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.