Shirataki Pasta

This looks fabulous doesn't it?! Doesn't even look like "diet" food, but it sure is.

"R" and I went to do a little shopping at Mitsuawa market today, it is my favorite Japanese grocery store.

Among other things, I found some beautiful scallops, I can eat them this week then no more for a few weeks due to the sodium content.
 

I also picked up a few packages of Shirataki pasta- it's made from tofu and yam flour. If you follow Hungry Girl, you read about this years ago, it's actually available at almost any grocery store, in the refrigerator section. I tried it then and didn't care for it, but after tonight I have decided it had to have been my method of preparation that failed me previously.

It has a gelatinous texture, so it is crucial to prepare it correctly so that is almost eliminated. The pasta comes in water, drain it and rinse it very well, using tongs or your hands to clean it all off. Then boil it for 3 minutes and drain well again.

Now this is the most important part, lay it out on paper towels then dab it with more towels to get it as dry as possible.  Now let it sit till you plan to toss it in your dish.

I heated a cast iron skillet till very hot, then sprayed it very quickly with olive oil cooking spray. Salt and pepper on the scallops, and seared them on each side for 2 minutes.

I added 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (it can give sauces a meaty, rich flavor if used sparingly), it quickly cooked off, and I removed the scallops from the pan. I then added 5 ounces diced up fresh tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped green onion, 2 Tablespoons julienned basil, a dash red pepper flakes and let it cook a couple minutes, then added salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar.

Simmer a few minutes longer, then add 1/4 cup chicken broth. Add the pasta to the sauce, stir and warm a minute then add the scallops back in, stir.
Serve in a bowl with a few shreds of fresh basil on top.

 Now the good part-  An entire package of shirataki pasta is supposed to serve 2, I ate all of it. The whole package has the following nutritional breakdown:

Calories 40
Carbs 6 grams
Fiber 4 grams

Fat 1/2 gram

Protein 2 grams

Sodium 30 grams

So, when you add the other ingredients to this, the total breakdown was:

6 ounces (uncooked weight) scallops

5 ounces tomato

1/4 cup green onions

2 Tbls Basil

1 Tbls + 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 package shirataki noodles

258 calories

16.6 grams carbs (tomatoes have a lot)

28 grams protein

3 grams fat

To put this into perspective, if you were to use 2 ounces dried pasta (the recommended serving on the box, that's 1/8 of a box), instead of the shirataki noodles,  the breakdwon would look like this:

418 calories

51.6 grams carbs

33 grams protein

3.5 grams fat

That's a HUGE difference, I rarely ever eat a meal with that many calories, and the only meal I eat with that many carbs is immediately following a heavy training session.

I am making turkey meatballs next and shall try a meat based broth with just a few tomatoes and will let you know how it is!