Vegan Gnocchi is Like Whoa

Hey guys!

New item at Trader Joe’s: whole-wheat gnocchi!

Gnocchi are basically soft, yet dense, pasta dumplings typically made from a potato + flour mixture.  I recently became more aware of the food when it started showing up in my boyfriend’s “frozen foods rotation.” He loves the Trader Joe’s frozen version that already comes with a not-vegan-friendly Gorgonzola sauce…
[source]

So, when I saw the dry whole-wheat potato gnocchi staring so suggestively back at me in the Trader Joe’s “New Items” section, I quickly grabbed it and cackled malevolently. “Buahaha…I am going to cook you up so bad,” I said. The surrounding customers were not amused.

Whole-Wheat Potato Gnocchi – Stats

• Ingredients: 70% potato puree (water, dehydrated potato flakes), wheat flour fine bran, potato starch, rice flour, corn starch, salt, acidity regulator: lactic acid, preservative: potassium sorbate)
• Nutritional information per 1-cup serving (3 total): 248 calories, 0g fat, 450mg sodium, 8g fiber, <1g sugars, 1g protein
• Notes: Very simple to cook — boil water, add gnocchi, wait about 2 minutes ’til gnocchi floats to the top, and drain. Done! Yes, it’s a processed food with a preservative, made predominantly from starch. I’m not sure where exactly the “whole wheat” comes in — I guess that’s the wheat flour fine bran; so, obviously, this is not a 100% whole-wheat product. Also, I had to check what “lactic acid” is because I feared the root “lact” might indicated lactose, however…

From the Vegetarian Resource Group here

“…lactic acid [is] not from dairy. ‘Lac’ ingredients are usually produced by a fermentation process using cornstarch or beet sugar. Lactose is always from dairy. Most ingredients made with with calcium are vegan (i.e. calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate). The exceptions are calcium caseinate and calcium stearate.” Ah. The more you know.

So, processed stuff aside and fear of lactose being unfounded, how did the freakin’ gnocchi taste?!

[can you see the blur of my dog Cody's face at the end of the table?]

Yum. Mers.

Served with Trader Joe’s basil tomato sauce and Tofurkey Italian Sausage for the boyfriend (By the way, the Tofurkey always makes my list of favorite vegan foods). If you eat one serving of pasta with a 1/2-cup of pasta sauce (as I did; I did not eat with the “sausage”), you’re looking at around 300 calories. If you serve with a side-salad or some steamed veggies, you’ll have a nice and healthy treat for dinner.

You can also make your own gnocchi from scratch if you’re so inclined. There’s a delicious looking recipe on Vegan Yum Yum  [here], but you’ll need a potato ricer, a food mill and way more patience than the Cranky One has. This much less glamorous recipe [here] on E-How (oh, so reputable! ) looks much easier and doesn’t require any fancy equipment. If you do end up making gnocchi from scratch, please remember that I don’t charge for taste-testing

<3,

The Cranky One

Tags: frozen meals, gnocchi, italian food, trader joes, vegan meals