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Do you ever see a new food somewhere, and then suddenly it’s all over the place? That happened to me with lupini beans. I saw them as a snack in the hippie section of my local grocery store and was really excited about the fact that they boast 7g of protein and 0g net carbs per serving. That’s a pretty solid profile for adding in some much needed protein to a vegan keto diet. A few days later, I saw them a few times on various instagram accounts I follow and realized that these little guys were pretty versatile. Since it’s a bean from the Mediterranean, I figured I’d make a low carb vegan noodle dish inspired by these flavors, using lupini beans, olives and sun dried tomatoes.
Of course noodles aren’t exactly low carb, which is why I’m eternally grateful for shirataki (konjac) noodles. Yes, the texture is a little weird when you first try them, but if you can get past it, these guys will be your best friends.
While this dish is a little higher in carbs, it’s definitely worth budgeting into your daily totals! It can be a challenge being a keto vegan if you’re on a gluten free, nut free, soy free or low-FODMAP diet, so sometimes it’s nice having a recipe that meets all of that criteria, and also tastes pretty darn great. Plus, it’s convenient to have a whole foods source of protein on a vegan keto diet, and find a few different ways to use it!
Notes on Making Low Carb Vegan Mediterranean Noodles & Lupini Beans (gluten free, low-FODMAP, soy free)
- While I used shirataki noodles for this, you can very easily use zucchini noodles. Of course, the macros will be a bit different.
- The brands I used are: Miracle Noodle shirataki noodles, Brami lupini beans (sea salt), Frontier nutritional yeast, Pearl black olives and Roland sun dried tomatoes.
- Depending on what brands or varieties of ingredients you use, your nutrition calculations may be different!
- I don’t use garlic in this to keep it low-FODMAP, but if you want to add a clove of garlic, go for it!
- Yes, this is a little higher in carbs, but it’s one of those things that is 100% worth the budgeting!
Low Carb Vegan Mediterranean Noodles & Lupini Beans (gluten free, low-FODMAP, soy free)
Ingredients
- 1 package shirataki noodles
- 1/2 cup 100g lupini beans (sea salt, garlic and herb or hot pepper would all be great!)
- 1 packed cup 30g baby spinach
- 1 ounce black olives sliced
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 pieces of sun dried tomatoes thinly sliced
- 1 clove of minced garlic optional, and not for low-FODMAP
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan on medium low heat, and add in the beans, olives, tomatoes and spinach (and garlic, if using). Cover, and let cook a few minutes until the spinach wilts.
- Thoroughly drain and rinse the shirataki noodles, and stir them in until everything is fairly well combined.
- Continue to cook, uncovered, until the extra liquid has cooked off. Stir in the nutritional yeast, season with salt and pepper and enjoy!
When something seems too good to be true, I get suspicious and check the USDA nutritional database. Such is the case with your claim that Brami Lupini beans are zero carb. If you double check your brand label, you’ll see that it specifies carbs BY DIFFERENCE. And the manufacturers pulled a swiftie! In other words, they already subtracted the fiber from the total count. You can verify this in 2 ways: check out lupini beans on the USDA nutritional database site, or do some basic math with the nutritional label on your can. Those calories per serving? They come from somewhere — and they HAVE to come from protein, fat, and carbs. (Fiber has no calories.) So subtract the calories (grams times 4 for protein, grams times 9 for fat) for fat and protein and you are left with (surprise) still more calories, which ALL come from carbs!
I am guessing you were fooled by deceptive manufacturer’s labeling and subtracted out the fiber AGAIN after the manufacturer had already subtracted it! The law really needs to be fixed! I am so sorry! I’ve been fooled before — and these tiny mistakes really add up if you’re Keto! I’ve learned to always do the math — because the law DOES require that the calories be measured correctly and exactly!
Thank you so much for pointing this out! You are correct – because the labeling convention here is to list total carbs without the fiber subtracted, I assumed that this is what the manufacturer did. I’m glad you pointed this out, though I find it a bit unsettling that Brami are allowed to label in such a deceptive way.
BTW, delicious recipe! Thanks for introducing me to a new food too! I used arugula to garnish my meal.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, though! I do like these beans as well, and their actual carb count isn’t too bad either! 🙂
More low fodmap foods yaasssss! Xoxoxo
I’ll post more low-FODMAP stuff for sure! 😀