Dieting? Try Shiratake noodles

[TooCute]

I know there are people out there who are on diets, so in case you haven't
heard about them, check out shiratake noodles, which are made from a
thing called konnyaku (it's a sort of potato native to Indonesia). They're
basically no cal, no carb, vegetarian - basically just fiber. No real taste on
their own, but work well in noodle dishes (think pad thai, stir fries, or even
with regular tomato sauce, or in noodle kugel, yum) and they're just super
good for you. Very filling - they sort of expand in your stomach - and
everyone needs more fiber in their diet.

Now that Trader Joe's is open in the city and on Rte 17 (yay)... they carry
them (or should. I haven't actually checked, but other TJ's do. I get mine at
the Jas mart on the UWS on Bway, or at Mitsuwa in NJ down by the river).
You can also get them at asian markets. Just make sure when you buy
them (they come in water) you drain them and then boil them very briefly,
otherwise they have a very very faint odor that's vaguely fishy. Don't be put
off by their appearance (translucent grey with black flecks) - and their
texture is slightly rubbery, but really nothing too bad.

I just had some stirfried with thin sliced beef loins, some veggies, soy sauce,
a splash of sake and a little splenda (instead of sugar). Yum!

Also would be good stir fried with ground meat (beef pork chicken
whatever), steamed japanese eggplant (slice into quarters lengthwise and
steam til soft - I suppose you could do regular eggplant, but you'd have to
be sure to slice it pretty thin so that the steam can get all the bitterness
out), scallions, oyster sauce, chile paste with garlic and fresh basil.

Google shirataki and konnyaku yourself to see!

<img src="http://www.lowcarbeating.com/shirataki.jpg">

[Bulldogcakes]

<p>I'll try them. I'm about 5 minutes from Flushing and have to go food shopping today.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Lumber]

I'll try it. I'll do anything to trim down my fat ass at this point. Thanks for the tip Aya.

[sr71blackbird]

I see these in the&nbsp;Asian market in Westbury on John St.&nbsp; I dont know if my fears are unfounded, but I have been scared to eat food that I know was made overseas, because I have it in my head that their sanitary or FDA standards are not the same as ours. Am I incorrect?&nbsp; When I read the ingrediant labels on products like these (I havent look at this product in particular), I sometimes get the feeling that because of the extremely poor English, that they are not &quot;serious&quot;.&nbsp; Again, I may be way off base, but its my own fear.

[TooCute]

Aren't you the same on that filters then boils all their water - yeah maybe
they're not for you.

I mean, you always hear about all those Japanese getting deathly ill from
eating their food.

[Bulldogcakes]

<p>Japs? Are dose noodles radioactive or somethin? <br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[TooCute]

incidentally I just got some of the "tofu shirataki" noodles made by house-
foods, available (apparently) at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I got mine at
JASmart on the UWS. They're marginally less rubbery (not that the regular
ones are that rubbery) and look more appealing if you're afraid of different
looking things (they just look and have the texture of ramen noodles). I
made mine into a casserole with a can of tuna, a cup of broccoli and some
left over roasted chicken I had. I made a sauce with some cheese, half and
half and sherry. Sprinkled liberally with parmesan and stuck under the
broiler. Would have been good except the noodles release a lot of water
when cooked. Best bet I think would be to drain them and then give them a
quick saute alone in a pan to release the water, and then drain again. But
still, for 20 calories, .5 grams of fat and 1 carbohydrate, I'm not complaining
at all (that's for the tofu version. The non tofu version has no calories and
no carbs and no fat).

If anyone tries them let me know what you think - and if you come up with
any good recipes.

Tomorrow night I think I'm going to have some with sauteed seafood
(shrimp, scallops and squid), bean sprouts, eggs, chili, ground peanuts and a
sauce of equal parts fish sauce, vinegar and splenda (basically, pad thai), and
on the side I'll have some sauteed string beans with chili paste with garlic.

As you might be able to tell, I've been thinking about food a lot recently
because though I've been active this summer, I sort of stopped really
working out (rock climbing too much - no aerobic exercise, just anaerobic)
so i've lost muscle and gained fat and don't fit into my clothes. Atkins
worked once to lose all the fat and build muscle, so I'm doing it hard core
again.

[torker]

<p>Even better:</p><p><img height="161" src="http://mojix.org/photo/20051022_maruchan.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></p>

[FUNKMAN]

<p><strong><font size="1">Dieting? Try Shiratake noodles</font></strong> </p><p>probably be a good combo with shitake mushrooms</p>

[TooCute]

<strong>torker</strong> wrote:<br><p>Even better:</
p><p><img height="161" src="http://mojix.org/photo/
20051022_maruchan.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></p><p></
p>

Calories 290 Calories from Fat 110<br>
% Daily Value *<br>
Total Fat 12g 18%<br>
Saturated Fat 6g 30%<br>
Cholesterol 0mg 0%<br>
Sodium 1,380mg 58%<br>
Total Carbohydrate 37g 12%<br>
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%<br>
Sugars 2g<br>
Protein 6g 12%<br>


Vs.


<img>http://www.house-foods.com/our_products/popup/
other_shirataki_3.html</img>

yeah even better

[TooCute]

damn you safari and your inability to post pics.
i'm too afraid of change to switch to camino or firefox. safari's so pretty.

[Dudeman]

<p>&nbsp;</p><strong>TooCute</strong> wrote:<br />Aren't you the same on that filters then boils all their water - yeah maybe
they're not for you.

I mean, you always hear about all those Japanese getting deathly ill from
eating their food.<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>the incidence of gastric cancer is 78X more in Japan vs. the US.&nbsp; just saying....<br /></p><blockquote /><p>&nbsp;</p>

[angelinad128]

Thanks Too Cute I will check this out. I was at TJ's on 14th St. on Friday and didn't see it but I have an Asian market 2 blocks from me so I will definatley make a point to look for them and try them as a stirfry.

[sr71blackbird]

<strong>TooCute</strong> wrote:<br />Aren't you the same on that filters then boils all their water - yeah maybe they're not for you. I mean, you always hear about all those Japanese getting deathly ill from eating their food. <p>How do you explain a fishy smell from yam noodles packed in water?<br /><br />I said it twice in my post about possibly being off base,&nbsp;but I am reasonably sure most people from around here are as apprehensive at trying something &quot;foreign&quot; as I am.&nbsp; <br />This does not mean&nbsp;they are&nbsp;bad!&nbsp; <img height="15" src="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/images/topicicons/statement.gif" width="15" border="0" />&nbsp;Calm down.<br />I am just saying I have fears about quality control with foreign food products, and although&nbsp;my fears&nbsp;may seam unrealistic to you (it is a cultural thing), I get a little scared at the prospect.&nbsp; <br />They certainly sound appealing to me though!&nbsp; Who wouldnt want all the fiber and lack of calories and fats??&nbsp; Sounds like its too good to be true!&nbsp; I love Trader Joes and I never have been dissapointed, so I would rather get mine from them than from a market that did not have good labelling.</p>

[FUNKMAN]

<strong>sr71blackbird</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>TooCute</strong> wrote:<br />Aren't you the same on that filters then boils all their water - yeah maybe they're not for you. I mean, you always hear about all those Japanese getting deathly ill from eating their food. <p>How do you explain a fishy smell from yam noodles packed in water?<br /><br />I said it twice in my post about possibly being off base,&nbsp;but I am reasonably sure most people from around here are as apprehensive at trying something &quot;foreign&quot; as I am.&nbsp; <br />This does not mean&nbsp;they are&nbsp;bad!&nbsp; <img height="15" src="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/images/topicicons/statement.gif" width="15" border="0" />&nbsp;Calm down.<br />I am just saying I have fears about quality control with foreign food products, and although&nbsp;my fears&nbsp;may seam unrealistic to you (it is a cultural thing), I get a little scared at the prospect.&nbsp; <br />They certainly sound appealing to me though!&nbsp; Who wouldnt want all the fiber and lack of calories and fats??&nbsp; Sounds like its too good to be true!&nbsp; I love Trader Joes and I never have been dissapointed, so I would rather get mine from them than from a market that did not have good labelling.</p><p>not trying to be negative here at all. blackbird's post just reminded me of something recent that has happened and still happens to the husband of a close friend of my wife's</p><p>he is a middle-eastern man and approx one month ago him and some of his friends went to a middle-eastern restaurant and had a delicacy that was raw liver(not sure which animal)&nbsp; they all got very sick but this guy now has paralysis in his legs and arms. he is at the Kessler Rehab Center in West Orange and has gained some mobility back but needs someone to help feed him but he cannot walk.</p><p>i don't know the full diagnosis and long term outlook but it actually scares the shit&nbsp; out of me and it hurts because he is really a nice guy. it's a beautiful family but have had some tough luck, his wife which is basically my wife's best friend had both breasts removed from cancer and last week went in for a hysterectomy being they found a cyst. they have three beautiful kids </p><p>you never know!</p>

[TooCute]

Fishy smell on the ones that are flavored with seaweed... (with the black
specks)


And honestly, I'd probably feel better with the quality control in Japan than I
do with the quality control here. Ever read Fast Food Nation? That's just the
tip of the iceberg. Shudder.

[sr71blackbird]

As long as we are on the same page and realise it is not personal.&nbsp; They <strong>do</strong> sound interesting to me!&nbsp; I am about to go on a Zone diet and they sound really good!&nbsp; Thanks.

[TooCute]

You can't take ANYTHING personally on the internet, or at least you
shouldn't.

Stomach cancer, incidentally, is probably higher in Japan because they eat a
lot more foods that are smoked/dried/pickled/salted than we do here.
Nothing to do with sanitation.

And yes, both of my grandparents (the Japanese ones) have had stomach/
colon cancer. They're also both still alive (knock on wood). They're tough!

[samnyc]

I had about 6 oz for breakfast today mixed with St Dalfour blueberry jam and cinnamon and enjoyed it.&nbsp; Will see how I feel today and might try a different combination tomorrow.

[TooCute]

Just watch out - it IS basically all fiber, so if your body's not used to that (ie
you're not eating a lot of fiber already), it might take a little bit of ummmm
adjusting...

[sr71blackbird]

Does this mean they make you shit?

[FUNKMAN]

<strong>sr71blackbird</strong> wrote:<br />Does this mean they make you shit? <p>after eating shiratake you takeashite</p>

[TooCute]

I think they might help you shit, yes. I have never heard of them giving
anyone the shits but I figured I'd put it out there as a warning just because
I know they're all fiber.

I'm having some for lunch today.