Zelda Hart never thought she’d give up pasta. As a lifelong carb lover, her pantry used to be lined with spaghetti, penne, and fettuccine.
But when she began noticing constant fatigue and energy crashes after dinner, her doctor suggested she experiment with cutting down on refined carbs.
“At first, I panicked,” she laughs. “Pasta night was sacred in my house.” Lean1 Chocolate 5 Pound (37 Servings), Fat Burning Meal Replacement
Instead of eliminating pasta completely, Zelda got curious. She didn’t want to eat meals that felt like punishment, and she definitely wasn’t going to chew through tasteless “diet” food.
So, she started experimenting with swaps that would still satisfy her cravings—but without the blood sugar spikes.
The first success was zucchini noodles. She spiralized them herself, sautéed them lightly, and tossed them with garlic, olive oil, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
“It wasn’t the same as alfredo, but it was light, fresh, and didn’t knock me out for two hours,” she recalls.
From there, she played with spaghetti squash, shirataki noodles, and even ribbons of cabbage in hearty tomato sauces.
The key, she found, was to treat the sauce as the star—and let the swap simply carry the flavor.
Today, pasta night still exists in Zelda’s house. But it’s more creative, more balanced, and doesn’t leave her feeling sluggish. “I didn’t give up comfort food,” she says. “I just redefined what comfort looks like.”
