Ah, pasta - how do we love thee? Let us count the ways…
Whether it’s macaroni cheese or spaghetti bolognese, lasagne or carbonara, freshly made or the dried kind, there’s no denying that pasta is the food of dreams.
But there’s also no denying that it’s not too friendly on our waistlines, either.
So what if we told you that there was an extra-special trick to cooking pasta, that would turn it into a low-fat health food WITHOUT sacrificing any of that great flavour?
Yeah, we thought so.
Doctors have said that the key is cooking your pasta, cooling it down, and then reheating it again before you serve.
That’s it.
Apparently the reheated pasta acts more like a fibre than a carbohydrate, behaving more like bananas, beans or raw oats when it’s absorbed into our guts.
And the effect it has on our blood sugars reduces the chances of putting on weight or developing diabetes.
We know, right?
Dr Chris van Tulleken who conducted the experiment, said he was "blown away" by the results.
"This was a brand new discovery and it's something that could simply and easily improve health," he said.
"We can convert a carb-loaded meal into a more healthy fibre-loaded one instead without changing a single ingredient, just the temperature.
"In other words, our leftovers could be healthier for us than the original meal."
In short, we should all enjoy pasta whenever we feel like it, minus the guilt.
All we have to do is heat it, cool it, and heat it again, before noshing. Perfect!