Reddit reviews Explore Cuisine Organic Black Bean Spaghetti - 8 oz - High Protein, Gluten Free Pasta, Easy to Make - USDA Certified Organic, Vegan, Kosher, Non GMO - 4 Servings

From Left to Right in photo

Breakfast - Overnight Oats

1. Chia seeds 7 grams (35 Calories)
   
2. One packet of Instant oatmeal (I used this one) (130 calories)
   
3. 1/2 Cup of TJ's Vanilla Flavored Coconut Milk (40 calories)
   ---Total Macros for Breakfast (205 Calories, 7g Fat, 32g Carb, 6g Fiber, 5g Protein)
   
   Mid-morning Snack
   
4. 3 oz of Baby Carrots (35 Calories)
   
5. 3 oz of Cucumber (10 Calories) (underneath carrots in photo)
   (46 Calories, 0g Fat, 10g Carb, 3g Fiber, 2g Protein)
   
   Lunch
   
6. Black Bean Spaghetti 1oz (90 calories)
   
7. Grilled chicken 2oz ( 67 calories)
   
8. Costco Grape tomatoes 3 oz (35 Calories)
   
9. Spring organic Mix 3 oz (20 calories)
   
10. Light Sesame Ginger Dressing 1 oz (35 calories)
    
11. Cucumber 3 oz (11 Calories)
    (256 Calories, 4g Fat, 27g Carb, 10g Fiber, 31g Protein)
    
    Afternoon snack
    
12. Baby Bel cheese (50 calories)
    
13. light Swiss Miss hot coco (25 calories)
    (75 Calories, 3g Fat, 4g Carb, 1g Fiber, 8g Protein)
    
    Dinner - whole wheat pesto pasta and mozzarella dish
    (405 Calories, 15g Fat, 46g Carb, 8g Fiber, 19g Protein)
    
    Evening snack
    
14. Large Apple (110 calories)
    
15. Walnuts 14 grams (100 calories)
    Total Macros for Evening Snack
    (210 Calories, 5g Fat, 36g Carb, 6g Fiber, 4g Protein)
    
    
    Total Day Macros
    (Calories 1200, Fat 34g, Carbs 155g, Fiber 33g, Protein 68g)
    
    

• Edit #1: I'll post recipes and macros later tonight!
  
  
• Edit #2: Macros updated, Will post recipe later (I need to go make dinner for tonight!) (If my math is bad, I'm sorry in advance, it was a long day) I used MFP for calculations.
  
  
• Edit #3: Recipe
  
  
  Whole Whole Wheat Pesto Pasta and Mozzarella Dish
  
  • 7 ounces uncooked whole wheat rotini (I used Aldi Fit'n Active brand)
  
  • 4 cups broccoli florets (I used 1 bag of frozen Broccoli, just threw it in the microwave)
  
  • 1 package Knorr® Pesto sauce mix
  
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  
  • 3 Tbsp. wine vinegar (or regular)
  
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes [or grape tomatoes], halved
  
  • 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
  
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  
  
  DIRECTIONS
  
  

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli during last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool.
   
   
2. Combine Knorr® Pesto sauce mix, olive oil and vinegar in large bowl with wire whisk. Add pasta with broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
   

Explore-Asia-Organic-Spaghetti 25g of protein per 2oz serving. To put that in perspective, 1bowl is about 6oz. One of the best tasting highest protein foods I have found. Learned about it on reddit from another user.

Edit: Here is the full nutritional label: read the left one (the one on the right is for a recommend recipe)

Tofu, tempeh, seitan, organic asia bean pastas, TVP, protein powder, wheat gluten.

y'all don't know bout black bean spaghetti. Per serving it's 180 cal, 25g protein, 17g carb, 2g fat

nom nom. http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412371569&sr=8-1&keywords=black+bean+spaghetti

Whole foods - beans/lentils (black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans/chickpeas), nuts/seeds (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, hemp/flax/chia/sunflower seeds), grains (buckwheat/wheat/quinoa/oats), and green vegetables.

Processed foods - tofu, tempeh, seitan, bean pastas, protein powders

here's an infographic http://i.imgur.com/KexRyhQ.jpg

Hey, I train 6-7 days a week, too. You should have no problem getting 60-70g protein a day just from whole foods, not even taking into account a protein shake. Though that also depends on your overall calorie intake, which you didn't mention. Just putting something simple together, 95g hemp seeds, 430g lentils, and 290g buckwheat is 2000 calories, 330g carbs, 43g fat, and 96g protein. There is plenty of room to play around there to swap out foods and stuff and still hit your protein macros.

1. Vegan totally tastes like ass. Funny enough, mixed berry is the only flavor I think is half decent. Taste-wise, my favorite is Sunwarrior. If you can afford Vega, you should be able to afford Sunwarrior. I like the chocolate flavor. Though my favorite is TrueNutrition's hemp/rice/pea blend. Tastes better than Vega, not as good as Sunwarrior, but it's much cheaper than either and tastes good enough for me. Favorite flavors are chocolate fudge brownie and mocha.
   
   
2. Sorry no recipe suggestions, I don't eat soy/tofu, but I eat a lot of beans and I just eat them with some spices or something, nothing fancy. Check out explore asia products - they're based on beans and have a lot of protein. Also lentil pastas are pretty good.
   
   
3. Nuts, seeds, beans/lentils - or processed foods based on these like tofu, seitan, tempeh, TVP, peanut butter, etc.
   
   
4. "Keep in mind I'm a broke uni student." You probably shouldn't buy Vega then :) Sounds like you have the bases covered. On top of oats, I might also add buckwheat, quinoa, and rice. Peanut butter is also cheap, very calorically dense, and has a good amount of protein.
   
   
5. I'm not iron deficient, but just check out high iron foods. Molasses is one I use as a sweetener for shakes and stuff and it has a lot of iron. Also I've heard good things about the iron fish.

As a keto dieter, maybe I can help out. None of it is really "convenient" food, you have to make pretty much all of it, but it help to kick the cravings.

1. pasta - Black Bean Spaghetti or Egg-based fettucine.
   
   
2. garlic bread - Low Carb Cauliflower breadsticks
   
   
3. pie - Low Carb lemon Meringue Pie
   
   
4. muffins - Customizable Keto Muffins
   
   
5. crab cakes - Low Carb Crab Cakes
   
   
6. mashed potatoes - Cheesy Cauliflower Mash
   
   
7. chocolate cakes - Chocolate Sheet Cake
   
   Let me know what else you're missing and I can see if I can find it. I've been low carb/keto for 3 years now, so I've tried a lot of the premade mixes you can find out there too.

Dude look what I found because of you

http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1415058970&sr=8-4&keywords=black+soy+beans

1. legume soups (green split pea is my current fave).
   
2. [this FUCKING AMAZING pasta.] (http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406836758&sr=8-1&keywords=black+bean+pasta)
   
3. throw seasoning on your greek yogurt (garlic and onion, for instance) for some awesome "veggie dip" or "chunky salad dressing"
   
4. quest bars (19-20 grams of protein a pop).
   
5. learn to make quiches for non-breakfast egg dishes. bonus points if you can make ramen/noodle soup with boiled egg using the pasta linked to above. (working on it, haven't figured it out).
   
6. especially in the summer, learn to make a good ceviche. usually chopping up tomatoes, red onions, and cilantro and throwing in a splash of lime will do it, but you can throw in some jalapeño or chipotle to give it a kick too.
   
7. lox. great breakfast/lunch/snack ingredient. cut up some apple/pear melon, add a little olive oil, pepper and capers and voilá.

I buy these bean-only noodles: https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Spaghetti-7-05-Ounce/dp/B0078DU1CY

Not necessarily low calorie, but very high fiber and protein. They taste good, better than any other pasta replacement in my opinion.

Black bean spaghetti

Pasta with Protein > Carbs.

http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Spaghetti-7-05-Ounce/dp/B0078DU1CY

It's expensive AF on Amazon, but look at your local grocery stores for this. I found it at mine for relatively cheap. More expensive than regular pasta, but worth it for the macros.

My new favorite discovery is black bean spaghetti. I saw it at Costco and figured it was worth a shot.

At first, it reminded me of rubber bands. But then I got used to it and realized it's actually pretty good! It's much more filling than regular pasta, and can be used in a lot of different dishes. It's a nice break from spaghetti squash!

The best way to gain weight on a budget is to just eat more cheap foods. Go to the bulk foods section and load up on everything. Next in line is your high carb foods; oats, potatoes and fruits, especially if you're juicing your fruits. If you feel like you just can't eat anymore than you'll need to look at ways of increasing the caloric density of your foods. Which means eating more fatty and processed foods; nuts, seeds and avocados, fake meats and cheeses, cereals, protein bars, shots of olive oil. Don't do that last one. But these tend be a little to a lot more expensive, but you can find some really delicious and inventive foods that aren't too expensive. Like these black bean noodles! Also I'm not an athlete or anything so go check out /r/veganfitness for some advice from people that do this everyday.

Like someone else said, you need to test yourself before and after you eat to find out what foods in what amounts cause you to spike your BG level. When I am trying a new food to see if it will be OK for me to eat, I test before, one hour after, two hours after, and four hours after. If any of the readings after eating are 35-40 above the pre meal reading, I don't eat that food anymore. So once you have eliminated the foods you cannot eat, you develop a diet plan, one you can sustain for the rest of your life, around those foods you can eat. Potatoes, pasta, grains, anything made with flour, probably corn, many fruits, and of course anything with sugar is off the menu for you now.

If you have been diagnosed with T2 by a medical doctor, then you should be on Metformin. Its a great drug with decades of patient data to show that it works and has a low risk of causing other health issues. I get it from Walmart for under their $4 prescription plan. Be ready for at least a couple of weeks of tummy rumbling and frequent bathroom visits. I recommend psyllium husk capsules or metamucil to help balance this out. What Metformin does is it counteracts the resistance the cells in your body have built up to insulin, allowing the sugar in your bloodstream to be absorbed into the cells, thus lowering your blood sugar levels.

Many people feel sluggish after eating without being diabetic, so there is no way a kind internet stranger can tell you with certainty that Metformin will cure this for you. Overall I feel better taking Metformin and eating right.

I absolutely love pasta and have not yet found anything on the market that tastes as good as "real" pasta and doesn't spike my BG level. The best thing I found was this, which my local store carries, but its very expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY

The best thing I have found is homemade noodles made from soy flour, which is quite low in carbs and high in protein, better than chickpeas. Here is the recipe I use. It is fairly labor intensive. I would roll the dough out as thin as I could and use a pizza cutter to slice noodles as thin as I could. They were still pretty thick but they worked as noodles.

https://yikesnocarbs.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/low-carb-soy-flour-pastanoodles/

One other tip that has helped me. At least browse some of the keto subs and sites and Youtube channels for recipes. Some are crap, some are ok and some are absolute genius. Its up to you if you want to jump on the keto wagon, some folks swear by for controlling T2. IMHO its worth looking at what they are selling and deciding for yourself what will work for you.

Best of luck to you!

> I'm a 30yo female 5'4'' 135lbs looking to replace fat with lean muscle.

The best advice would be to lift weights while eating in a caloric deficit. Tweaking your macros, without impacting your overall calories, will likely make little/no difference unless your current macros are goofy.

I just make sure I hit my protein goals (~0.6-0.8g/lb bodyweight, so 120-140g), then try to get at least 30-50g fat a day, and make up the rest in carbs, ~200-300g.

For protein, I like to get from whole foods. Beans, nuts, and seeds are my main sources. Soybeans are really high. If you still can't meet your macro goals, you might reconsider the amount of protein you're consuming, or get some processed foods. I only use protein powder for one shake a day because it's convenient, but there is also seitan/gluten, tofu, nutritional yeast (> 50% protein), soybeans, explore asia products, tempeh, TVP...

http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY

Well I'm vegetarian not vegan lol but here's my $0.02:

1. I can't think of any differences in coaching men vs women honestly. Form is form and either way you just gotta get work in and practice form. The one thing perhaps is that most women will start off with worse upper body strength relative to lower body strength, and people in general can recover quite well from upper body work. So for women especially I think it's important to emphasis upper body hypertrophy.
   
   
2. My personal favorite cue is "coil up like a spring" for the descent of squat and bench and the setup for deadlift. It makes more sense to me than "get tight". On squat and deadlift this means tightening my hamstrings until they're loaded with tension, which is how I get stretch reflex. For bench this feels like "pull the bar apart" and "bring your chest up to meet it", which also feels like tightening up my upper back and loading it with tension before popping the weight back up for the ascent.
   
   
3. I've heard that women handle volume better than men, but I'm terrible with high rep sets and have guy friends who are way better at them. I think that "women handle volume better" is perhaps a good rule of thumb with beginners but, as always, everybody's different.
   
   
4. check out @powerliftingdietitian @lamaliciabkln @awill_lift for just a couple vegan powerlifting women (and myself @alice_lifts if you're open to vegetarians)! Here's an article that Stephanie (@powerliftingdietitian) wrote about vegan powerlifting. As far as diet tips, a plant-based powerlifting diet is possible but does require more planning if you want to make sure you're getting enough protein. Some of my favorite vegan protein sources include tofu, black bean spaghetti, beans/lentils obv, and more veggie meat substitutes than is probably good for me. I've even made gravy from pea protein powder that is heavenly with veggie meatballs in a "swedish meatless balls" concoction. As long as you cook for yourself though it's really not too bad -- the main difficulty is when you eat out. Also, since the only whole food source of creatine is red meat and it is an essential building block for ATP, it's especially important for non-meat-eaters to supplement with creatine. Oh I also used to write a veg protein cookbook blog. Not a lot on there unfortunately (been meaning to add more) BUT you and your gf might like the sloppy joes if you're into some good ol beefy comfort food!
   
   Hope that helped!
   
   edit: formatting

I've had these before, super good

I got it at shop and stop. I heard you can get it at Costco too. you can find it here

It’s like 180 calories per serving and 25gms protein!

I love explore asia's brand of edamame pasta and black bean pasta!

https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Spaghetti-7-05-Ounce/dp/B0078DU1CY

You should give this a try then https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY

I was in the same boat when I started, struggling to put away 2000 a day, so I have like, powerful skinny person empathy.

A part of eating more is going to come down to just doing it consistently for long enough that your stomach expands, but we can focus on the finer details in the interim.

So for your breakfast, you should try replacing cream cheese with peanutbutter or some pb alternative, since 2 tablespoons of that are going to be like ~200cal. You could probly replace the muscle milk with some sort of seeds and have the same outcome for protein, with better results for calories.

Not eating meat is a little tougher but definitely doable. This Black Bean Spaghetti isn't crazy calorie dense, but it's got 25g protein per 2oz's, which is about the best it'll get outside of protein bars/ shakes.

I have no idea how your schedule looks in a day, but you could consider restructuring as best you can to better suit a big eats kinda rhythm. Waking up earlier so you can eat breakfast earlier is super obvious but some people just don't feel up to it. Something I'm a big fan of is putting whatever my cardio training is (running/ HIIT/ etc) first thing in the morning, cause it gets it out of the way for the rest of the day, and it helps kick start your appetite for breakfast.

When it comes down to it, all this extra stuff I'm talking about is just kind of tertiary, and you'll more than likely just get a bigger appetite as time goes on, cause your stomach will expand naturally, so don't stress if you don't want to try any/ all of these.

High in calories? Black bean pasta usually has somewhere on the order of 180 kcal and 25g protein for a 56g serving. On its own that's a great protein-to-calorie ratio, much less after you add meat sauce to it.

I buy it. either this stuff, which I pay about $3 for at Fairway or Whole Foods, or I go to chinatown and buy a chinese labelled version for $1.

http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Spaghetti-7-05-Ounce/dp/B0078DU1CY

Not sure if anyone has seen this.

Try some of this pasta. It's pretty tasty and packed full of protein with a decently low amount of carbs.

Husband and I live on this in the winter. We make pasta bake casseroles and layer the pasta (I found it best to layer vs mix sauce right in as normal) with ground beef, low carb tomato sauce, and cheese over and over and bake it in the oven. Should be easy to sub in lots of veggies!

Good reviews on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Asia-Organic-Black-Spaghetti/dp/B0078DU1CY/ref=pd_sim_gro_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0WH43W7HRKVB4Y5JSX6J

add-ons are pesky

low carb pasta!

ty for the contest!

Bump! because...
Although the seller has caught on to the sudden demand for black bean noodles on Amazon (£37? runs fast away), the others - mung bean fettucine and soybean spaghetti (this one has a weird picture of dog food for some reason) are still £18! Both have only 6 carbs each, only one more than the black bean noodles, and just as much protein!

So do not be alarmed, ladies and gentleketoes, for help is at hand!

gallops away