Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The No and The Yes!

Sunday I was running an errand and I happened to come across this vegan cashew queso. You don't see a lot of vegan queso in stores, and because it is made with potatoes, cashews and spices I decided to splurge and let myself try it. I was feeling really deprived that day and needed a treat. The queso wasn't cheap so it was a splurge in several ways.
I think this is a paleo company. They make tortilla chips that are grain free, made from cassava root. I've tried the chips, they have a vegan nacho cheese and also a vegan ranch. The chips are also super pricey.  I know this is a mild queso, but mild doesn't mean bland. This has almost no flavor, it's like they don't even use salt. And the texture is okay, but honestly I make smoother cheese sauces in my Ninja blender. This is expensive and in my opinion so not worth it. I definitely do not recommend this at all.  It's not so much horrible as it's just not good.
Now onto some tastier news. Bean pasta has been a thing for awhile. I always see the red lentil and black bean pasta at Trader Joe's, but they're more expensive than regular gluten free pasta, and I just never wanted to take that risk. Well, I came across this yellow lentil pasta at a decent price so I decided to try it and see what all the fuss was about. I cooked some frozen peas with the pasta and made a nooch-y cashew cheese sauce for some good old fashioned mac and yease and peas! I needed comfort food!


I'm not a huge fan of gluten free pasta to be honest. I've found a few brands that are tolerable, but I just don't eat a lot of pasta because I miss the tenderness of gluten filled pasta. Texture wise this is maybe more similar to a very hearty whole wheat pasta than a brown rice/quinoa pasta. It's definitely hearty. I didn't really detect a strong bean-y flavor. I've had gluten free pastas that have a very weird aftertaste and this thankfully didn't. It has only one ingredient which is yellow lentil flour. And it has 13 grams of protein per serving which is pretty amazing. I would definitely buy this again, and it's piqued my curiosity about other bean based pastas!


10 comments:

  1. That's my all time favorite Yogi Tea tag!! I think if everyone in the world just adhered to that one simple tenet, we'd live in paradise. Truly.

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    1. I always think exactly the same thing when I get this tag!

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  2. That is so unfortunate about the queso. It is always so disappointing to spend that much money on something and have it turn out to be a big disappointment. That's how I've felt about all of the Miyoko's products I've tried. I'm glad the pasta worked out though and I love that tea bag!!

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    1. It is such a bummer! I've had hits and misses with Miyokos. Enough misses that I will only try something when it's on sale.

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  3. I've been planning to try the bean pasta for a while now, not because of the gluten but because I just...want to. I had the sense it might have more of a "flavor" in and of itself, but maybe from what you're describing it isn't so?

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    1. I've heard that some bean pastas do taste bean-y. I didn't think these had a bean flavor, and I kept my cheese sauce mild so I could see if beans overpowered my dish. I'm interested to try chickpea pasta if I can find it.

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  4. I've been keen to try bean pastas for a while now, seems like a fun way to boost some protein.
    That is so upsetting about the queso. Mildness is no excuse for blandness!

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    1. I feel the same way about the bean pastas. Since I already have to eat gluten free pasta I might as well get some extra protein!
      And mildness is no excuse for blandness! That is exactly what I thought! They have a spicy version as well but I won't be fooled twice!!

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  5. I would contact the company and complain! Maybe you can get a coupon (if you liked those chips) for other products?

    Glad to hear those bean noodles were good. I never tried any that were a penne shape. Shape can really change the experience!

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  6. The lentil pasta at trader joe’s is really good!! Very mild and you don’t even notice the lentil flavor. The black bean pasta has more of a specific flavor but would work well with mexican flavor ingredients added. If/when you’re next at an asian market look for mung bean pasta- check the ingredients but most are made from literally just mung beans and also hard to detect any bean flavor. Also very cheap at asian markets
    Ttrockwood

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