[00:00:00] Jenn Trepeck: Welcome to Salad with a side of Fries. I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck, talking wellness and weight loss for real life. We're here to clear up the myths, misinformation, bad science and marketing to teach you how to eat and how to cheat. Are you ready? I'm having salad with a side of Friess This week we're talking about aquafaba.

[00:00:26] Have you heard of this one? So in this week's episode, when I mentioned it, I gave the hint that an example of aquafaba is the liquid in the can of chickpeas. And I said, you may not wanna just dump it down the drain. So what is aquafaba? What's so special about it? What do we do with it? And why are some people not fans of it?

[00:00:48] I got you. Okay. So aquafaba, in sort of layman's terms is like fortified water. A doctor that I work with described it as protonated water, [00:01:00] and I don't know, I think that's kind of a misnomer, but let's keep going. So it was discovered in like 2014 by a French guy. So some say he was a musician, some say he was a chef.

[00:01:12] Either way, his name was Joel Rosell. I might be saying that wrong, but anyway, he figured out that the liquid from a can of beans could be used to create foams like egg whites. Then a couple years later, I think it was around 2018, there was another guy, goose Walt. Again, I might be pushing his last name.

[00:01:35] So sorry. So he coined the term Aquafaba Latin for aqua water faba bean. And then he apparently figured out that if you took this water and added sugar, you could make a vegan meringue. And then it can also be used in place of oils, in recipes, and so many more things. So. It gained a lot of [00:02:00] popularity and sure, it is definitely more interesting if you're vegan and don't eat eggs or if you're allergic to eggs, or if you have PKU.

[00:02:10] So for those with high levels of phenyl alanine in their blood and you have to, you know, watch your protein intake or eggs in particular, this might be really interesting. You could get aquafaba from basically any pulse, any like, it could be canned chickpeas or white beans. But think honestly, any beans, even lentils can make aquafaba.

[00:02:31] So the chemistry for a second, because cooking and baking is science, right? Here's how it works. So beans are high in starch. The starch is actually the stored energy in the plant. So for beans, it's particularly, uh, two specific polysaccharides called AMLO and amylopectin. When you cook the bean, the heat makes them soft and it causes some of the beans, proteins, and starches [00:03:00] to leak out into the water.

[00:03:01] The water then gets thick because of the proteins and starches in it. Now the proteins act kind of like egg whites because they can trap air when you whip them. Therefore, you're getting things like meringue and. You know, egg whites and foams, right? The starches help make it sticky and creamy, which is great for baking and cooking.

[00:03:22] What's really in the water though, nutritionally speaking, it's not totally clear. So there's a website called aquafaba.com, so you can go over there. They say a tablespoon has three to five calories with less than like 1% of that coming from protein. Now, I will say there really isn't. Reliable nutritional information on aquafaba.

[00:03:47] I mean, as we say all the time, there isn't money in studying a lot of these specific foods and you know, certainly this, but we'll do what we can if we think about it logically. Protein and [00:04:00] fiber aren't transferring in any significant way to the water. You may get some vitamins and minerals, like if we think about beans and lentils, we're thinking like calcium and iron, some B vitamins, maybe phosphorus, right?

[00:04:16] Even with that, I would argue they're pretty small amounts. Some would say trace amounts. So if we're thinking about this nutritionally, okay, eggs are a powerhouse of nutrition. Aquafaba is certainly not going to compare full stop. But for those who are not eating eggs or who have challenges with protein, aquafaba opens a door to so many foods and recipes.

[00:04:45] Now, in addition to using aquafaba to make meringue, you could do marshmallow, fluff, frosting, mousse, marzipan ice cream. You can use it instead of egg or oil in making mayonnaise or salad [00:05:00] dressings, and then baking muffins, cookies, cakes, right? All the things. Now taste wise is always people's question. So the liquid smells like beans, you know, when it comes out of a can or after you make it.

[00:05:14] Once it's in a recipe though, it's pretty neutral. So I would definitely be sure that you don't use the liquid from beans that are salted, right? Like I would make sure that that salt is at a minimum because I don't know if the, if you have salt in there, it's gonna turn your baked good, pretty salty.

[00:05:31] Right. If you need the liquid to be thicker, you just heat it, right? Cook it to reduce it down. But before you use it in any recipe, just make sure it's cool and that replacement thing. So one large egg, you would use three tablespoons of the aquafaba. If you're replacing one large egg white, you do two tablespoons of the aquafaba.

[00:05:56] Now with all that said, there are also some people who are not [00:06:00] fans of Aquafaba. So their first argument is that it's, you know, low nutrient density, and I'm in the camp of, as long as we know that and we're not thinking that it's making our baked goods more nutritious, I think we're all right. Okay. Then there's also contention over using liquid from cans because there are many cans lined with BPA.

[00:06:27] It's that chemical that can be an endocrine disruptor, and why everyone's in the camp of ditching all the plastic these days. So to me, this is also easily addressed, right? Either get more information on the cans used by the bean company, right? Or the company that you're buying your canned beans from. Or make your own aquafaba with dry beans and water so you get the beans you can use for meals, and then the aquafaba you can keep instead of [00:07:00] tossing it out.

[00:07:00] Right? Ignoring aquafaba because of cans. I don't know. To me it's a little bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Right, like this is, we don't have to loathe aquafaba because of cans, right? So if you're gonna make your own, it's generally about two cups of dry beans with eight cups of water.

[00:07:19] And you could certainly Google or chat GPT or you know, find directions online for how to make it and you know, boil your beans. Okay. Another point that makes people anti aquafaba is antinutrients. Now, whenever we talk about antinutrients, we discuss that many are diminished or even removed when the plant or food is cooked.

[00:07:43] Some people say that those antinutrients end up in the water, right, end up in that aquafaba, so I guess yes, they might. I also am curious how much the heat damages them. Right. And to me, they're [00:08:00] likely to not be that potent, but I don't know for sure. I'd also say that as long as aquafaba is not becoming like a staple of our nutrition, we're probably okay.

[00:08:13] Right. And then the sodium thing comes up again when we talk about canned foods and why people don't like aquafaba. We already talked about the sodium piece, right? So we're gonna look for no salt or minimal salt if we're using the canned version. Again, if you make your own, this is not an issue. And then the one anti aquafaba argument that I can't fully rationalize.

[00:08:39] Gassiness. Okay, so hear me out on this one. Okay. For some people, beans create gas, right? Do you remember the old thing? What was the thing? As a kid, like beans. Beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot, right? Okay. So the worst culprits of creating gas are the [00:09:00] oligosaccharides, and we talked about that.

[00:09:02] There are a couple polysaccharides in these beans now. It's possible that in the cooking process, the polysaccharides become oligosaccharides and therefore create gas, or even in the digestive process, right? So this is where you do you, as I often say, right? I think it's a simple sign to also indicate if we're having maybe too much or having aquafaba too often, right?

[00:09:32] So you could certainly take this, you know. To be what it is for you. I think if you need an alternative to aquafaba, there's always flax or chia eggs where you use one tablespoon of ground flax or chia with four tablespoons of water. And then I remember from my old Weight Watchers days a million years ago, you can use applesauce instead of oil and some baking recipes.

[00:09:57] But nevertheless, [00:10:00] aquafaba I think is pretty interesting. It maybe makes the argument for buying dry beans and cooking them yourself instead of buying canned. But either way, aquafaba is a new fun food fact for you. So the next time you have canned beans, maybe don't throw that liquid out. There might be something really valuable in there.

[00:10:22] Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, gen Tpic. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media. I'm at Gen Tpic. J-E-N-N-T-R-E-P-E-C-K. Website is a salad with a side of fries.com. Pick your platform, send a message. I truly love hearing from you. It is the highlight of my day and whichever platform is easiest for you.

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[00:11:02] On top of the 24 7, ask Me anything, the community chat, the discounts, and the curated content. You'll get this week's recipe for sourdough grilled chicken sandwich in honor of August being National Sandwich Month in the us. Well, friends, that's it for today's episode of Salad with a Side of Fries.

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