Shirataki Noodles - zero calories!!!

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  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    also, one serving of brown basamatti rice is 150 calories. If 150 calories is too much food for your day, then you may want to re-consider your intake.

    Great! So after you've had your zero calorie noodles, you can go get yourself a nice big bowl of brown basmati rice as well and then everyone's happy. It's not either / or. You can save calories in one area and 'spend' them in another area without it having to be pro or anti carbs. I, personally, don't consider brown rice to be that appealing or nutritious so I wouldn't eat it regardless of whether I was dieting. But I do like pasta and noodles, which aren't that nutritious, and I see no harm at all in switching them out for something similar with much fewer calories. But each to their own.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    faye_machine wrote: »
    YES. My ultimate go-to meals are always made with shirataki (sesame, or peanut sauce, or plain ol' stir-fry, or as a good base for lettuce rolls). I love them; since I grew up eating noodles similar to taste and texture, so none of that bothers me.

    Yes, I keep seeing sesame and peanut sauce recipes for shitaki noodles, I want to give it a try. Got a link or a good recipe to share?
  • z304
    z304 Posts: 84 Member
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    The ones I tried had a very tough texture, to the point of being hard to chew- despite being in a bag of water?

    We've been eating Barilla ProteinPLUS recently:
    Serving Size 2 oz(56g - about 1/7 box)

    Calories 190
    Fat Cal 20
    Cholesterol 0.0mg 0%
    Sodium 25.0mg 1%
    Total Carb 38.0g 13%
    Fiber 4.0g 16%
    Sugar 2.0g
    Protein 10.0g 12%
    Vitamin A 0%
    Vitamin C 0%
    Calcium 2%
    Iron 10%
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    blackcoffeeandcherrypie wrote: »
    faye_machine wrote: »
    YES. My ultimate go-to meals are always made with shirataki (sesame, or peanut sauce, or plain ol' stir-fry, or as a good base for lettuce rolls). I love them; since I grew up eating noodles similar to taste and texture, so none of that bothers me.

    Yes, I keep seeing sesame and peanut sauce recipes for shitaki noodles, I want to give it a try. Got a link or a good recipe to share?

    Hungry Girl has a lot of shirataki recipes (some with creamy sauces, too!). Her recipes are usually pretty good. I used to eat a lot of the shirataki noodles, but got a bit sick of them and have found other ways to fill my belly without too many calories. :smile: They do work for that, though!

    Here is a link for some information about tofu shirataki (along with some recipes) from the Hungry Girl website:
    http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/2157-hg-salutes-tofu-shirataki-low-calorie-low-carb-pasta-swap
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    And, sorry but I have to chime in on the whole carbs/rice/noodles debate. Please lay off the OP. She was just trying to share something new that she found and enjoyed. Someone else brought up that she should just eat rice (or whatever) and she responded to that that she didn't want to. This isn't a low carb thread or a hate on rice thread, so don't try to take it there......If you're not interested in the interesting new find that the OP started this thread to share with others, just move on to another thread.
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
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    I'm not sure if it's for me, but I appreciate that OP is sharing. I don't understand the debate. If you ever drink black coffee, diet soda, or crystal light-type drinks, you are evidently ok with low-to-no calorie substitutes. No one is telling you that you should be drinking coffee with cream or regular soda and you "should" be able to afford those calories. We all get to pick and choose how we spend our calories.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    I like them in ramen style dishes with stronger sauces (hoisin, oyster, sriracha) after rinsing in hot water and dry-frying in a pan.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,592 Member
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    I've tried them a few different ways and couldn't get past the texture. I really wanted to like them but they were just too chewy for me.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    I personally really enjoy brown rice, and use it to complete the protein for legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc). A half cup (measured after being cooked) is ~110cal.

    But I am super interested in trying things like zucchini noodles, or these noodles, because I am interested in replacing/substituting at least part of the white pasta that is a regular part of my family's diet. I don't find that very filling, and it's easy to overeat it for me.

    But I still totally love my potatoes, brown rice, and whole-grain bread even if they are kinda calorie-dense. I love my carbs, lol. But white pasta noodles - nah, that can get replaced/reduced for sure :)
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    But I am super interested in trying things like zucchini noodles, or these noodles, because I am interested in replacing/substituting at least part of the white pasta that is a regular part of my family's diet. I don't find that very filling, and it's easy to overeat it for me.

    Check out inspiralized.com. She has THE BEST recipes using the spiralizer.
  • bluefish86
    bluefish86 Posts: 842 Member
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    I love konjac noodles. The texture is a little weird at first, but they're not unlike rice noodles... they are really good in Pho or other Asian inspired soups. I like to dry fry them first for a few minutes on high (without oil in a non-stick pan) which changes the texture and makes them less rubbery. :)
  • edwardetr
    edwardetr Posts: 140 Member
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    They have carbs. Just the non-digestible kind (fiber).
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    kae612 wrote: »
    But I am super interested in trying things like zucchini noodles, or these noodles, because I am interested in replacing/substituting at least part of the white pasta that is a regular part of my family's diet. I don't find that very filling, and it's easy to overeat it for me.

    Check out inspiralized.com. She has THE BEST recipes using the spiralizer.

    Awesome, thanks! I totally need to get one of those, I think :)
  • faye_machine
    faye_machine Posts: 8 Member
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    bluefish86 wrote: »
    I love konjac noodles. The texture is a little weird at first, but they're not unlike rice noodles... they are really good in Pho or other Asian inspired soups. I like to dry fry them first for a few minutes on high (without oil in a non-stick pan) which changes the texture and makes them less rubbery. :)

    Can you do the same with shirtaki noodles? Does the texture turn more like vermicelli?
  • starling01
    starling01 Posts: 81 Member
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    Thank you so much for this suggestion. I've been relying on ramen noodles for some comfort (combined with the endless baked chicken and veggies) and the 190 calorie hit is a big one for me. My local grocery store has shirataki noodles - I'll be buying and trying them right away!
  • ungeneric
    ungeneric Posts: 60 Member
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    LeslieB042812 wrote: »
    And, sorry but I have to chime in on the whole carbs/rice/noodles debate. Please lay off the OP. She was just trying to share something new that she found and enjoyed. Someone else brought up that she should just eat rice (or whatever) and she responded to that that she didn't want to. This isn't a low carb thread or a hate on rice thread, so don't try to take it there......If you're not interested in the interesting new find that the OP started this thread to share with others, just move on to another thread.
    Amen to this. I personally am always interested in noodle replacements -- I'm very happy right now with black bean pasta (made from black bean paste instead of grains), because it's high-fiber and high-protein rather than just empty calories, but it's interesting to know that there is a zero-cal (or nearly zero-cal) noodle substitute.
  • ninavalentine
    ninavalentine Posts: 131 Member
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    Yes, I knew about shirataki noodles (but from watching television? not so much, lol), but I just haven't had the nerve to try them. I'm sort of a picky eater (I try not to be but it seems like the older I get, the pickier I get) and I'm pretty sure the smell would turn me off from the get-go. But you make a good case for them and I'm always interested in hearing about new food discoveries. I may just give them a try sometime. Maybe I could bribe the Spouse to rinse them for me ...

    Glad you found something that works for you!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    As a New Yorker with Italian grandparents on one side and German grandparents on the other, pasta and egg noodles are kind of a religion for me, and a comfort food. I tried this stuff once, and I couldn't get past the smell and texture. I personally would rather have a small portion of real pasta or noodles than fill up on these, but to each there own! I would guess if you just see noodles and rice as "something to put the sauce and other stuff I really like" on top of, these might do the job.

    I do zoodles sometimes, but that is to get more veggies in a meal, not to replace noodles. Zoodles with marinara is a great side dish to pump up your veggie intake. And I find the zoodling process amusing - I am easily entertained :)
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    I tried them just to see what they are like. They stink horribly and you have to rinse them for a long time before you can do anything with them. I did them as a lo mein/mei fun type dish because I knew that this would never in a hundred million years be a passable substitute for pasta.

    The texture is rubbery and chewy and they have no flavor on their own. If you have them sitting in a sauce or liquid (like broth) for a while, they become less rubbery and take on the flavor of whatever you are marinating them in. i put them in lawry's teriyaki sauce before I sauteed them.

    They also have 10-20 calories a serving - not zero calories like the thread title suggests. Overall, they are a high volume/low calorie meal option, but you have to try really hard to make them enjoyable. They're also relatively cheap so if you want to try them it's kinda no harm, no foul. I found them in the produce section near the vegan mayo and seitan.
  • flamingblades
    flamingblades Posts: 311 Member
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    I tried them last week (fettuccine) and it was great. However, you need to rinse very well, or soak a bit to remove the "earthy" smell. It's kind of like Tofu in that it takes up the flavor of what you cook with it. I did find that the fettuccine variety was rather tough, so I had to cut it up some so I could swallow it easily. I wouldn't recommend it for small children unless you cut it up very small. The package says it is precooked and ready to eat, but simmer a while and it may soften up a bit. I made Shrimp Scampi with these noodles and it was awesome.

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