Banza Pasta - Great Source Of Vegan ProteinBaked Banza Pasta With Kite Hill Vegan Ricotta

Baked Banza Rotini with Kite Hill almond ricotta
provides more than 20 grams of protein!

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Where do you get your Protein?
Whether you are a vegan who is darn sick of getting asked "where do you get your protein", or one of the many people who are looking for ways to get more protein in their diets from sources other than meat and dairy, I found a product you might be interested in.

Banza pasta is made from chickpeas. So it's gluten free and contains a boatload of protein and fiber. A two-ounce serving of Banza pasta has 14 grams of protein, 8 grams of dietary fiber, 3.5 grams of total fat, and only 24 net carbs. That's more protein that 2 large hard boiled eggs. Ounce for ounce, it provides as much protein as a steak! All this while having nearly half the net carbs of regular pasta.

It comes in various shapes. Shells are great in soup, elbows for vegan mac and cheese (see the mac and "cheese" recipe in my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen), and penne and rotini for various other delightful recipes. 

Shells, rotini, penne, and elbows

Banza shells in soup.

I'm not sure how long this offer is good for, but if you send a friend a $10 coupon, you'll get a $10 coupon of your own for each referral. That's two free boxes each. Forward THIS LINK or share it online.

One Warning
When you cook the Banza pasta, it makes a lot of foam. Remember, you are cooking beans and, like beans, they foam up. So make sure you cook them in a large pot of water and skim the foam off after it forms or it can easily boil over.

Banza pasta foams during cooking. Just skim it off.

Here's an easy recipe for baked Banza pasta with Kite Hill's new Almond Ricotta. Together the dish provides 23 grams of protein!

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Baked Banza Pasta with Kite Hill Ricotta
Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil for greasing the pan
Bunch of kale, ribs removed and thinly sliced*
1 (8-ounce) box of Banza rotini or penne
1 (8-ounce) tub of Kite Hill almond ricotta
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
Go Veggie Parmesan topping (optional)

* You can also use spinach.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C. Lightly grease a 7"x11" casserole dish with extra virgin olive oil.

Steam the kale until cooked, drain and set aside.

Cook the Banza pasta according to the directions on the package. Make sure you cook it in a large pot and skim the foam as it forms. When cooked, drain and return the hot pasta to the pot. 

Stir in the cooked kale. Then, break up the ricotta into teaspoon-size pieces and add to the pasta. Finally, stir in the tomato sauce.

Vegan Ricotta made from almond milk

Place in a casserole dish, top with Go Veggie parmesan topping or some nutritional yeast and bake until heated, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve!

Nutrition
Per serving: 399 calories, 16 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 23 g protein, 50 g carbohydrates, 39 g net carbohydrates, 11 g dietary fiber, and 268 mg sodium (if using tomato sauce with no added salt.)

Update on Packaging
I just received an email from Team Banza that they are changing the product packaging. The product remains the same. Here's what the boxes now look like:

You can order directly from their WEBSITE.