I just love it when healthy, gluten free and Michigan made all come together. I love it even more when products like this are sent to my door so I can share them with you!
So let me introduce you to Banza pasta.
Banza pasta is made from chickpeas, has 13 grams of protein and 7g of fiber per 2 oz. serving. It has HALF the amount of net carbs and three times the fiber or regular pasta. It's gluten free, grain free, gmo free and manufactured in a facility free of the most common allergens. People everywhere love this stuff, including chef Joe Bastianich and Jenna Wolf from NBC.
That's pretty impressive, AND it's a Michigan made, Detroit based company. Gotta love local! Their rotini pasta is available online and in Meijer stores across Michigan.
One of the neat, but possibly tricky things, about this pasta it that you don't boil it. I've tried making many things with it- pasta salad, soups with noodles, beef stroganoff, and even baked casseroles. Since a 4 minutes "cook" time is not your average pasta prep, it does take a bit of relearning. As a note, I don't think it works well in a pasta salad. It did seem to work well in the casserole as long as it was put in raw.
I have found my biggest success with Banza pasta in putting the noodles in a finished dish and letting them sit. The night that we had beef stroganoff, the texture and flavor of the dish improved as we let the flavors mingle. In all honesty, I think that's the best Banza meal we've eaten!
So the other night was an 8 am to 7 pm work day. (Before you gasp out loud, I do get a 2 hour lunch break) So, I threw all the ingredients for chicken noodle soup into my Crockpot (including my Massel Vegetable stock), MINUS the pasta. When I got home, I turned off the Crockpot, threw in the pasta, and participated in an hour long conference call. (A woman's work is never done!)
The soup was SO wonderful. The pasta was tender but not mushy.And with all that protein and fiber, the soup was so filling.
Now that I've got your taste buds tingling, here's the recipe: (recipe- Curves Complete)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
8 tsp(s) - Olive Oil
4 clove - Garlic, Raw
2 tsp(s) - Rosemary, Fresh
1 cup chopped Onions, Raw
4 stalk, med (8 inch) - Celery, Raw
2 med (6 inch) - Carrots, Raw
7 oz - Diced Tomatoes, Canned, No Salt Added
16 fl oz - Vegetable Broth, Low Sodium
4 cup 8 fl oz - Water
18 oz - Chicken Breast, Boneless/Skinless, Raw
4 oz - gluten free pasta
4 oz - Spinach, Raw
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mince garlic and rosemary. Chop onion and celery.
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add minced gar;ic to the pot. Stir for 1 minute. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until golden. Stir in\rosemary and cover, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent- about 5 minutes.
4. Add carrots and celery to the pot stirring occasionally for 3 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, broth, water, and chicken and simmer for 20 minutes. If whole chicken breast was used, shred chicken breast once it is cooked through.
6. Turn off heat and add pasta and spinach and stir until pasta is tender and spinach is wilted, approximately 8 minutes.
But wait, there's more!
Banza was so generous in what they sent me that I have two boxes of Banza pasta and Massel bouillon to give away to one lucky winner. Just enter the Rafflecopter below and soon you could be on your way to chickpea pasta bliss. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Labels: Michigan made, product review
