Low Carb Noodles? Shirataki To The Rescue!

I don't eat pasta.

I used to, but it's not a part of my low carb lifestyle, and I haven't indulged in nearly 2 years (April makes 2 years of living la vida low carb!).

But I sure did like it. And sometimes, although not too often, I miss it. I still cook it for the fam on a regular basis, and it can be hard to dish out their saucy food on noodles while mine goes onto nothing, or maybe some cooked french cut green beans (surprisingly good, actually).

Well, tonight I had noodles.

Don't scold me...I didn't cheat.

I had tofu shirataki noodles I picked up from Virginia's Health Foods in Mobile the other day.

I went in looking for black soybeans (no, they didn't have them...boo-hoo), but came out with a package of the House Foods brand Shirataki spaghetti shaped noodle substitute and a bottle of much coveted (and also hard to find) black strap molasses.

Fast forward to tonight:

I made the low carb "pizza chicken" from Dana Carpender's 500 Low-Carb Recipes book, which I would fight tooth & nail for if someone tried to take. Seriously.

The recipe is described as pretty much chicken cacciatore with mozzarella cheese, which gives it a pizza-flair...hence "Pizza Chicken" (p. 244).

Oh. My. Goodness.

The recipe!

The noodles!

Both put together!

It was fab.

Now, I always feel like I have to "disclose" when I rave about low carb things:

I do not eat sugar anymore, my taste buds have probably altered. If you ate sugary/carby things this past week, you may not have the level of appreciation for low carb substitutes that I do.

For example, if you had regular Coke yesterday, you might not like diet sodas at all. But, if you drink Diet Coke all the time, then you might appreciate other diet drinks I would recommend. Make sense?

That said, my hubby & my 11 year old son both wanted to try one of the noodles plain to see how it tasted. Both agreed that it tasted like a normal noodle completely, but it did have a slightly chewier texture...just a little bit.

I found it to be just like I remember noodles being. It was divine!

Here are some stats for you:

WHEAT AND GLUTEN FREE 8 oz package, 2 servings, 20 calories per serving, .05 fat, 1 gram of protein, 3 total carbs, 2 of those are fiber, 1 net carb per serving. INGREDIENTS Filtered water, tofu (soybeans, calcium sulfate, glucono delta lactone), yam flour, calcium hydroxide.

How I prepared them:

I separated the bag into 2 servings, draining all liquid out of the portion I intended to eat tonight. Put the other half in a bowl, in it's own liquid, and right into the fridge.

I put the half for tonight into a small strainer & rinsed the heck out them. The directions say to rinse THOROUGHLY for best flavor. I had read up on these before on the web and many people recommended rinsing well with fresh water at least 3 times, which I did. I then put them in a bowl and nuked 'em for 1 minute. They were ready :)

Yes, that easy!

I'm not sure about other brands of shirataki noodles, but the Amazon website says:

"Remember, these noodles are the real deal, they may be a little more expensive than the competitors non-tofu shirataki noodles but your taste buds will thank you for it because they do not have the rubbery texture like every other kind of Shirataki noodles."

At Virginia's these noodles were $2.29. The fettuccine was a bit higher, so I stuck with the spaghetti ones (which by the way are very thin, exact same size as angel hair pasta, NOT spaghetti noodles).

So, $1.15 per serving, plus tax. Not great, considering that "regular" pasta is super cheap comparatively. But, I figure I'll buy about one bag per month and have "pasta" twice a month. That'll do fine for me. Especially since I'm used to not having ANY pasta for so long ;)

Or, I might see about locating them at a better price in bulk on the net. Hmmm...we'll see.

If you live the low carb lifestyle,

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodle Substitute.

I know I'm happy & hooked!

Happy New Year...may it be a healthy, blessed one!