Pasta is a delicious staple food full of energizing carbs. But what you put on your pasta — whether it’s a creamy cheese or a classic marinara — is just as important as the noodles underneath.
Think of pasta sauce as a flavorful way to sneak in nutrient-dense vegetables and filling lean protein. But pasta sauce can contain surprising amounts of sodium, sugar and fat, dietitians tell TODAY.com.
If you want pasta to be a frequent part of your diet, it makes sense to look for the healthiest pasta sauces to eat with it. Here are a few points to keep in mind to help you choose homemade or jarred sauces that are big on flavor — and nutrients.
What makes a pasta sauce healthy?
There’s a lot that goes into pasta sauce — and a lot to keep in mind when trying to choose a healthier variety. Pasta sauces add flavor to any dish, but they’re also notorious for adding sodium, fat and sugar, cautions New York-based registered dietitian Theresa Gentile.
Here’s what to look for when on the hunt for a healthy pasta sauce:
Low in sodium, fat and added sugar
A healthy pasta sauce will contain less added sugar, less sodium and less saturated fat per serving, Caroline Susie, a registered dietitian based in Dallas and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.
Based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily. And the American Heart Association recommends no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day for men and 25 grams for women.
Depending on how much you eat in a day and whether you’re managing diabetes or a cardiovascular condition, those numbers may be different for you, Susie says. (A registered dietitian can help you navigate this as well, she says.)
Considering that a serving of jarred pasta sauce can easily contain more than 400 milligrams of sodium along with a few grams of added sugar, “think about your daily goals and how this food fits into that,”…
Read the full article here
