Chickpea pasta?

What do you think of when you hear the word "chickpea?"

The pre-sustainable living me would have said something like, "Yuck," but the new and improved me immediately thinks of all of the possibilities: hummus, falafel, and pasta!

Wait! Pasta?

Yes, Green Bees. It's true! Chickpeas can be turned into pasta. I didn't believe it either, when I first encountered it on a mission to Whole Foods with SunStars last weekend (we were making veggie ratatouille). I have actually only been to Whole Foods twice in my life (because I knew it would be a dangerous place for my wallet and I was able to exercise restraint in not even going there), but SunStars took me there to pick up some plastic-free produce for our meal and I ended up on a bit of a wander.

It was on this wander that I discovered Banza chickpea pasta. I was intrigued, but didn't have my wallet on me at the time, so I sent them a message and they were kind enough to send me some of their dry noodles to try out! SunStars was immediately stoked, as he's a bit of a chef, and since I was sick with a gnarly chest cold, I was quite happy to have him come over and prepare a meal with these Banza noodles!

I was definitely expecting it to have a rather strong raw chickpea taste and I was totally unsure of what the texture would be, but I was absolutely pleasantly surprised with the result of our meal. The noodles have much the same taste and texture of your everyday noodle, but these are totally packed with protein. It's also high in fiber and is gluten free (and has half the carbs of regular pasta), so if you're on a special diet, it'll slot right in.

SunStars prepared rotini with garlic, spinach, and cherry tomatoes with sea salt and lemon juice for a late weekend lunch and it was totally delightful. You'll have to stay tuned for more updates, as he's already come up with multiple plans for the ziti!

What do you think? Have you ever tried chickpea pasta? I love it as another option for more sustainable/healthier living!