Thank God for the glutein-free craze, whether a justified health trend or a fad. It means that now after husband's diabetes diagnosis there are actually decent alternatives and we can still enjoy our pasta without spiking husband's blood glucose levels.

I love pasta, not as much as I love husband, but still a lot, so it would be difficult to let go of it altogether. So thank you all real and pretend celiacs and the food industry who are often maligned, but who actually do really good things. Like food for people to eat. Like pasta.

I am working my way through all these different options out there and hopefully will be able to give a better review at some point.

So far we've had slightly embarrassing mushy green pea pasta (I'm sure it can be really nice, but I overcooked it), reasonably nice red lentil pasta and excellent edamame pasta.

An excellent pasta alternative that won't leave you feeling cheated or deprived

There are of course the wholewheat and spelt pastas which we always used to eat anyway because they taste better and are at least a little bit healthier than white pasta. But they do still contain a lot of carbs. But then it also gets a bit scientific, because apparently these varieties contain resistant starch which is ok, so some diabetics in the know say the best way is to test. Literally test your post-prandial blood glucose after eating different foods.

I knew there had to be a reason for me to suffer through 5 years in a shit inspiring but challenging job in diabetes care.

So now we test. Husband is really cute when he tries to protest, but then obediently but looking a bit victimized gives me his shovel-sized hand and lets me prick his finger. With the sarcastically named "Delica" device (gotta love marketing), which of course is not delica but fuckinhurtica.

We have just started the testingbiz so there's not much to report yet. Today's dinner of herby hake with 3 small new potatoes, lots of fresh podded peas, broccoli, spinach and leak was awesome. PP glucose 5mmol/L! That's what I'm talking about!

Not what the doctor ordered yet, but wife knows best.

If husband dies of starvation it was for a good cause and with a nice low glucose reading!

Some interesting ingredients that these new pastas are made of that I have come across so far:
- chickpeas
- green peas
- edamame & mung beans
- soy beans
- black beans
- spirulina (a bit too new age for me)
- brown rice


So for anyone who wants to keep away from those nasty spikes whether you're pre-diabetic, diabetic or maybe you just like eating weird expensive (non)pasta, they offer a great option of indulging in that real pasta feel without shooting your blood sugar through the roof. I haven't been so hot on the calories, but I'm sure there is a great weight loss opportunity here as well. Some of these pastas have a lot of protein and other good stuff like potassium. Potassium is awesome for hangovers, which of course you won't have if you follow a real diabetes and heart-healthy diet. But if you don't, good for you!

Most supermarkets will nowadays have some of these pastas. I found a couple of varieties in my local Morrisons, but healthfood shops usually have a good selection. Wholefoods is amazing. It has become my new shopping Mecca.

One of my favourites so far is the edamame and mung bean fettucine I found at Wholefoods the other day. It's got a nice bite to it and to my pretty forgiving and flexible taste buds it actually tasted really nice. Like it actually had a taste, or maybe it was all the nice stuff I surrounded it with.

Here's the recipe I did using this edamame and mung bean fettucine. Unfortunately I didn't have the blood glucose monitor at hand then, so we don't know what the real life effects would have been. But I assume they would have been ok, the pasta only contains about 11.3g or carbs in 100g (vs 65-70g in normal white pasta!!), and the portions consisted of a lot of veg as well.

Edamame and mung bean fettucine with chicken and spring vegetables

For the chicken:
Rapeseed oil
2 boneless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram

½ cup fresh (or frozen) podded peas
1 leek
Bunch of asparagus

For the dressing:
2 tsp dried or 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup feta
3 spring onions
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

For the pasta
150g Edamame and mung bean fettucine (or other pasta of your choice)
water
salt

Vegan parmesan to sprinkle

Bring the water to boil in a large pan and add in a good pinch of salt.  Cook the pasta according to pack instructions.
Cut the chicken breast into bite size chunks and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Pod the peas and prepare the asparagus cutting it into one inch pieces. Wash and chop the leeks.

Heat oil in a large frying pan and once hot add in the chicken and cook until browned on the outside and cooked through. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and et aside.

Add a little rapeseed oil in the pan and add the leek and asparagus. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes on low to medium heat. Add the peas and continue cooking for another couple of minutes until all the veg are al dente.

Toss the chicken, vegetables and sauce together and make sure it is all piping hot.
Sprinkle with healthy and diabetes and heart friendly vegan parmesan
Serve immediately with a fresh green salad.