We love to try new foods. Some are great. Some don’t measure up and some become staples in our kitchen. See what you think.
The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP) with the hope of positioning crops such as peas, beans and lentils as primary sources of protein and essential nutrients. The focus of the year is to create an opportunity throughout the food chain to better utilize pulse-based proteins.
Explore Cuisine makes bean-based pasta products which are high in fiber and protein, Certified Gluten-Free, USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan and kosher (OU).
We tasted two bean-based pastas.
Organic Black Bean Spaghetti cooked in 6 to 8 minutes. The only ingredient is organic black beans. One serving, 2 ounces (1/4 of the package) has 215 calories, 2 grams of fat, 25 grams of protein, 23 grams of carb (12 of which are fiber and 4 sugar), 1,267 milligrams of potassium and 4 milligrams of sodium. The spaghetti was sourced from China.
Organic Chickpea Fusilli cooked in 9 to 11 minutes. The fusilli is made from chickpea flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch and pea protein. One serving, 2 ounces (1/4 of the package) has 200 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, 35 grams of carb (5 of which are fiber and less than 1 gram of sugar), potassium was not listed and 30 milligrams of sodium. Fusilli was sourced from Italy.
The texture of both pastas was good and the flavor was neutral which provided a base for any sauce or ingredient additions.
