Imagine a noodle that’s soy free, wheat free, gluten free, grain free, and egg free that contains no fat, no net carbs, and no calories. Now imagine that this same noodle promotes satiety, delays hunger, modulates glucose and insulin surges, keeps you regular, reduces inflammation, feeds the friendly flora in your intestines, binds with excess cholesterol and carries it out of your body, enhances immunity, and tastes great.

More benefits
The key ingredient in No Oodles™ has also been shown to be helpful in treating obesity, constipation, type II diabetes, elevated cholesterol, hemorrhoids, and diverticulitis, and to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. Eating noodles just got healthier!

A dream come cooking
You’re not dreaming! These noodles are for real. They’re called No Oodles™ and they’re rich in glucomannan, nature’s richest source of soluble fiber, derived from a Japanese yam-like vegetable called Konjac root. It’s the glucomannan flour that is responsible for the long list of health benefits mentioned above.

Forget the fads
Traditionally known as Glucomannan noodles, Shiritaki noodles, or konnyaku noodles in China and Japan, these noodles are becoming popular in the U.S. They’re usually thin, chewy, translucent, at times even gelatinous. On their own, they have almost no flavor, which is one of the reasons they’re so great. Like a chameleon, they soak up the flavor of whatever you combine them with, from soups and salads to sautéed vegetables and stir fries, and from sauces to marinades.

Texture
While their texture might seem a bit unusual, even rubbery or gelatinous, right from the package, a thorough rinsing following by drying with paper towel or a clean dish towel, and “dry frying” in a skillet (technique to follow) will evaporate excess moisture and give them a more traditional texture.

Nutrition facts
No Oodles™ are made from filtered water, yam flour, and lime juice (the lime acts as a preservative in the package).Each 8-ounce, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat package of No Oodles provides 5 grams of soluble fiber, zero calories, and zero net carbs. While that might not sound like a lot of fiber, the type of fiber they contain makes them stand out from other foods in the effect they have on digestion, satiety, and health. The package says that it contains 5 (1.6 ounce servings). I usually consider one package to be one generous or two modest servings.

Not all shiritaki noodles are the same
No Oodles differ slightly from other brands or shiritaki and glucommanan noodles. I give No Oodles a high rating for their pleasing texture. No oodles are a trademarked product made exclusively from
glucomannan flour. Some companies add tofu and other ingredients you’ll want to be aware of.

How to prepare No Oodles™
Cut open the package (for safety, use kitchen shears rather than a knife), pour into a colander, rinse for one or two minutes, and drain. If desired, snip or cut to the desired length. I leave them long for serving with red sauce and meatballs.

When you first open the package, you’ll be greeted with an unfamiliar smells. The noodles aren’t bad (as in spoiled). The strong odor comes from the lime ingredient that helps preserve the noodles in water. It will disappear once you rinse and dry the noodles.

For best results, pat the noodles dry with a clean towel, then “dry fry” them by placing them in a non-stick skillet (get a green pan if you want non-stick) or use a hot stainless steel skillet (this is what I do). Warm the noodles over medium heat, stirring them until all of the liquid evaporates. You’ll hear a slight squeaking noise. Cooking chop sticks work particularly well for dry frying (they’re longer than regular chop sticks and tied together at the top with a string). It only takes a few minutes to dry fry and it improves the flavor and texture and helps the noodles absorb the foods you toss or top them with.

Once dry, top or toss the noodles with your favorite sauce, with sautéed or stir fried vegetables, or with grilled or stir fried chicken, fish, or meat and vegetables. For a cold salad, coat No Oodles™ with a marinade or salad dressing and refrigerate for at least one hour or all day or overnight. Alternatively, you can add the plain noodles to a soup or sauce and simmer until the flavors meld.

My favorite ways to serve No Oodles
Once I hit my favorites, I found myself repeating them with slight variations.

I enjoyed the shiritaki noodles

• in red sauce with meatballs
• in Bolognese sauce (a red sauce made with ground beef or turkey; pork and bison also work)
• topped with dairy-free Practically Paleo Pesto (recipe from The Garden of Eating)
• in a salad with thinly sliced romaine, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced cucumber, minced scallions, diced avocado, carrot match sticks, thinly sliced sushi ginger pickles, and a garlic, ginger, wheat-free tamari, fish sauce, and olive oil dressing
• tossed in Hot & Sour Soup with scallions and quick cooking Pacific Wakame
• with curried vegetables and chicken breast strips in a coconut milk sauce

Where to find No Oodles
Look for them in the refrigerator cases (near the tofu, tempeh, miso, and other Asian foods) of some grocery, specialty, and natural foods stores. The company’s web site lists 35 retail partners, such as Whole Foods, Wegmans, Fruitful Yield, Garden Fresh Market, Jungle Jims, Top Market, and Piggly Wiggly, among others.

Some restaurant chain serve No Oodles. No Oodle restaurant partners include The Great Excape, Wild Fish, Palazzio, Zed 451, Ina’s and Pompei. I didn’t recognize any of these from the Phoenix metro area.

To order No Oodles Angel hair pasta, you can go to their web site.

You can find recipes for using No Oodles on their web site: http://www.nooodle.com/recipes/