Super Low Carb Noodles by CHANG'S // Product Review
I saw these years ago and dismissed them as a fad, or a product which can't possibly taste good. Turns out I was wrong and I wish I hadn't been so quick to dismiss these Super Low Carb Noodles.
As you might have seen on our Instagram Stories, there's a place in Sutherland, Sydney which is a favourite of Jess' and mine that does low-carb Ramen. We probably eat here once a week (not even kidding), it's just that damn good. You can find out a bit more about that in my how to eat low carb at a Japanese restaurant blog I wrote a couple of weeks back.
Anyway, I digress. The noodles that these guys use are made from Konjac, which is sometimes called elephant root. This miraculous root is mostly fibre, basically zero carbs, fat or anything else.
So first up, how do these Super Low Carb Noodles taste?
These aren't made from wheat or rice so if you're expecting them to taste like pasta or udon noodles then you're going to have a bad time. However, keep your expectations in check and you'll actually be pleasantly surprised! They don't really taste like much of anything which is good as it means they can absorb whatever flavour you add them into – after all, who eats plain noodles…? Texture wise they're kind of similar to 2 minute noodles, but softer. This pack has 2 clear pouches each containing the noodles and a liquid which I assume helps preserve the noodles. It does mean that the noodles are a bit slimy at first, but follow the instructions on the packet and rinse them in cold water for 15 seconds and they're much better.Let's take a look at what's in these Super Low Carb Noodles:
The only thing with less ingredients is a bottle of water!Water, Konjac Root extract, Stabiliser (526)Water: Good ? Konjac Root extract: As mentioned before this is from the root of the konjac plant, sometimes called elephant root, sometimes called devils tongue due to the shape of the flower. The extract mentioned is Glucomannan – an incredibly absorbent soluble fibre. This stuff can absorb 50-100 times it's own weight in water. Amazing. Now there's a lot of hoo-haa around the potential health benefits of this for all sorts of things and I'm not going to get into that here. The health benefits which are clear is the fact that if you're eating these instead of pasta or noodles, then you're consuming less carbs, and less calories in total. Stabiliser 526: This is Calcium Hydroxide, a mineral salt which helps the noodles to hold together and not completely dissolve in the water. Calcium Hydroxide is made when you mix Calcium Oxide (lime) with water (Hydro). It's completely safe to eat.