Most low carb food I try sucks. And, it makes sense that it sucks because there are two types of cravings going on when you want that huge bowl of pasta or mound of mashed potatoes. The first part of the craving is the texture, feel and comfort of those high carb foods. The second part of that craving is your body actually craving carbohydrates. While, the second part of that craving won’t be satisfied unless you actually cheat…the first one can be taken care of with a new food I have begun eating. If you are interested in my Shirataki Noodle Review then read on.
These Bad Boys Rock
So shirataki noodles were recommended to me by my trainer. She is mad hot and kicks my ass three days a week in the gym. Hi Heather! So she told me that along with all the crunches I was doing, I would need to modify some portions of my diet if I wanted to put back some of those low-carb beers on the weekends. I knew she was right but most low-carb food just tastes bad to me. I mean protein is fine, I even like a lot of veggies….but to me a meal needs to have a starch. Anyway, she told me about these fantastic noodles called Shirataki Noodles. Heather said they have virtually no carbs, little calories and little fat. SAY WHAT? Too good to be true I thought. Well, I was wrong.
I ordered some of these noodles in a few different shapes and committed to a one week trial. They weren’t that much more than the other Asian noodles I liked to have for lunch and sometimes dinner. For people used to Italian pasta noodles they take some getting used to. I find that they are more of the consistency of Asian noodles, but that is just me. And, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. From think Asian noodles like you would find in your favorite Chinese take-out to penne and ziti. They also differ from other noodles in the way that they are packaged. They come in plastic bags filled with water. So, they are shipped pre-cooked and wet. You will want to rinse them for a couple minutes before consuming them. Speaking of consuming shirataki noodles, here is how I use them.
Basically, I swap shirataki noodles for any noodle in any dish I like. Even though they come pre-cooked you will wan to prepare them in whatever dish so they pick up the flavor. This means if they are going in soup, they are in the pot for the whole cooking process. If they are going to replace spaghetti pasta cook them for a while in the sauce. This allows them to take in the flavor much better. They are flavorless on their own so I don’t love eating them plain. I do however like mixing them with chicken stock or chicken bouillon for a perfect, cheap and quick Raman type soup. Reminds me of college without the carbs!
Their texture is a little on the rubbery side, but hey you can have a whole heap of noodles and not have to worry about your diet. I love them and I only hope I will be writing a low carb mashed potato some day to go along with my Shirataki Noodle review.
