Whole-Wheat Pasta

Whole-grain pasta is definitely better for you than regular white noodles (which are made from refined flour stripped of fiber, vitamins, and minerals), but it’s still a calorie-dense starch that’s easy to go overboard with. A typical pasta serving at a restaurant or from home is two to three cups, creating a dish that adds up to about 825 calories—even when topped with low-cal marinara sauce!

Instead, try adding vegetables to pasta at home or ordering your pasta with veggies, which automatically adds volume (plus nutrition and fiber) and drives down the carbs and calories. If you make or order your pasta with about half vegetables, that same three-cup serving of pasta plummets from 825 calories to 570 calories. That’s a substantial savings for your waistline!