Shirataki Noodle and Winter Vegetable Extravaganza

I wanted to make a low point dinner since I had overindulged earlier today. This was a perfect opportunity to try the Shirataki noodles, rutabaga and parsnips that I bought and have been working up the nerve to try.

I have not had rutabaga since I was little and my mom put it in a stew. I’ve never had parsnips. The rutabaga was round with a waxy looking skin that I pared off before chopping it. The parsnips looked like white carrots.

After peeling and chopping the veggies, I tossed them with olive oil, garlic salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.

I spread them on parchment paper on a baking sheet and baked them at 475. While they were cooking I started the noodles.

I read about the noodles on Hungry Girl's Website.  Shirataki noodles are made from tofu; they are a very low calorie pasta substitute at a teeny 20 calories per serving. Apparently they have an odd taste if not prepared properly, so you are supposed to rinse, rinse, rinse them, and rinse them some more, then dry them prior to using in the dish you are preparing. So I rinsed. Alot.

Then I boiled them briefly before rinsing them again. Meanwhile I sautéed some mushrooms in olive oil pam and added a cup of vodka sauce to the mushrooms to heat.

At this point the veggies were not quite done yet, so I set the oven on broil to wrap things up. By the time I plated the noodles and sauce the vegetables were done. I’m guessing they took half an hour to cook but you might allow for more time.

Both vegetables were similar to potatoes. I loved the parsnips. They were mild and a little sweet. The rutabaga had a little bit of an earthy taste but wasn’t bad. The noodles were fine. A little rubbery but no more so than al dente pasta. There seemed to be a little bit of a different taste to the noodle dish to me, but maybe it was just that those mushrooms had been in the fridge a little longer than they should have been! It’s weird to have eaten a serving of pasta and not have that carby-feeling afterward.

So after I broke the point bank earlier today, I still managed to make a filling and nutritious dinner; the only significant points were from the vodka sauce and the olive oil on the vetables. A salad would have been nice but I am so full, I don’t think I could have eaten one. All in all, not bad for a “save the points” meal.  I'm guessing the only one of the three new foods I would buy again would be the parsnips.