Hello and happy Friday. I hope you’ve had a great week! It’s time once again for Fun Find Friday, where I share anything great that I have come across during the week with you all.
This week I want to talk about pasta made from beans and legumes, because I LOVE it a lot and I was delighted to find this week that my local grocery store carries more than one variety.
When I first moved to the UK, Waitrose made the most delicious fresh chick-pea pasta, found in their chilled section next to the fresh regular pasta. I was very disappointed when they discontinued it, but it wasn’t so long after they did that other bean pastas started appearing on the market, to my joy.
I love bean pastas because they are simple, usually only 2-3 ingredients that includes the bean itself, water and maybe salt. And beans are such a great, nutrient dense alternative to the usual gluten-free replacement products which are nutrient void and also often contain lots of additives and gums to recreate texture and ‘mouth feel’.
I don’t use these pastas every day or even every week, but I love to have the option for when I need something fast, simple and easy or comforting that is actually still healthy, and I do consider these pastas to tick all of those boxes. I don’t actually feel like I am compromising anything when I use them, the way I do if I use, say, corn or rice pasta. And that makes me happy.
Now, beans are not for everybody. If you have an autoimmune disease, you may have a problem with the agglutinin in beans, particularly if you have had GI inflammation for a while and have poor immune and oral tolerance to foods.
If you have gut problems and poor microbial health, you may struggle to digest beans or they may contribute to or exacerbate gut inflammation.
But if you tolerate them, beans are a great addition to a healthy, diverse nutrient dense and balanced diet.
I bought these pastas from my local Sainsbury. They are widely available from multiple grocery stores and online here in the UK and I know that there are different variations available in the USA also. So if you haven’t tried them yet, keep your eyes out and give them a go. I am sure you’ll be a convert too.
Have you tried any of the available bean pastas? What did you think of them?
Robyn Puglia
Robyn is a Clinical Nutritionist with a specialised interest in the Functional Medicine approach to health. Robyn is very involved with the field of Coeliac Disease, Gluten-Reactive Disorders and Autoimmune Disease. Her passion for the healing power of food, has led her to work with complex cases, involving multiple diagnoses, and chronic health issues such as ME, auto-immune diseases and fibromyalgia. She also has a passion for working with the growing tide of chronic, lifestyle mediated illness; diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, and runs a lifestyle intervention clinic for these issues. Robyn works with patients to nutritionally support their bodies, so that they can heal. She has successfully helped many people around the world improve their health and increase their quality of life. Robyn sees clients in London, Tokyo and New York, and has a virtual practice that allows her to work with people all over the world.
