Saturday, January 23, 2010

Nutty Noodle Goodness

I hope everyone is having a great weekend, so far! It's rainy and dreary here in the ol' C-bus (aka, Columbus). I've got a busy day of dietary consults and errands, then tonight we are looking for houses!

Updates Since Last Time

- Last night my friend Annie was in town with her new boyfriend. It was a great excuse to go out on the town with all of my high school friends! We had a lot of fun.

- I was reunited with Quinoa after I stole some from my mom's cabinets (she knew I was stealing it...). I hadn't had it in a long time and I wanted to see if Nick would eat it. Well, he did, and it's our new staple food now. I can't eat it alone (it tastes bland), but with other ingredients it's perfect.

New Dinner
Dinner #6 Nutty Noodles

Ingredients
(serves 2)

2 cups cooked pasta
6 ounces cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup crunchy Smart Balance peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
1 t Smart Balance canola oil

Possible Modifications
  • Use any type of noodle (fettuccini, linguini, spaghetti, etc.)
  • Use any type of oil you choose, such as sesame or peanut oil
  • Use low sodium soy sauce
  • Add extra vegetables to increase the bulk, and the nutrition
  • Omit the chicken, or use another protein, such as tofu, turkey, or beef

Instructions
Follow the simple directions on the pasta bag/box, or if you are using regular pasta, go ahead and cook it as usual (bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, add a dash of salt, add pasta, cook and stir for 8-10 minutes, depending on how you like your pasta cooked.


In a small saucepan, add the peanut butter, soy sauce, oil, and pre-cooked chicken. Cook on low heat, stirring continuously. Once the peanut butter has just about finished melting, add the noodles. Continue stirring until the noodles are evening coated with the sauce. Cook until everything is evenly heated (about 4-5 minutes), while continuing to stir. Last step, put on a plate!

My Rating: 10 out of 10
This was one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. I wanted more! The Pasta Slim could have easily been confused for real (in my opinion)

Nick's Rating: 7 out of 10
He knew it was fake, so I know that effected his opinion. However he did enjoy it! He'll eat anything with peanut butter

Nutrition Facts

**Using an average pasta **

Notice the problem? HOLY SODIUM!! I would definitely suggest purchasing low sodium soy sauce. The rest of the sodium in this dish was from the peanut butter, which was just a general brand I used in the Calorie-Count database, but I used Smart Balance all natural, which is lower sodium. Most natural peanut butters are not going to be as high in sodium.

Coming Up
Stay tuned for my next post, which will include a "Nutrition TidBit" about whole grains, and also some new food creations. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!!

45 comments :

  1. Those are some crazy long noodles ya got there, Gina!! That's so great that they sent you a sample and you found some noodles that you're stomach can handle.

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  2. I really want to try this dish! I have had noodles like that in the past, but they were really fishy tasting. I'll have to try this brand soon!

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  3. Sounds like a good alternative to pasta, especially for people who can't eat wheat. And I LOVE a nutty sauce! Sounds great. I make a similar sauce with almond butter (since I can't eat peanut butter).

    Happy Weekend, Gina!

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  4. I'm soooo glad to know that you liked those noodles... I found them the best out there, no funny smell and best texture! :D
    I need to get some of those too.!
    happy weekend! :)

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  5. I'm soooo glad to know that you liked those noodles... I found them the best out there, no funny smell and best texture! :D
    I need to get some of those too.!
    happy weekend! :)

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  6. I need to try these noodles. I've tried the Tofu Shiratake and wasn't a huge fan. They were a little spongy to me. These sound better though.

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  7. This pasta looks awesome! Thanks so much for the post--I'm super excited to try it now!!! Hope you're having a FABULOUS weekend!

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  8. The pasta looks awesome and way lower on the calories. I wish I could get some here. Sometimes I hate being in the middle of no where...technically the middle of an ocean. I bought my friend some PB loco for Christmas in the curry flavor or something like that and I know she did it on chicken. I like the idea of using the PB.

    As for your comment on my blog...I did understand what you were saying and I am excited to see how you faired with your adventures in from scratch. My bread bowls could have been better in functionality but as for taste we had no complaints.

    Hope the house hunting went well.

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  9. I want to try Pasta Slim. Sounds interesting to me. And I love the recipe you made with it, yum!

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  10. oh I've never heard of pasta slim before -I'm loving seeing all the new foods you're making!!

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  11. I love quinoa, and that does have a substantial amount of protein. I've seen shirataki noodles, but never remembering them having much fiber. These sound great!

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  12. I've never heard of that pasta, but I'm going to look for it at Whole Foods today! Dinner looks delicious! I wish you all the luck in house-hunting today! : ) SO EXCITING!

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  13. I like pasta - good old regualar pasta. You are getting some good experimentation though!

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  14. Oh those look really interesting! Where did you find them? I looked at the site but can't find a "locations" section. They're not slimy like Shiratke noodles are they?

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  15. i feel lik ethos enoodles would taste really good! i want to try :)

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  16. Its sooo funny.. we were shopping this morning and I took note that our co-op just started carrying these pasta slim noodles. I wanted to get em but Seth thought they looked nasty.. I dunno.. I think Im gonna go back..lol Your dish looks really really delish!!

    THanks for the review :)

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  17. wow dude 10/10 is excellent like super impressive! that means its uh perfect which makes it ultra delicious which means i'd like you to make it for me. thank you very much.

    haha have a fun weekend girrrllll

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  18. AMAZING meal there girl!!! You are making some great stuff!!

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  19. Thanks for the review! I tried Shiritaki noodles a few weeks ago, and was NOT impressed, but your dish looks delicious! Maybe I'll have to give these noodles a go!

    Good luck house hunting!!!

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  20. Thanks for the heads up about this. I have come to like Shirataki noodles and I bet I would like these too. I had some rice pasta tonight and it was just okay. It's gummier than I like. But I will write to the folks at Pasta Slim, like you suggested, and see if I can sample them too.

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  21. This sounds awesome! I've had shirataki but yeah, they're a little stinky and chewy. Re: the length, I usually give them a few snips with scissors before boiling so they're shorter once I go to do something with them. Have you had the regular tofu shirataki noodles? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on comparison.

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  22. Wow I definitely think that pasta slim looks delicious! Thanks for introducing us to it. I am kind of like Nick, I'll eat anything with peanut butter!

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  23. I love peanut noodles! SO YUMMY! The pasta slim looks good. What a strange name though...

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  24. I really want to try that recipe! Gotta try those noodles too. Congrats on house hunting with your ...I almost said hubby...err significant other. :)

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  25. hmm are those like the shitaki noodles?! those are good-but kind of .. gummy? haha. sounds like a great meal tho!!
    glad you had fun with the girls love!

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  26. I love the color of that spinach pasta! It looks absolutely delicious. I love nutty sauces too. YUM1

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  27. I've never tried pasta slim before, but it sounds really good (even if the noodles are way too long). Glad you and Nick enjoyed the meal.

    So exciting that you're looking for a house! I miss the Cbus area a lot, but I heard that Nationwide Children's might be hiring? :-)

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  28. That's interesting.. I was at the grocery store yesterday looking for quinoa pasta.. the only kind they had was a mix of quinoa and corn flour which I don't do corn. I have decided that we should just make our own pasta at home so it would be 100% Quinoa flour.

    I will have to check out this pasta. Thanks for your review.

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  29. cool noodles for Celiacs congrats on the house hunting

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  30. I'll definitely try this recipe! I tried making peanut sauce from the recipe on the peanut butter jar once and it came out awful! I need to try again because I love ordering it in restaurants!

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  31. Hi Gina!! It's amazing the connections in the blogworld and I think it's wonderful :) maybe they'll send me a free sample since I am a pasta fanatic lol peanutty noodles are so good!! I like pb for any meal. Have fun house searching!! thanks for all your support :)

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  32. Wow those noodles look so good! I saw some similar noodles in the supermarket and wanted to give them a try, I think I will now.

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  33. I personally really like the Shiratki noodles so I know I would like these too. That peanut sauce looks fabulous...something I will without a doubt be trying ASAP! I eat GF too...have you tried any GF pastas? My favorite brand is Tinkyada. It is really good!

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  34. Holy sodium was right! Good suggestions though on how to reduce the sodium content. I've been watching my sodium intake for a few weeks and it's crazy how it seems to hide everywhere!

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  35. Love the recipe - I'm always on the lookout for new products to try. I need to keep my eyes peeled for that pasta.

    It is so nice to catch-up with old friends isn't it!?!

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  36. Those "Pasta Slim" noodles sound great! They look like the real thing too. I'm also thinking that your BF's opinion was influenced by him knowing that they weren't "real" pasta. The people in my family do the same thing if I tell them something is vegan or whatever.

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  37. Those recipe looks delish! I love those types of sauces but normally they have lots of ingredients so I don't end up trying them out.
    Hope the house hunting went well!

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  38. i love making my own peanut sauces! i'm undecided on the noodles though...i keep buying them but i don't LOVE them. hopefully they come to a store near you soon! they are in the same area where you can find wonton wrappers in my grocery store.

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  39. I've had a package of the Spinach variety in my fridge for a while. This recipe looks both easy & delicious.. I think I have a winner!

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  40. YUM! they look so good! they remind me of tofu shiritaki noodles! (hwo they look) have you tried carba nada pasta?? its less carbs and higher protein adn fiber, I am not sure about the wheat content btu they really do taste like the real thing!

    thanks fro the recipe!!

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  41. i think that would be awesome to try!!!! where did you find it??

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  42. I'm so excited for you that you found a Gina-friendly pasta! Hooray! Love all the fiber in this brand, too! I'll definitely look for it in the stores!

    Your homemade peanut sauce looks SO yummy!! I'm super impressed!

    Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words about my hip injury... You completely lifted my spirits!

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  43. hi, I am new to your blog and just wanted to know where you bought these noodles. Whole foods? I am very interested in buying these!They look amazing, and I love pasta! Thanks!!

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