or other gourmet sauce. Pasta is used as a side dish, a main dish, and as a salad. Pasta can be added to soups and casseroles. It comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so even if you eat pasta every night, it can look like something completely different.

Using pasta for a new recipe is a no brainer. Look up the recipe search engine to find many new pasta recipes that you may never have thought of. Perhaps you would like to try making some Asian pad Thai noodles, or a real homemade fettuccine Alfredo. Noodles are a great way to add these kinds of dishes to your repertoire.

In hot weather, use pasta to make a refreshing pasta salad. You can put almost anything into a pasta salad and it will only taste better. If you are not sure where to start, just look online to find a recipe that sounds good. Your family will thank you for expanding their menu choices. Traditional macaroni salad is always good for picnics and barbecues.

Do not ever feel guilty for loving your pasta. It is nutritious and wholesome, and is a great way to encourage kids to eat well. A family favorite for generations, pasta will keep your family satisfied and healthy. With all the different shapes of pasta available, they could eat it every night and still not think they are eating the same thing.

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Many people are under the impression that Italian cooking, in particular eating lots of Italian pasta will make you fat - this is not actually true. As the famous Italian, Sophie Loren, says in her book, it is not the pasta that makes you fat, it is what you pour over it. She was a prime example of how an Italian Food diet, based on Mediterranean food, is healthy. You do need to know which Italian foods you should eat, and probably most importantly how to prepare the food.

Sophia Loren, who was brought up on spaghetti, said in her book that it’s not the pasta that makes you fat, it’s what you put on top of it. The creamy sauces like Alfredo sauce, if eaten in very large quantities, are of course likely to cause weight gain. The Mediterranean way of preparing food does not rely on the creamy, rich sauces, but use olive oil in place of butter which makes the sauces much more healthy.

If you want to make Italian food, then there are a few basic foods that you will need to keep in stock and these include a top quality Italian pasta, onions, garlic, olive oil, herbs (like oregano, parsley and basil), seafood, fish, and lean meat.

Many Italian food dishes can be made so that they are light and not full of calories, and whatsomore, they can be made very simply from just basic ingredients. Here is a nice light, tasty Italian dish to get you going;

Pasta with Tomato Sauce - use any type of pasta that you like. Boil the pasta in water that has been seasoned with salt. Don’t overcook the pasta - it must be tender and firm.

To make the sauce just chop up some garlic, an onion and some fresh tomatoes. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a pan, saute the onions and garlic till they are soft. Next just add the tomatoes and then cook it all until well mixed together. Then add your favorite herbs - it’s worth experimenting with these, but you could use parsley, oregano or basil. Last you just need to pour the sauce over your hot pasta. If you like cheese you could sprinkle over a little parmesan cheese.

The is a nice basic, yet healthy, Italian dish that does not need to be accompanied with bread or anything else. You can change the type of pasta that you use as well as varying the herbs to ring the changes.

Want to find out more about Classic Italian Cooking, then visit Author Name’s site on how to choose the best Italian pasta for your needs.

Technorati Tags: cooking, Italian Cooking, italian dishes, Italian Food, italian pasta, pasta

What makes or brakes a salad is the dressing. Although it does not simply grab our notice, these so-called silent ingredients play a very vital role inside determining the outcome of a salad.

Tossed with the incorrect dressing and the freshest ingredients lose their taste. Salad dressings are like icings on a cake so to speak. They give that final touch, the magic that makes salads come alive. Listed under are a few salad dressing recipes that one be able to prefer from to come up with that special salad one could have inside mind.

APPLE VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup more virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple juice
3 complete new basil leaves
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1.Combine parsley, vinegar, olive oil, apple juice, basil, honey, salt, dry mustard and pepper inside a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

BASIC ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped new parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Pinch of dried oregano

1.Combine each ingredients inside little bowl and whisk to blend. Salt and pepper.

CITRUS POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons half & half
1 teaspoon poppy seed
1 teaspoon grated lime

1.Whisk both all dressing ingredients in little bowl. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.

RANCH SALAD DRESSING

1/2 cup dry buttermilk powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1.Combine each ingredients inside the blender and method on high speed until well blended and dusty smooth.

To exercise: Combine 1 tablespoon dry mix using 1 cup milk and 1 cup mayonnaise. Mix well.

LOW-FAT BACON MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING

1/4 slice bacon, finely chopped
6 tablespoons new orange juice
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 green onion, chopped white, section simply
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
1 teaspoon firmly packed brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

1.In a small skillet cook bacon on top of medium heat, stirring, until crisp; get rid of skillet from warmth.

2.Add orange juice to skillet and scrape up brown bits

3.Inside a blender, puree bacon mixture using the remaining ingredients until smooth. Cover up and refrigerate.

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