Organic Edamame Spaghetti, New Product Alert at Costco!

Vegan American Princess

Rarely does a product live up to your expectations when it seems too good to be true. On my last trip to Costco I noticed on the shelf a glossy black box of green pasta and I naturally needed to examine this new item. Reading the information on the box, it really did look “too good to be true” but it certainly had all the makings of a great food to test out. By the way, I have spotted many new, organic and interesting products at Costco. You can be sure I’ll be examining all for vegan possibilities!

“Organic Edamame Spaghetti” by Explore Asian comes in a large 2 pound box, but what doesn’t at Costco? Two separate bags inside for two separate meals. To my delight it is:

USDA Organic
Gluten-Free
Vegan
Non-GMO
Kosher
Parve
Certified by the American Heart Asociation.

vegan american princess

Ok so we are definitely on the right track, so far.

What are these noodles made of exactly? Two ingredients! Organic green edamame and water. Seems awesome. The nutritional elements are as simple as the ingredients but powerful. A 2 ounce serving packs 24 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 55% of Vitamin C, 30% of Iron and 13% of Calcium. That’s a wow in my book (The Book of Vegan!).

So how does it cook up and taste? It basically cooks like any other spaghetti but in only 4-5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and that’s it. Couldn’t be easier. But the taste?

vegan american princess

The taste was great! I don’t think it tasted like wheat pasta but it didn’t taste like edamame either. The spaghetti was just the right consistency and it was thin, almost like angel hair. It doesn’t expand at all when it’s cooked so what you see in the box is what you get. The lack of strong flavor is fine because it doesn’t interfere with what you’re planning to put on it.

Since I have a wonderful basil plant taking over my kitchen windowsill, I decided to stick with the green theme and pair the pasta with my homemade vegan pesto sauce. They went together fabulously and it was a very simple, yet filling and protein-packed meal!

vegan american princess

EASY VEGAN PESTO SAUCE: It Goes On Everything!

–Ellen Francis

Ingredients

4 cups torn fresh basil leaves (no stems)

4 Tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup pine nuts

1 cup shelled walnuts (halves or pieces)

juice of a half lemon

6 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (“nooch”)

5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Method

1) Place basil, garlic, nuts, lemon juice and nutritional yeast in a food processor.
2) Run the food processor for about a minute and then start pouring the olive oil in through the opening
3) Process until the mixture is pureed and smooth, about 3 minutes.
4) Add salt and pepper to taste
5) Add to pasta and serve.
6) Store covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Note: Sometimes if I have a variety of nuts and not necessarily just pine nuts or walnuts, I’ll just use whatever I have. Also, the nuts can be softened first by putting them in a microwave-safe bowl and covered with water and then heated up in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.

vegan american princess