Carb-Free 'Miracle' Noodles: Brilliant or Bogus?

Question

Want to have your noodles and eat them too? Now you can. Shirataki noodles from Japan have zero calories and zero carbs, Yahoo! Shine reports. Hmm ... why are we already a little suspicious?

The noodles, which come in spaghetti, angel hair, and fettuccini, are made of water and fiber from a plant called konjac yam instead of from wheat flour, Yahoo! reports. So why are they zero-everything? The fiber they contain is not absorbed by the body, the site explains.

Yahoo!'s reporter boiled the pasta, added olive oil and sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. And while the noodles looked good, "the flavor was a little less decadent." The noodles also have a "slightly gelatinous mouth feel similar to an Asian rice noodle." Sounds, um, nasty.

Nevertheless, Lisa Lillien, who writes the "Hungry Girl" newsletter, is a fan of the House of Foods brand. And you can find Shirataki at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. We think we'll stick to our favorite spaghetti Bolognese recipe ... then again, those holiday party calories are starting to add up. Would you try carb-free noodles as part of your 2012 healthy diet resolutions? Or do you think you'll take a pass on pretend pasta?

Answer 1

I want to at least try them.

Answer 2

They smell horrible before you cook 'em up. But they taste fine after they are prepared.

Answer 3

When are going to learn that nothing is "free" excepting ********?
It has got to have carbs, but the FDA regulations allow you to say no carbs if the product contains less than one gram per serving.
Will get back after some checking.

Answer 4

I also like spaghetti squash with sauce on it, too.

Answer 5

It's like pinworms and mucus without all the calories!

Answer 6

EWWWW!

Answer 7

They're actually really good if you use them in a stir fry or noodle soup - but they can never replace pasta with sauce.

Answer 8

That's okay. I'll stick to eating a cardboard box. Cheaper and more satisfying.

Answer 9

DreamFields in the dry pasta area is the best one. It has about 100 calories, 42 carbs, but only 5 are absorbed by the body. I am a diabetic, and that is what I use, you can't tell the difference............. The other ones have a odd texture and weird taste. I wouldn't say horrible, but the DreamFields is a great product!!!!

Answer 10

Maybe bogusly brilliant? That's great if you eat noodles every day, but what's the big deal if you don't and just go on eating whatever you want afterward?s. Also depends what you put over them them too...it kind of takes away from the purpose. But any available healthy food choice is a good choice I suppose?

Answer 11

huh?

Answer 12

I'm diabetic, so I would defiantly love to try this!

Answer 13

Buy DreamFields, in the dry pasta area....... The BEST!!!!

Answer 14

Thank you! C:

Answer 15

My daughter is has T-1.... I was thinking same as you, let's try them!!! Great for those folks who also want to go on the Atkins diet too.

Good luck!

Answer 16

Same to you! I'm type 1 as well C:

Answer 17

Hugs to you! I wish my daughter was chatting with you, she knows ****** anyone else w/ T -1... she is on ** here... her name is horselovinggal (I think...) or horselovingirl? (mom is not too computer savvy.... :)

Answer 18

I've only know about my diabetes since Sept. 1

Answer 19

My mother bought them once, because Dr. Oz told her to.
They smell nasty, have no flavor, so my mother and I added Italian sausage& tomato sauce to the, cooked them in eggplant parmesian, I even poured New England clam chowder on them. The benefits for me was that they made me fuller. With regular noodles or just plain soup, I'd still feel hungry after eating. The noodles are made to make you feel fuller, like whole wheat bread does. Just add some flavoring and you're good to go.

Answer 20

i'm worried about the taste & texture... but i gotta try it

Answer 21

I don't know what you mean by bogus, I've been eating shirataki pasta for a few years now (the miracle noodle brand is new to me though) and love them! Very yummy and you don't feel so bad for eating them, but I prefer making pasta myself; nothing beats homemade pasta :)

Answer 22

Sure, 0 carbs, 0 calories, and 0 flavor! Then you can choose how many calories you put on them.
I'm sorry, if they have 0 carbs and 0 calories, can someone please tell me how they can possibly be good for you? If they aren't absorbed by the body, the instructions may well read "Open package, put in toilet, flush."

Answer 23

Depends how you define noodles, I guess

Answer 24

Good for people that diet, I suppose. I'll stick to rice noodles, egg noodles, spinach noodles, and wheat noodles, though.

BTW, how can they be "bogus"? Either they are noodles or they aren't. "Bogus" means "not genuine".

Answer 25

and way too expensive. I bought them once, never again

Answer 26

Not only do these 'magical calerie free' noodles sound gross, they should make one wonder as to whether or not they've got any nutritional value....It already sounds bad enough if you have to dump a whole lot of speghatti or fettuccini sauce on the noodles to cover up
their....taste.....

Answer 27

No, I think that I will stick with my whole wheat pasta, but I am willing to try Dream Fields dry pasta!

Answer 28

I'd want to try them. There are people that are trying to lose weight or have other problems that may want to eat these noodle, considering what it says on the package. I mean , my daughter right now has to eat gluten free foods and I can't eat soy, so there you have it.

Answer 29

it most likely doest have any nutritonal vaule wat so ever.. and since its gluten free it might cost a fortune .. some gluten free foods are expencive

Answer 30

Why eat something with no nutritional value? Have the real pasta, just don't eat too much of it.

Answer 31

unless its made from the Japanese or Chinese then i dont want to try it

Answer 32

I am a noodle purist, no substitutes for me.

Answer 33

You sure it's not just a bag of tampons?

Answer 34

I don't know about "Brilliant" but I would def. try them! :)

Answer 35

Pasta really isn't so bad in the carbs department. It's so dense that it takes longer to digest and the carbs are released more slowly than in, say, bread.

Answer 36

My husband ordered these about a year or two ago. He was okay with them, but I wouldn't touch them - they have a really gross texture.

Answer 37

Yeah, you cook them in dehydrated water.

Answer 38

Are there side effects like "oily discharge"? What is the point of eating fiber if it isn't absorbed by your body?

Answer 39

Fiber helps moderate insulin, and keeps the digestive tract functioning properly.

Answer 40

Poor kid! Your new at this... sending more hugs! My daughter was diagnosed at age 11, she is 14 now. I wish you could hook up with her... find her on here? You and her could have some fun chatting, maybe support each other. Maybe your not interested in that... if so, I understand completely. My daughter flat out refused to speak to anyone about it for a long time... hated the subject as much as the T-1 itself. Now she has one online friend she found out also has T-1 and she is so happy finally getting to share and chat. Email me private if you would like to chat with her... if not, I understand completely.... but if so, I can send you her email address.

Best wishes to you!!!