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July 17, 2018

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Product Review: Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti

Pasta is a staple for many of us and our families – it’s easy, quick, convenient, and yummy. But white pasta is full of “bad” carbs and empty calories and the whole grain versions are still quite calorie-dense and easy to overeat. Plus, if you’re sensitive to gluten, neither of those are a good option. For these reasons, I’m always looking for new pasta alternatives. One that I am a big fan of is the Ultra-Grain pasta from Hodgson Mills, which is a whole wheat & quinoa blend. I’ve tried rice pastas before and am not really a fan of the texture – they tend to be kind of gummy. I’m also not really a fan of black bean pastas because you can taste the bean flavor and the texture is off to me as well. This week I decided to give Edamame pasta a try.

Nutrition

Explore Cuisine’s edamame pasta has a lot going for it nutritionally. The first thing that I noted was that it is organic and non-GMO. If you are not familiar with edamame, it is a soy bean and 93% of soy sold in the US is genetically modified. If it is not labeled organic or non-GMO, you can bet that your soy is genetically modified. So that earned this pasta it’s first point from me.

Explore Cuisine Edamame Spaghetti dry

The second major eye-catcher is that it contains 24 grams of protein per serving. That is huge and, coupled with the 13 grams of fiber per serving, means that this is a very filling pasta that will leave you feeling sated for a long time after. It also makes it hard to overeat it because you start feeling full very quickly.

This pasta is also pretty low-calorie at just 180 calories per serving. This means there is wiggle room for the calories added by what you top it with (check out my veggie-loaded pasta sauce recipe here or give a cauliflower alfredo sauce a try). Another perk: this paste is a great source of calcium, iron, and potassium.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking at this point “OK but how big is a serving?”. According to the box, a serving is 2 oz, but it doesn’t indicate whether that is dry or prepared. It does say that there are 4 serving per box, so I would say just take 1/4 of the prepared box. Trust me, it will fill you up.

Ease of Prep

Some non-flour pastas are kind of high-maintenance when it comes to prep; not the case with this spaghetti. Your bring the water to a boil, dump it in, and it’s done in 3-5 minutes. This is faster than many pasta varieties so I really liked that. It’s definitely a quick and easy dinner option.

Taste and Texture

OK but what is it like?! I really, really like this spaghetti. It has just a very light, savory flavor to it so it can work with pretty much any sauce/topping. The texture is very satisfying. It’s definitely different from a flour pasta’s texture, a bit chewier, but in a good way. Especially where it’s a fine spaghetti, the chewy, almost meaty texture is nice and give you that full mouth feel.

I had just one serving and it left me feeling very satisfied and full for the rest of the night. The best part was probably that I didn’t experience that awful bloated feeling that I often get after eating a regular pasta. I just felt well-fed! We prepared it as a sort-of shrimp scampi with olive oil and lemon juice plus shrimp and sautéed onions and peppers. I was worried that doing such a light sauce meant its flavor would be drowned out by the taste of the pasta, but that was not the case at all! It turned out delicious.

Overall:

I would give Explore Cuisine’s Edamame Spaghetti 5 stars.

Our version of shrimp scampi that we made with the edamame pasta

Nut Milks

If you are lactose intolerant or sensitive to lactose, then nut milks are a great substitute for the moo. However, they are not a bastion of health as some would lead you to believe. Most store-bought nut milks contain both natural and chemical emulsifiers and there are concerns that those emulsifiers may harm our gut health and contribute to obesity. In terms of nutrition, you’re really not getting much from nut milks. They are not a significant source of protein or fat; however, they do contain more calcium than cow’s milk. You may also find nut milks fortified with vitamins and minerals (such as Silk), but on their own, nut milks do not contain as much Vitamin A and Iron as dairy milks do. If you’re watching your calorie count, nut milks may be a good option for you since they are less calorie-dense than cow’s milk. Obviously, however, if you have a nut allergy you should avoid nut milks.

Soy Milk

Unlike nut milks, soy milk is a significant source of protein with just about the same as dairy milk. However, unlike moo milk and nut milks, soy milk is a good source of folate. One of my primary concerns with soy milk is the fact that most of the soy in the US is genetically modified, so if you are buying soy milk or any soy products, make sure that they are non-GMO certified or organic.

The greatest pitfall that nut and soy milks have is that they come in a number of sweetened flavors and people often buy these thinking they are doing something healthy for themselves. Just one serving of a sweetened vanilla almond milk contains 16 grams of sugar! If you are going to buy non-dairy milks, it is important to make sure that you are buying the plain, unsweetened variety. If it doesn’t say “unsweetened” on the label, then it’s sweetened and, if you’re not sure, check the ingredients list. (Note: sugar will appear in the nutrition facts in dairy milk, but that is the naturally-occurring lactose, not added sugar. You can confirm this by reading the ingredients).

Cow’s Milk

Unless you are lactose intolerant, cow’s milk is a solid option with some caveats. It is important to buy organic milk to avoid ingesting hormones or antibiotics passed on from treated cows. It is also important to select a low or reduced fat variety, particularly for adults, because it is high in saturated fats. Cow’s milk is a good source of calcium (though not the best) and it is high in protein. It also contains Iron and Vitamin A. So cow’s milk is not the unhealthy sludge it’s often made out to be (and to those who say it’s not natural to drink milk because no other animals drink another animal’s milk, I say imagine what society would be like if we based everything on what other animals do!)

So that’s the scoop on milk. As a heath coach, I can say there are pros and cons to each and it really depends on what works for you. Quite frankly, it’s time we stop policing what other people choose to consume so don’t be bullied into a milk you don’t want.

Tag: soy