Shirataki Spaghetti - Yum or Yuck?

The ongoing search for a pasta substitute continues. This review...pasta made from konjac root. "Konjac root" you ask "what the heck is that?" Also known as Shirataki noodles, they are made from the konjac yam, grown mainly in Japan and are high in the water-soluble fiber called glucomannan. I went searching at my local grocery story and found it in the refrigerated section in the organic/health food section. This version comes in a plastic bag, similar to sauerkraut.

The package was reasonably priced at $1.99, you get enough for two servings and comes in spaghetti and linguini shapes. This is the kind without tofu. There are varieties that include the soy product, but decided to keep it straight up. There are very few ingredients and they are all pronounceable: water, konjac flour, chickpea flour, potato starch, calcium hydroxide (used as an acid regulator and firmer, e.g. to make pickles crisp.), reduced iron (used as a food additive to replenish a lack of iron in the body) and folic acid.

Opened the bag and the first thing that hit me was a smell, like sea food. Luckily I had been warned about this and proceeded to rinse the noodles in cold water. They are long and firm at this point, put them in boiling water and cooked them up for about 5 minutes, there is still a bit of the smell while cooking, but not bad, it gets less the more you cook. Drained and put them on a plate, added some marina and parmesan cheese. Verdict - interesting. The noodles have no flavor but the texture is odd, kind of rubbery, similar to an al dente pasta, but more rubbery. Will take a bit of getting used to. It was a big NO from my son. He just couldn't get over the texture. He admitted they didn't taste bad, just how they felt in his mouth.

I've read that there are other ways to cook the noodles, such as sautéing/stir frying them, which I'll probably try at some point. I didn't get that sugar high followed by nausea as I get when eating white and other grain pastas and the nutritional information falls nicely into many diets.

Nutrition Facts:
Per 2/3 cup (113g) serving
Calories: 15
Total fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 0mg
Total carbohydrates: 4g
Dietary fiber: 3g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 1g
Calcium: 10%
Iron: 15%
Folic Acid: 10%

Overall, I give it an ok, not good, but not bad. Will take getting used to, but if I really want some pasta, I can feel guilt free using this product and my stomach won't rebel.

Have you ever used this or a similar product? Share your comments here.

Yummy Gluten Free Banana Bread

I have to admit, I'm not much of a baker. I'm capable of baking a cake for my son's birthday or for one of my parents, but I'll admit - it's out of a box. I like to day dream that if I had more time I would bake cakes and cookies and muffins and send them all into school for my son's class to enjoy and take them to my neighbors and... Then my son hollers, "Mom, when's dinner?" and I'm jolted right back into reality and the fact that baking takes a low priority in my life. So I can't take credit for making this recipe, a friend of mine made it for me, but I can take credit for eating it. :-)

What do you think of when you hear "Gluten Free?" -- tasteless, dry, boring, why bother even eating it...I'm sure there are more. But surprisingly, if you read your ingredients and try new things, there are wonderful products and recipes that are good for you AND taste good. Yes, I said taste good. This recipe falls into that category. With the exception of the sugar, it's healthy too, extremely moist, an all around good recipe. Double bonus, my son loved it and recommended it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...gotta love kids. 
 
Gluten Free Banana Bread
 
2 c gluten-free all-purpose baking flour 
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 c mashed ripe bananas (4-5 medium)
1 c sugar (may also use other sweeteners)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla or vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, bananas, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Transfer to two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

Nutritional Facts

1 slice equals 140 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 35 mg cholesterol, 89 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein.

 

Let me know what you think, if you make any modifications and if your family and friends enjoy.

Protein Pancakes, An Experiment

My kid loves pancakes in the morning, more than waffles, cereal and eggs. He'll eat them with chocolate chips, blueberries but mostly just plain. In the past months we've gone from Bisquick and other instant pancake mixes to gluten free pancake mixes, so I can have a couple from time to time. I'm still experimenting to try and find the one I like best that isn't filled with sugar and other crap. Why switch if you're still going to be putting junk into your body?

One thing my kid doesn't crave is meat. He'll eat it but prefers to gobble down fruits and veggies. Not a bad thing except needing to make sure he gets enough protein in his diet. He likes yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, milk which are all good sources of protein and calcium. But is it enough? So the protein pancake experiment comes into play. Today when making pancakes decided to add chocolate whey protein powder. Sold him on the idea of eating chocolate pancakes.

Mixed up the gluten free mix according to directions and added two scoops of Legion Whey+, an ALL NATURAL whey protein mix. The batter changed to a light brown in color but the consistency remained the same. Heated up the griddle and slapped the batter on. The cooking time was not affected, they turned a nice golden brown when finished.

The verdict (me): I liked the flavor, not too chocolaty, not too sweet, not bitter, consistency was the same, it worked for me. However I don't like sweet pancakes in general and often eat mine w/o syrup. 

The verdict (son): "Mom, what did you put in the pancakes, I thought they were going to be chocolate?" LOL, he was looking for a sweeter version, what kid doesn't? He ate them w/o complaint but asked me not to make them again after we're done with this batch.

Overall, can't consider it a total failure, but it's back to the drawing board on protein pancakes.

Have you made protein pancakes? Were they good or totally stunk? Share your experiences and recipes, would love to hear.

Green Bean Thread - Viable Substitute for Pasta?

Last year I made the decision to go gluten-free or as close to it as possible without being a total nut about it. It was one of the best decisions of my fitness journey. I didn't realize what gluten and processed crap that it's usually paired with was doing to my body. No, I don't have Celiac disease but now know I have a sensitivity to it. For as long as I can remember, after eating breads and pastas my stomach/lower GI was nauseated and bloated and often an extreme fatigue followed, not cool, especially at work or driving.

In my efforts to lose weight I tried South Beach Gluten Solution. A byproduct of this program - the first 4 weeks of the program are gluten free. As the days passed I noticed that I never felt nauseated/bloated after eating a meal and I didn't get extreme fatigue. Not only did I start to lose weight my acid reflux went away and when I say went away I mean that I no longer had to take Nexium every day (nor did I start taking Rolaids/Tums). I had been on this medication for 8 years. In addition, I often had large pimples/sores along my hairline and on my scalp. These altogether disappeared. I was so happy about feeling and looking better, I decided to keep going w/the gluten free life-style.

One of the drawbacks of being gluten-free is pasta or lack there of. Pasta was always quick and easy to make, could be made with veggies, meat, etc. and was a hit with the boy. So the quest to find a viable alternative began. There has been a ton of label reading, a lot of the gluten free alternatives still contain a lot of processed crap, fillers, white rice flour, etc. I've tried a variety of flour based noodles with mediocre results, Konjac root and now Green Bean Thread.

As I was looking in the Asian section of the store seeing if there was another noodle alternative to try I ran across Lungkow Vermicelli (aka - Green Bean Thread). They are dried, small, clear noodles. This brand comes in an 8.8 oz package and has Chinese, English, French, German and Spanish languages on the package (also pictures, LOL). There are two ingredients: green bean and water. I simply boiled some water, put the dried noodles in, cooked for about 4 minutes and strained. The noodles themselves stayed thin and fairly clear, they are long, less sticky than traditional pasta and had no distinct taste. The consistency is the closest thing I've experienced to white pasta so far. I mixed them in with some veggies, meat and olive oil, topped with some parmesan and voila, dinner. My son ate them with no comments or questions, win. And the price...$1.50 for the package, another win. Only down side is the carbs per serving, which may or may not matter to you.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1.76 oz/50 g
Calories: 166
Total Fat: 0 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 9 mg
Total Carb: 43 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 0 g

So if your looking for an alternative to pasta that's gluten free, give Green Bean Thread a try. What have you tried? Share your experiences here.

Green Detox Smoothie - Pleasantly Surprised

How many times have you tried a recipe from a FB post, recipe site, recommendation of a friend or family member all claiming it's the yummiest, best thing you will ever taste? And it ends up being a pile of crap... Well, that's exactly what I expected when I saw this recipe in a Fitness Rx FB post for a Green Detox Smoothie. But, it DID have kale in it (a super food) and if it sucked, I would just plug my nose and gulp it down. Nothing to loose except a bit of time preparing it.

Next shopping trip I picked up the kale, pineapple, bananas - all items I would have picked up anyway. I had vanilla whey protein powder at home so that left the unsweetened coconut milk. Unfortunately the store I went to didn't have unsweetened coconut milk...who would have known there was going to be a run on this product, lol...after considering other products, decided to substitute the coconut milk with unsweetened almond milk, also low in sugar.

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut milk <-- used unsweetened almond milk
2 cups of chopped kale
1 1/2 cups of chopped pineapple <-- used fresh
1 ripe banana
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder (optional)

Throw it all in a blender and blend away. Took a few minutes and a couple of start/stops to chop until smooth. Add some additional water, if you like it with a thinner consistency.

Results - it looks pretty, a nice shade of green overall and you can see the small bits of kale. Now, if you are sensitive to the smell of your food, DON'T smell it, you can tell there are chopped up greens in it. Took a big sip and expected it to taste like it smelled but I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like pineapple mostly with a hint of banana and vanilla, it was sweet, not too much and the only hint of the kale was the bits that were floating around. I have to admit I drank it down fairly quickly, I was hungry and it was good. The downside - be sure to check your teeth for green bits of kale before you head out :-)

The smoothie filled me up without giving me that horrible sugar rush like you would get after drinking down a milkshake and no brain freeze.

Will definitely make this smoothie again trying different fruit combinations with the kale and with frozen fruit varieties to make it a bit colder. What are you your favorite combinations? Be sure to share what you whip up.

Nutrition
Calories: 183 (around 270 if you add protein powder)Protein: 5g (25g if you add the protein powder)
Fat: 7gCarbs: 38g
Fiber: 5g

Goals vs. Resolutions - Which Is Better?

Here we are standing in the doorway of another year. Someone may have pushed you through, you may still be stuck in the middle, half in/half out or you may have taken that step on your own. Whatever the way, 2014 is here to stay. So what are you going to do with the time you've been given? So many choices and they all seem like good ones today, but what about tomorrow or in July?

Where did making resolutions at the beginning of a new year begin? It appears that ancient peoples began this practice as a promise to their god(s) and the tradition has continued through the years and looks how it does today. According to Merriam-Webster the definition of resolution is a promise to yourself that you will make a serious effort to do something that you should do.

How do resolutions differ from goals?

A goal is something that you are trying to do or achieve. The big difference between the two is the word "promise" - a word that has so much heavy "stuff" behind it. Promises when broken, break trust. Trust between two parties or in this case, trust in yourself that you can actually achieve what you said. When life is challenging to begin with, throwing in promises can make something simple become the Mt. Everest of your year. So why do we continue to do it? Why is setting a goal less than stating a resolution (which is usually in a drunken moment with zero forethought)? It shouldn't be, goals are just as important, if not more so, to accomplish what you want in life.

Proposition for you - let's not set resolutions that we haven't given any thought to, let's not set ourselves up for failure this year, instead let's set ourselves up for SUCCESS by setting achievable goals, both long-term and short, easy and challenging. We have time to think about it and set goals that make sense to what we want to accomplish in life, what the end-game is. And if we don't achieve all of them, it's ok, because we tried our hardest and now we know that some goals will be harder to achieve, will require more time or more dedication on our parts, and that IS something we understand and can DO.

So, give it some thought and let us know what your goals are. We can help each other achieve those goals whether it's through recommendations, ideas or a simple, "I know you can do it!" I'll be posting mine through the year and letting you know if I succeed or if I fail.

Let's make 2014 a year that we accomplish our goals, not break our resolutions!