I really like the low-carb shirataki noodles

[Marthe48]

Miracle Noodles is one of the brand names. They cost more than traditional noodles, but they are low-carb, high fiber and I feel like I'm eating a pasta dish when I use them. There are 2 servings in each bag, and because of the fiber, I have 2 meals. I haven't had any problems with the fiber, but on websites about using shiratki noodles, it is mentioned.

I made a spicy meat sauce with onion, orka, garlic, jalapeno, a little tomato and some picante sauce. It was so good

[ebbie15644]

1. I've been afraid to try them

I would but my 83 year old father is extremely hard to please with food changes.

[ReluctanceTango]

2. I've tried them.

And didn’t mind them. But something was missing. The texture isn’t quite there. Too rubbery.

That’s because they’re made with konjac, which has a texture somewhere between gelatin and soft plastic. If you’re not careful, you can choke on anything konjac, especially the longer/wider pastas, so it’s imperative to chew them up very thoroughly. If it’s just you, adults or older children eating it, then being more careful with chewing isn’t a problem. I wouldn’t let young children, or people with dental problems that keep them from chewing things thoroughly, eat it.

I’ve been using edamame + mung bean pastas instead. They get much closer to the feel of real pasta, and they’re quite low in carbs. Liviva’s edamame + mung bean spaghetti has only 3 more net carbs than shirataki, but a ton more protein and potassium. That’s totally worth the trade off.

[Marthe48]

8. I like the texture

but I know what you mean. I haven't had trouble eating them, and I don't usually share what I make with them My biggest complaint is the cost, so I get a 6 pack and dole it out.

[Jilly_in_VA]

12. That texture

would make them a no go, then, for me, with my esophageal problems. Thanks for telling me before I went and bought them.

[Goonch]

3. Tried them - once....

Tasteless - look like they taste: translucent.
My go-to pasta:

[Marthe48]

6. I don't think pasta has much flavor

That could be me. I like the stuff we put on pasta, a lot!

[ReluctanceTango]

9. Well, that pasta works if you're

*Not diabetic

*Don’t have celiac’s disease.

*Don’t have wheat allergy

*Don’t have a problem supporting the homophobic asshole running the company:

“I would never do a commercial with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect, but because we don’t agree with them,” [Guido] Barilla said on Italy’s best-known radio talk show. If gay customers didn’t like that, they could go buy another brand of pasta, he said. Barilla, who together with his three siblings owns 85 percent of the company’s shares and holds an individual stake worth about $1.1 billion, extolled the values of the “classic family” that the brand targeted. The chairman, who turned 60 last year and has five children, further clarified that he opposed adoption by gay parents.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-05-07/barilla-pasta-s-turnaround-from-homophobia-to-national-pride

And while the company itself has done a great deal to clean up its image with the gay community since then, they still have the same homophobic jerk running the company, and I don’t believe for one second that he’s changed his stripes any. He’s doing the bare minimum of window-dressing, nothing more.

Will never buy Barilla anything again as long as he’s there. Go with De Cecco for a pasta that’s just as good.

Or, if you’re in Texas, Central Market pasta, available at HEB as well, is better still. Their blue bag bronze-cut pasta is just a hair below fresh homemade pasta in taste and quality. It’s that good. My favorite in the line:

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/central-market-organic-trecce-bronze-cut-pasta-17-6-oz/4225529

Unfortunately, I’m diabetic, so I have to do without it or alter an entire day’s menu to have it.

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. Haven't tried them

I prefer the brown rice pasta over all others---and trust me, I've tried most of them over the time I was on a gluten-free diet. The black bean spaghetti both looked and tasted hideous. Chickpea pasta foams all over the place while cooking, no matter ho far you dial down the temperature, and makes a horrible mess. The lentil macaronis are okay but I haven't seen a spaghetti. I'm not doing keto so Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti is our go-to, with Jovial as a second choice, although Walmart makes an acceptable variety. Walmart does make really good brown rice elbow macaroni though.

I'll have to look for the shirataki noodles the next time I'm in the local co-op grocery. I need to go in for CBD oil next week anyway.

[Marthe48]

5. I put myself on a lower carb diet

in Oct 2019. I wanted to get my blood sugar down, and the dr. rec. wasn't helping me. My blood sugar is down about 50 points on average, and I've lost about 60 lbs. I'm not being as strict, but still avoiding most processed foods. My daughter told me about these noodles, and I was happy to have them

Thank you for the tips on the other kinds of pasta. Sounds like you had some real adventures

[ReluctanceTango]

10. Brown rice pasta is even more of a no-go

Than wheat pasta for diabetics and others on a low-carb diet. Most standard pastas have about 38 net carbs. Brown rice usually has 42.

There is a lot of crossover between carb-conscious eaters and gluten-free, though.

We’re the reason why shirataki, soy, and bean pastas have taken off in recent years. Same with the vegetable noodles made from hearts of palm, zucchini and spaghetti squash. Most of those are all low-carb.

For what it’s worth, I’m a big fan of a simple zoodle Alfredo (vegan Parmesan, butter, garlic, pepper). Total yum. That’s a quick lunch I make often.

No, I’m not a vegan, but allergic to all dairy except butter and very small amounts of Parmesan. No, it’s not the lactose (although that doesn’t help), but some of the enzymes exclusive to dairy. Most annoying. I kept an allergist busy for years pinning down everything that was making me sick.

[Jilly_in_VA]

13. Brown rice pasta

has a lower glycemic index than regular pasta, so safer for diabetics in moderation, which is why we eat it and more brown than white rice, or Martin Yan's "house rice", which is half and half and works better for fried rice. We recently discovered Seeds of Change brand brown rice and quinoa blend that is amazing. I'm not a real fan of quinoa because of the texture, but this stuff is great. It comes in a packet that you microwave, and one packet is good for two of us for a "busy night" rice bowl of veggies and whatever protein happens to be on hand. Costco is selling small cases of the stuff and I hope they never stop! (They also make a quasi-tabbouleh with quinoa in the summer on occasion that is really good)

[markie]

7. Glucomannan powder

I use the powder as a supplement... you can easily make the noodles... here is one recipe but there are many out there

[ReluctanceTango]

11. Yep. That's the konjac binder.

NT