"Because pasta was never a major part of my diet, I thought there was no bodily harm done by staying on the refined side, so I never bothered exploring whole-wheat options. And distant memories of gritty, mushy bowls eaten at bad health-food restaurants kept my curiosity in check.

Then one day, my husband declared that he was going to start running marathons. Pasta became his favorite way to carbo-load, at least twice a week. And that's when we decided to give the whole-wheat stuff another go.