Pasta gets a bad rap in American culture. We’re so afraid of eating the dreaded carbs that we deny ourselves the luxury and comfort of pasta. It’s important to not overdo it, but if you follow the Mediterranean diet, you know that pasta is consumed in moderation. It’s the U.S. that started serving enormous plates of spaghetti, penne, and other shapes of semolina pasta in heavy cream or meat sauces.

The Mediterranean diet is not a low-carb diet. Italians eat pasta almost every day. It’s important to cook your pasta al dente. When you overcook pasta, it starts to develop into a higher-glycemic food.

The key with eating pasta is to practice moderation. Pasta should be a small plate as part of a larger meal. Using basic tomato sauce or vegetable-based sauces is a healthier way to consume this food.

Your #DolceVita action item for this week is to make a pasta dish.

It doesn’t have to be huge. In fact, it should be a small course served before your main dinner. Italians call it the primi course. It comes before the meat or fish dish.

Try a fun shape like rotini that looks like corkscrew spirals. They are perfect for pasta salads and hold sauces well.

My all-time favorite pasta shapes are linguine and rotini. But I wouldn’t turn down any shape of pasta. Yum.

Let me know if you like pasta and what is your favorite shape.

Buon appetito.