The best low carb pasta options

A bowl of pasta isn't the villain it used to be. The rise of alternative pasta shows how hard it is for pasta lovers to give up their macaroni, and also reflects increasing food allergy awareness and healthy eating alternatives.

For years, health and fitness experts have targeted simple or easily digestible carbohydrates as the leading cause in rising obesity rates. Grouped with cakes, cookies, white bread and candy, pasta has often been thought of as being high in energy but low in fibre and nutrients, an "unhealthy" guilty pleasure.

Popular yet controversial diets such as the Atkins Diet, which ignited the "low carb craze" in the 1990s, and later the Paleo Diet, have had adverse effects on the pasta industry.In the US, pasta sales have dropped 1 per cent to 2 per cent annually since 2003.

Only recently have pasta makers found new ways to vindicate noodles as a healthy, affordable and simple food.

Alternative pastas allow consumers to enjoy a bowl of pasta without fear of consuming empty calories or flaring gluten intolerances. In Hong Kong, gluten-free and alternative pastas can be found on a growing number of restaurant menus and in food stores.

"Many people want to make changes and live healthier, but give up pasta or a bowl of Asian-style noodles? Many people just don't have the willpower to do it," says Moosa Alissa, co-owner of the organic convenience store, JustGreen!, which has four outlets in the city.