Shiritaki noodles and weight loss

funplay07

Did anyone out there who ate shiritaki noodles a lot still lose weight? I know it doesn't cause weight loss but I'm wondering if it's as low-calorie as they say it is? I'm Asian and eat a lot of noodle dishes and am afraid that if I use it a lot that I'd gain weight instead of losing. If the calories are they say it is, then I'd definitely be deficit in calories but somehow it sounds too good to be true.

J

Alluminati

It is low calorie. It's made from a yam which is a vegetable , so naturally they are low calorie. I eat them when the occasion calls for it in soups or stir fry. It is filling and takes to sauces very well.

RodaRose

Taste them to see if they are to your liking.

Ready2Rock206

They taste disgusting. I'd lose weight just because they are too nasty to actually want to consume them.

MommyL2015

I tried them twice but couldn't get past the taste/smell. Everyone says they don't have a smell or a flavor, so maybe it was the brand I tried. They didn't absorb any flavor, and their flavor/smell overpowered everything, including my house for the night. I tried the dry-fry method after rinsing and boiling and rinsing and boiling, and then frying them until dry with garlic and a bit of oil, then added a sesame teriaki sauce but nope, still nasty. I couldn't even smell the garlic and I used a lot.

It's weird because I use konjac powder every day in my smoothies and hot cereal and it doesn't smell or taste at all, so i'm thinking it was the brand of noodle I tried. They were Zero Noodles, the type made with tofu because they didn't have any other kind.

Mistraal1981

I like them and they really are low calorie. People who don't like them MAY not be cooking them properly, ie draining them, putting them in a hot pan for a few seconds to warm them through then eating them.

I suggest; drain them, rinse them, cook them in a pot stirring them thoroughly with the sauce you choose, leave it to sit until the sauce gets hot and starts to bubble and voila, no weird taste.

But try them. If you don't like them, don't eat them again. No real loss, but potential amazing gain to a low cal food item.

arditarose

I eat them all the time. Losing, maintaing, bulking. The ones with tofu added have a few more calories, but yes-they really are that low calorie. Try them. I get upset when people come on these threads just to say "they taste like butt". There's a lot of foods I didn't try because so many people on here poo-pooed them, and I actually ended up really liking them and could have been enjoying them all along.

Anyway, be sure to dry fry them.

MommyL2015

There's a lot of foods I didn't try because so many people on here poo-pooed them, and I actually ended up really liking them and could have been enjoying them all along.

That's what I was so hoping. I didn't try them for a long time either because of some horror stories but I bit the bullet and bought them. I so, so, so, so badly wanted to like them. I am on the lookout for the type without tofu so I can try them one more time. Third time's a charm, right?

arditarose

MommyL2015 wrote: »

There's a lot of foods I didn't try because so many people on here poo-pooed them, and I actually ended up really liking them and could have been enjoying them all along.

That's what I was so hoping. I didn't try them for a long time either because of some horror stories but I bit the bullet and bought them. I so, so, so, so badly wanted to like them. I am on the lookout for the type without tofu so I can try them one more time. Third time's a charm, right?

lol good for you for trying though! Yeah I don't know why I liked them so much..the first time I tasted them I got this huge smile and thought "WOW...I think I can actually pull this deficit off" lol. I buy the ones without tofu at Japanese groceries but you can get them online. I don't know if you'd like them any better but I can tell you they are a little less dense, so retain less of that water, which might make a difference. Moisture is not their friend.

concordancia

I use spaghetti squash or cabbage as fillers in many dishes.

I especially like spaghetti squash pad thai.

DancingMoosie

I buy mine from Vitacost website(Vitacost brand), and they are very often one of their BOGO 50% off items.

Tricia7188

I love them! I'm on the west coast(NV) and every Walmart ive been to has them. Also raleys etc. They are not like regular pasta, more like ramen noodles. More chewy than regular pasta. I get the Nasoya "Pasta Zero" they have been a lifesaver for me when I had cravings for a huge filling warm meal. A whole package is only 30 cals! I have never had an issue with these being smelly or tasting weird. And ive bought them many times from different stores etc so it wasn't a fluke. I usually just put them in a bowl of cold water for maybe 10 min when I'm prepping my other ingredients, rinse a bit in more water but nothing crazy. Then I just usually heat them in a pan with whatever seasonings and protein and sometimes broth and bam done. Usually in just 5 min. I used to love cup o noodles so these have been awesome. I haven't even done the dry fry method people here have talked about.
Don't knock em til you try em, they're a game changer. Helps with daily fiber too.

MommyL2015

Tricia7188 wrote: »

I love them! I'm on the west coast(NV) and every Walmart ive been to has them. Also raleys etc. They are not like regular pasta, more like ramen noodles. More chewy than regular pasta. I get the Nasoya "Pasta Zero" they have been a lifesaver for me when I had cravings for a huge filling warm meal. A whole package is only 30 cals! I have never had an issue with these being smelly or tasting weird. And ive bought them many times from different stores etc so it wasn't a fluke. I usually just put them in a bowl of cold water for maybe 10 min when I'm prepping my other ingredients, rinse a bit in more water but nothing crazy. Then I just usually heat them in a pan with whatever seasonings and protein and sometimes broth and bam done. Usually in just 5 min. I used to love cup o noodles so these have been awesome. I haven't even done the dry fry method people here have talked about.
Don't knock em til you try em, they're a game changer. Helps with daily fiber too.

Yeah, Nasoya Pasta Zero, that's what I bought, not Zero Noodle. The two packages I bought were within 2 days of each other from the same Wal-Mart, so maybe it was just a bad batch or something. The first time, I only rinsed once and dry-fried them. The second time, I boiled for a few minutes and and then rinsed under warm water, repeated 3 separate times, then I dried them on paper towels and dry-fried them for several minutes. The smell was still overpowering. After I dry-fried them, I sauteed them with garlic and a little bit of oil, added some sesame Teriyaki sauce, and had them under some stir-fried veggies. I had this huge, delicious-looking plate of food and I had to dump it, both times. The entire plate tasted only of these noodles, which smelled something that I can only describe as rotten lo-mein. I couldn't smell or taste the garlic or Teriyaki at all. It was extremely disappointing.

I am still going to try the ones without tofu. I am eyeballing some on Amazon.

stealthq

MommyL2015 wrote: »

There's a lot of foods I didn't try because so many people on here poo-pooed them, and I actually ended up really liking them and could have been enjoying them all along.

That's what I was so hoping. I didn't try them for a long time either because of some horror stories but I bit the bullet and bought them. I so, so, so, so badly wanted to like them. I am on the lookout for the type without tofu so I can try them one more time. Third time's a charm, right?

In case it is a brand thing, here's a link to the one I buy: https://house-foods.com/tofu_shirataki_usa/

I've used both the tofu shirataki and the regular shirataki and liked both. They did very definitely smell until after the boiling and rinsing and dry frying. Had no trouble after that, and they made really good dan-dan noodles and a good base for a sweet chili sauce.

tkphotogirl

I eat them every now and again when I'm in the mood for a really voluminous meal. I rinse them very, very thoroughly, boil them for ten minutes and then dry fry them, then add them to a stir fry (usually with lots of veggies, chicken and chilli and garlic sauce). I've never noticed any adverse smell (though my husband thinks they smell nasty)

tiny_clanger

I like them, but I prefer courgette or butternut squash noodles. There aren't many more calories in them than shiritaki, and the nutrient profile is far superior.

funplay07

Wow, all good advices and suggestions. Thanks everyone for responding! I'll have to try them for sure! I think I'll be okay with smells; again I'm Asian and we have a lot of things that smell bad to others but tastes so good! If it has tofu in it, will it say on the bag?
@concordancia do you have the recipe for spaghetti squash pad thai? That sounds interesting.

Dekayla13

I don't care for them. They aren't horrible but the smell of them bothers me a bit. Zucchini "noodles" however are awesome. I like carrot "noodles", too! You can get a spiral slicer on ebay for like $20 and it takes less than 30 seconds to spiralize a whole zucchini! I use a vegetable peeler on the carrot sometimes, just peel the skin off then peel the whole carrot. Yummy, healthy, and cheap!

Jazzdaisy

If you put a little bit of vinegar in the water when you cook the shiritaki noodles it helps to get rid of any smell.

concordancia

funplay07 wrote: »

Wow, all good advices and suggestions. Thanks everyone for responding! I'll have to try them for sure! I think I'll be okay with smells; again I'm Asian and we have a lot of things that smell bad to others but tastes so good! If it has tofu in it, will it say on the bag?
@concordancia do you have the recipe for spaghetti squash pad thai? That sounds interesting.

I just use pad Thai sauce on the warm squash and add some crushed peanuts and chicken or shrimp.

eiseed1

The package should have instructions to rinse them and boil them before using them in your recipe. If you take them out of the package and just microwave them they do smell gross!