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It starts in the rich soil of the Earth. It is an excellent source of energy, low in fat, has no cholesterol, little or no salt, and is enriched with vitamins, minerals and six essential amino acids. And if you're like most Americans you probably already have some sitting on your shelf.
In fact, it's a food with many pasta-bilities. And yet, Certified Nutritionist, Edith Howard Hogan says when it comes to pasta there are many misconceptions. "...People for some reason, and these are clients or just people I talk to, still have this old fashioned view that pasta is fattening, pasta surprisingly has a very positive nutrition profile, one of the things that people do not realize is first of all of course it has no cholesterol, the other thing people don't realize is its very low in sodium.
Left over pasta from the night before with a little bit of cheese sprinkled on the top and heated up is a delicious breakfast, it gives you the energy you need to get a quick start, it works for lunch as a salad - it can be a side dish, it can be a main dish, it could be a snack, take your choice..."
When and where Pasta actually originated has been hotly debated. What we do know is that the first time it was manufactured in this country was around the mid 1800's. The high quality manufacturing techniques and traditions started by those family run businesses years ago, though updated, have been adopted and preserved today by many well known and national companies.
These manufactures of fine pastas maintain quality from the farm to table as the purest semolina flour available is selected and brought to state of the art manufacturing facilities nationwide. There it is mixed with water to create the dough, kneaded, and extruded through dies creating any shape from angel hair to rigatoni. The pasta is then dried, and once packaged, will last indefinitely without the use of artificial preservatives.
Nutritionist Edith Hogan says: "one of the unique things about pasta is the versatility the how many different ways you can serve it. You know your diet is really like your family. You know you've got lots of members of your family some you like some not so much - but together they all make up your family and they contribute to the whole. Well it’s same thing with food. It is important to have a well rounded eating plan, just like you have a well rounded family, and pasta can be - in fact should be - part of any complete diet.
In other words, in today's world of fad diets and conflicting nutritional claims, selecting healthy foods to eat can sometimes be a difficult proposition. But the decision can be made a little easier if you just use your noodle.
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