Healthy Chickpea Products…
or Chickpea-washing?

Recognizing increasing health messages to eat less meat and more plant foods—for human health and that of the planet—a variety of new American companies joined the food industry to profit from the venerable chickpea. It’s true, chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans are nutrient dense: rich in protein, fiber, folate, and iron. Whole roasted chickpeas have become coveted crunchies in the snack food aisle. And similar to their legume cousins (eg, lentils, black beans, and peanuts) chickpeas also are being used to make a variety of processed foods, from pasta and ice cream to snack puffs and cookies, and more.

The “mighty chickpea” is the sole legume included in Whole Foods Market’s Trends Council as one of the top 10 foods for 2021, predicted to fly off the shelves in a variety of products. In addition, the use of chickpea flour in baked goods is expected to further boost market growth. Chickpea flour, sometimes sold as besan or gram flour (not to be confused with graham flour), is made by grinding dried chickpeas into a fine powder.

Pasta and Rice
Among the many brands of chickpea products on the market, Banza (the company’s nod to “garbanzo pasta”) appears to be the fastest selling pasta brand in Whole Foods and Target. The pastas comprise 90% chickpeas with added tapioca, pea protein, and xanthan gum. Banza also has launched chickpea rice, mac ’n cheese, and lasagna sheets. The company claims its chickpea rice contains three times as much protein and twice the fiber as brown rice. In late 2019, Banza raised $20 million to help finance additional growth in the foodservice industry that would facilitate marketing to restaurants to include their products as regular menu offerings. Barilla also makes a chickpea rotini and casarecce. Shorter shapes of chickpea-based pasta appear to hold their texture better than longer strands of spaghetti.

Crunchy Snacks
Organic chickpea tortilla chip and puff maker Hippeas markets its products as “chickpea-fueled” and “packed with plant power to keep you keepin’ on,” and have a trademarked hashtag #givepeasachance. Chickpea veggie crisps under the brand Off The Eaten Path, part of PepsiCo foodservice, are sold in 6.25-oz bags. Their first ingredient listed is rice flour, followed by chickpea flour. Rice flour in food has been shown to promotes the food to dissolve quickly in the mouth, which potentially contributes an increase in calories eaten before a person can sense becoming full.

WW (formerly Weight Watchers) offers single-serving packages of Hummus Sea Salt snacks with little reference to chickpeas. The first ingredient for these WW crackers is listed as “Base (chickpea flour, rice flour, salt)” and the Nutrition Facts panel shows 0 g fiber. From a nutrient density perspective, it’s important to consider how much or how little chickpea is in the cracker, as chickpeas are a great source of soluble and insoluble fiber. Biena brand Chickpea Puffs are marketed as “keto-friendly,” which isn’t an FDA-approved health claim. 

Plant-Based Tuna
In an effort to protect natural resources while sharing delicious plant-based meals, two chefs who happen to be brothers created Good Catch plant-based tuna. The products are made from a blend of six legumes (peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans, and navy beans) and are flavored with algae oil, a source of omega-3 fatty acids, albeit in small amounts. Good Catch also manufactures frozen entrées such as plant-based fish burgers, crab cakes, and appetizers as part of their product line.

Legume Butter
Field Trip Chickpea Butter, with varieties including classic, chocolate, and cinnamon churro, may appeal to those who are allergic to nuts and seeds and perhaps to those who are looking for the flavor characteristic of chocolate hazelnut butter. Field Trip’s butters contain added sugars and palm oil. And although they’re organic and sustainably harvested, they contain a moderate amount of saturated fat. The chocolate variety has a bit less protein, and, along with the cinnamon variety, contains more added sugars than the creamy classic chickpea butter.

Cookies and Cookie Dough
Hungryroot, a healthful grocery and prepared food delivery service, offers Almond Chickpea Cookie Dough that people either can eat raw or bake. A two-tablespoon serving contains 100 kcal and 7 g sugar, including 6 g from coconut sugar and maple syrup. Bios Sicilian Style Chickpea Cookies are made with chickpea flour and citrus and vegetable oils and appear to be an emerging product available only through specialty buyers in niche markets.

Nutrition and Other Considerations
As with all pulse crops, chickpeas consumed as part of a balanced plant-based diet may help guard against the progression of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and colorectal cancer. And, similar to other whole foods, intact chickpeas offer the most nutrient density when compared with minimally processed or ultraprocessed foods made from chickpeas. For clarification, ultraprocessed foods are highly manipulated and contain many added ingredients not found in a typical kitchen. Examples include candy, many sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, etc.  Recent research suggests that ultraprocessed foods, including packaged snack foods, have a role in excess calorie consumption, leading to obesity. When people ate a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, they consumed on average 500 kcal more per day than those whose diets were lower in ultraprocessed foods. This daily increase in calories reflected an average 2-lb weight gain over a two-week period.

Some prepared chickpea products can be part of a healthful diet when eaten in moderation. And while many consumers prefer to eat plant-based products for environmental concerns, they should also consider the energy and resources that were required to prepare, manufacture, package, ship, and store ultraprocessed foods compared with whole foods regionally procured.

It’s important for consumers to understand that a standard food made with an alternative ingredient likely won’t taste the same or have the same texture as the usual version of that food. For example, cooked pasta made primarily from ground chickpea flour won’t taste the same and may not achieve the al dente texture found in traditional semolina flour pasta. Differing textures also may be the result of fillers such as tapioca and xanthan gum.

Then there’s the cost. A 2-oz bag of Biena Sea Salt Chickpea Puffs cost $4.49. A 5-oz package of Bios cookies made with chickpeas can be found online for $8.

If the goal is to eat a more plant-based, higher-protein diet, eat whole chickpeas more often in salads or soups and enjoy sustainably harvested seafood in moderation.

What do you think?

To your good health!
KC

www.wildberrycommunications.com