Product Review: Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta

I love pasta but not the calories and carbs. I'm always looking for healthy pastas that also taste good. Whole wheat pastas can taste heavy and soggy, and crumble easily. Luckily there are lots of options in this competitive market. Ronzoni has a new style of pasta called Smart Taste, with three times the fiber than traditional pasta and added calcium and other vitamins and nutrients. I decided to try it and see if it tastes as good as it sounds.

Their spaghetti comes in a 14.5 ounce box (411 grams). A serving size is 2 ounces (56 grams) and there are approximately 7 servings per box. Each serving of spaghetti has 180 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated and trans fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 5 mg of sodium (0% of the RDA), 43 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. It also contains 30% of the RDA of Calcium, 10% of Iron, 35% of Thiamin, 15% of Riboflavin, 15% of Niacin, and 35% of folate.

Obviously if you are severely limiting your carbohydrates this pasta is not for you. However, complex carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet and this pasta has lots of fiber and protein. It's also chock full of important vitamins and minerals such as calcium and folate. I found the taste to be just right. I cooked the spaghetti al dente and it tasted just like traditional pasta. The texture was perfect and held up well to sauce. Smart Taste pasta is available in the following shapes: spaghetti, thin spaghetti, penne rigate, rotini and elbows.

This is a great pasta for everyone who wants to kick up the nutritional profile in their diet. It's also a perfectly sneaky way to get picky eaters and children to eat "health" food without them ever guessing that it tastes good and is also good for them. Because of the high amount of calcium and folate in this pasta it's a good food for women who are pregnant or wanting to get pregnant to include more of these vital elements into their diet. I recommend keeping a couple of boxes on hand in the pantry for those nights when you want a quick, healthy supper. All you have to do is cook up the pasta and toss it with some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, spinach, chopped tomatoes and parmesan for a fast wholesome, hot and homemade meal. Mangia!