Calling all pasta lovers and low-carb eaters who have yet to discover Trader Joe's delicious, versatile and easy to prepare hearts of palm pasta.
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Karla Walsh is a Des Moines, Iowa-based freelance writer, editor, level one sommelier and former fitness instructor and personal trainer who balances her love of food and drink with her passion for fitness. (Or tries to, at least!) Her writing has been published in AllRecipes, Runner's World, Shape and Fitness Magazines, as well as on EatingWell.com, Shape.com, BHG.com, ReadersDigest.com, TheHealthy.com, Prevention.com, WomensHealthMag.com and more.
Updated on November 1, 2022
Reviewed by Dietitian
Reviewed by DietitianMaria Laura Haddad-Garcia
Maria Laura is EatingWell's senior nutrition & news editor. As part of the nutrition team, she edits and assigns nutrition-related content and provides nutrition reviews for articles. Maria Laura is a trained dietitian, almond butter lover and food enthusiast with over seven years of experience in nutrition counseling.
Searching for gluten-free and vegan pasta swap? Trader Joe's has the product for you that's all set to be dressed up with marinara sauce, tossed with pesto or perked up into a spicy noodle dish.
This "pasta" is ready to eat after 5 minutes of sautéing or just 2 minutes in the microwave, and a 9-ounce package costs $3.49, serves three and is just 20 calories and 4 carbs per serving.
We don't know about you, but that means we'll be stocking up on a whole box per person. Ahem, back to the stats about this "pasta:" per serving, it also includes 2 grams of fiber, no sodium and a bit of calcium and potassium (view the nutrition label here). That's because it's made with only one ingredient.
Hearts of palm are vegetables harvested from the core of palm trees, which are then made into linguine-like strands. The flavor of hearts of palm is somewhat similar to artichokes but a bit nuttier. Mostly, they're a blank slate for what flavors you pair them with.
Think of these like zoodles 2.0, with a hue even more similar to regular noodles to tempt picky eaters.
Speaking of said picky eaters, a great way to reduce the carb and calorie count of a meal, boost veggie intake and still enjoy some of the real thing is to go halfsies and mix one serving of pasta with one serving of hearts of palm "pasta." This hack is a hit with volume eaters as well, since it nearly doubles the portion size while adding only 20 calories to your daily intake. It's the same concept we used in this tasty recipe: Balsamic Chicken Pasta Bake with Zucchini Noodles recipe.
While it can be dressed up with any toppings and sauces you like, for a first try we recommend mixing the hearts of palm noodles with Ina Garten's no-cook sauce and shredded rotisserie or leftover chicken for a low-fuss, no-oven-required meal to fuel us through the week.
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