Award-winning Nomad Health have created a range of gluten-free paleo pastas with a range of health benefits that don’t leave you feeling bloated or sluggish. Marianna and Keith are on a mission to help people with coeliac disease, diabetes or other challenging dietary requirements. They use clean and simple ingredients to revolutionise the most basic staple food in our diet – pasta. How wholesome are they? We tried some of these pastas to tell you what they’re really like, so read on to find out more in our review!
Nutrition: They are the UK’s first Paleo pastas, which means that they do not contain any grains, are free from soya, rice and corn. Each pasta has 3 real ingredients – just simple ingredients making them simply healthy – and they are high protein, high fibre, low carb, low sugar, gluten free, rich mineral content, GMO and salt free. The main ingredients are sesame, flaxseed and even green banana so you know eating a bowl of it is going to be nourishing for your body. Due to the ingredients, it also means the pastas are paleo, and all are free from additives and artificial ingredients. The range has even won an award from BBC Good Food which rewards the most deserving, small, independent artisan producers.
Taste:
SuperSeed Sesame Penne — Ingredients: Sesame seed flour, tapioca, egg
The sesame penne is the closest to normal Italian white pasta in terms of appearance and texture. It is the most filling of all the pastas I tried, it has 25g of protein in every 100g, so it is quite rich which is a good thing because you don’t want to eat a big portion and it fills you up quickly (50g per person is plenty!). It has a distinct nutty after taste as well, so if you like that kind of flavour it’s a delight to eat. It cooks in 4 minutes.
SuperSeed Sesame Fusilli — Ingredients: Sesame seed flour, tapioca, egg
It’s similar to the penne in that it has a slight nutty taste, but the flavour isn’t as strong as the penne. The fusilli are small in size, a bit smaller than normal pasta but it has the same texture. The sesamin promotes fat burning and it is rich in the minerals calcium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. It cooks quickly (3 minutes) so if you stick to this time it won’t overcook or go mushy at all, it stays al dente and delicious.
SuperSeed Green Banana — Ingredients: Green banana, sesame seed flour, tapioca, egg
It doesn’t taste much of banana at all, despite what you might expect. It has a wholesome flavour, but there is no specific after taste to it, so you can dress it easily with any sauce or toppings. It is fusilli so it has a slightly different texture than the penne, but it still feels just like pasta when you eat it. It’s much lighter and less filling than the penne, so you need to cook a little more. It has prebiotic attribute – feed your microbiome and heal your gut. Green banana has resistant starch which encourages the growth and activity of healthy microorganisms (e.g. bacteria and fungi) this contributes to the well-being of their host (you).
SuperSeed Flaxseed Fusilli — Ingredients: Flaxseed meal, tapioca, egg
Much like the green banana one it doesn’t have a strong taste and is light and soft in texture. It’s dark brown in colour which is quite unique and it is high in protein (30g), fibre (14g) containing minerals like magnesium and zinc. It isn’t heavy like normal pasta, so it would be a good idea to cook a bit extra and the best part is it is made with wholesome ingredients so it won’t leave you feeling sluggish like starchy white pasta often does.
Value: The pastas range from £3.99 to £4.50 for a 250g bag which might seem like a premium but well worth the money because you’ll be swapping the starchy carbohydrates of normal pasta for a paleo, nutritious alternative and all you need is 50g per person!
Summary: I’m really impressed with these pasta varieties because you can’t tell the difference between them and normal pasta, unless you opt for the ones with the lovely nutty taste. They are all low on the glycemic index which means they won’t spike your blood sugar levels, perfect for diabetics and if you’re looking to lose weight, or build your muscles and health!
You can view the full range of Nomad Health foods on their website and purchase products there. You can also find out more about their endearing story and keep up to date on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages!
