I love pasta as much as I love noodles. Indeed, lunch during my schooldays was frequently konlo mee or Cantonese noodles, sold by an itinerant hawker.

I used to wait for him to pass by my house to buy a bowl every day.

Today, my granddaughter also loves noodles, Chinese or Italian.

She will even eat green pasta, intrigued by the colour. That is probably the only way she will eat greens, for she would otherwise pick out every pea on her plate.

The fact that green pasta, usually made with spinach, is now available points to the wide variety on sale now.

While we have always had a range of Chinese noodles, made from wheat, rice or beans, the Western varieties revolved around wheat, made with or without egg.

For a long time, that was all right with me, but I'm now gluten-sensitive. I cannot consume wheat in large quantities without digestive problems, so I read labels carefully.

I buy bread, noodles or pasta made from a flour other than wheat - kamut, farro or spelt, which are ancient grains, rice, maize, beans, buckwheat and even quinoa, which is a seed and not a grain from the Andes, rich with protein.

The common factor among them is that they are either gluten-free or low in gluten, a protein present in wheat flour and also in flour made from barley, rye and spelt.

Gluten helps dough to rise and gives a chewy texture to baked goods. There is gluten in spelt, farro and kamut, but it is more soluble, which makes it easier to digest.

While you should avoid all varieties of wheat if you suffer from celiac disease - a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food - I find that I can tolerate spelt, farro and kamut quite well and look for pastas and noodles made from these flours.

But gluten-free does not mean more nutritious.

For better nutrition, choose wholegrains and ingredients like beans in the pasta recipe, which means more protein.

This recipe uses rice and spelt pasta, which has some gluten, but in a more digestible form.

You could also use pasta made from the usual semolina or durum wheat, if you are not avoiding gluten.

This is a simple recipe that takes just minutes to turn out.

I like using fresh cherry tomatoes, which really sweeten the sauce, rather than tinned tomato, and also a handful of crabmeat thrown in at the end to enrich it.

You do not need to buy a whole crab for the meat. Peeled crabmeat sold in tins and tubs would do as well, especially if it is used with other ingredients.

One brand, Sea Prime, which comes in tins, offers different-sized chunks - colossal, jumbo lump or super lump, depending on the size of the pieces.

The meat is harvested from wild- caught crabs in Indonesia and you can buy it at the cake supplies shop Phoon Huat and its outlets.

I like chilli in my pasta and I also add fresh dill, which grows outside my kitchen door, as dill and seafood are an excellent match.

When cooking non-wheat pasta, be aware that rice and corn pasta take very little time to cook. On the other hand, if you choose wholegrain pasta, it takes longer cooking to make it silky, otherwise it will remain gritty to the bite.

I also cook my pasta differently to save time and energy. I boil a pot of salted water and when it is bubbling, I add the pasta or noodles and bring it to the boil again.

I then cover the pot, switch off the fire and leave it to sit for 10 minutes or less till everything softens. Break off a strand to test.

In this way, I save on energy and time spent watching the pot. And the results are just as delicious.

•Sylvia Tan is a freelance writer and cookbook author. Her previous Eat To Live recipes can be found in two cookbooks, Eat To Live and Taste

Lower cholesterol content with salmon or chicken breast instead of crabmeat

Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley.

A gluten-free product is one that has no gluten-containing ingredients.

Those who suffer from Crohn's and celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, gas and allergic reactions to gluten, would benefit from gluten-free products.

However, healthy people who have no problem tolerating wheat do not have to eliminate gluten totally because wholewheat provides variety and easy access to fibre and vitamin B.

Wholewheat and gluten-free pasta have similar content in terms of calories and carbohydrates.

But wholewheat pasta is, in general, higher in protein, fat and B vitamins such as folate than gluten-free pasta.

The nutritional content of gluten-free pasta varies, depending on the grain it is made of.

Wholegrain, gluten-free pasta includes wild rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and amaranth, which can provide good nutrition.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

WHOLEWHEAT PASTA (100G)

Energy: 352 kcal

Protein: 13.9g

Fat: 2.9g

Carbohydrates: 73.4g

Dietary fibre: 9.2g

Iron: 0.9mg

Folate: 69mcg

GLUTEN-FREE PASTA - CORN (100G)

Energy: 357kcal

Protein: 7.5g

Fat: 2g

Carbohydrates: 79.3g

Dietary fibre: 11g

Iron: 3.6mg

Folate: 25mcg

This recipe contains fewer than 500kcal per serve which is, in general, the recommended amount of calories per main meal.

It has a dietary fibre content of 9.9g per serving that meets 33.3 per cent of our daily fibre requirements.

It is low in saturated fats and made with healthy fat from olive oil which can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

To make it healthier, add more vegetables in different colours, such as zucchini, carrot or eggplant.

Instead of crabmeat, use lean protein with lower cholesterol such as chicken breast or salmon.

The cholesterol content per 100g of crab is 65mg, while the same amount of salmon is 55mg and chicken breast 36mg.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Per Serve ( 196g)

Energy: 422kcal

Protein: 12.4g

Total fat: 11.4g

Saturated fat: 1.5g

Dietary fibre: 9.9g

Taste.

Bibi Chia, Principal dietitian, Raffles Diabetes and Endocrine Centre