Hearts of Palm Angel Hair Pasta with Hummus Dressing

Pasta is one of my favorite foods, and there are so many "new" types of pasta available. 

The newest "pasta" that I found is "hearts of palm" angel hair pasta. It is made from 100 % hearts of palm and shredded to look like angel hair pasta. There are quite a few companies making it, and I believe Trader Joe sells one!

The texture and the look can fool you into thinking it is a bowl of high carb caloric wheat pasta- but it's not!  Instead this noodle dish is extremely low in calories, carbs, and fat, making it perfect for you or anyone who needs to be concerned. It's heart-healthy, gluten-free, vegan, Weight Watcher friendly, low carb etc. 

I was surprised how my taste buds were fooled by the look of this pasta. In the past, I have (recipe link) spiralized zucchini and eaten it as a pasta, so the idea of a vegetable pasta was not new to me. 

The ease of making this one was new to me. It comes in a package ready to quickly heat and eat. I liked it better than spiralized zucchini.

It is so easy - simply open the package, pour into a skillet and heat and stir to separate. Then add your "recipe" ingredients and enjoy this guilt-free pasta dish!

Although I could have prepped it it with marinara sauce or sautéed vegetables, I choose to make it with a light hummus dressing.

I used gluten-free soy sauce and some plain hummus and sesame seeds as my sauce and was beyond delighted. Just before finishing, I added some fresh spinach and let it wilt into the pasta dish. I ate it warm, but I'll bet if I chilled it, it would have still be good. 

If I buy it again, I will probably make it into a stir-fry with other vegetables. 

Ingredients:

1 package of angel hair hearts of palm pasta

1/4 cup of gluten-free soy sauce

2 hearty tablespoons of hummus ( I love the flavor of the Whole Foods 365 original hummus) 

1/2 cup of fresh baby spinach leaves

optional: sesame seeds 

Directions: 

Open the package, drain if needed, and add the angel hair pasta to a skillet. Heat stirring continuously for a minute to separate the strands. Add the gluten-free soy sauce and allow to heat an additional 3-4 minutes (stir once or twice to prevent sticking) to toast it up. Stir in hummus and mix well, add spinach leaves, put on a lid to allow to wilt for one minute. Remove from heat, add to a plate and enjoy. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

On other occasions, I have used whole hearts of palm from a jar in some salads and it is quite tasty.

Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad  (Recipe Link)

Hearts of Palm Salad Bowl  (Recipe link) 

My Notes: 

1. I really enjoyed this angel hair pasta, but of course it is not the same as regular pasta- but it's a nice very low calorie alternative.