I think like most food/ fitness bloggers out there I'm a bit crazy when it comes to trying new things. Might be a bit of an addiction that leads me to having very strange food items all over the house. My grandparents were cleaning out one of the cabinets and I remembered that I hid some goodies in there :P There were some Mayacoba Beans left, some of my Himalayan Red Rice, rice noodles, egg noodles, sweet potato noodles, and Mung Bean Noodles. Yup... mung bean noodles... I bought them with my mom at a Chinese Food Store about a year ago and completely forgot about it...
Mung Bean Noodles are sometimes referred to as Cellophane Noodles and are clear in colour. They are kind of like tofu in the sense that they are tasteless but can easily absorb flavours from other foods. Although you might think that mung bean noodles would be high in protein, they're not. Basically, they're made out of the starch of mung beans and hence are pure carbs. They barely have any vitamins, fat, or protein. However, they are very low calorie and would be great for people who are watching their weight.
Cooking these little guys consists of boiling some water and pouring it over the noodles. Keep the noodles in that hot water for 15 minutes and they'll be done. Easy peasy...As you would expect they go with everything that is very high on in flavour and is saucy. I've tried pouring my grandma's vegetable ragu all over them and it was pretty good. Also, I've put split pea soup all over them which wasn't so great :P Too bad I ate all of my mung bean noodles but I can imagine them being great in this recipe instead of regular noodles.
Some other cool things I've tried over the past month have been different milks. Let me tell you, I'm in love with quinoa & oat milk by Vitasoy. I've tried the plain kind and the fortified kind with vanilla flavour. Vanilla was my fav of course, but I still wish they made the chocolate variety :P Nutrient wise it's 130 calories per cup and about 4g of protein. That aside I thought it was delicious and rich. I wouldn't recommend it for tea and coffee but do drink it the way it is. Also, make sure to shake it very well because there's a lot of solid that settles on the bottom.
Another new product I've found at Whole Foods is Almond Breeze Coconut Almond Milk. Personally, I'm not a fan of almond milk. It's bland in my opinion... When you add coconut though it's a completely different story. It's creamy, delicious and is excellent for tea and coffee. Nutrition wise it's pretty low in calories (about 65 calories per cup) and void of nutrients apart from the fortification. Again, great if you're watching your weight.
What cool new things have you tried lately?
THERE IS SO MUCH SNOW OUT THERE! man!
ReplyDeletehahaha happy you got the day off though!
I've had those noodles before!! God knows I didn't cook them myself though. lol!
There is way too much snow! Guess what I did on my day off :P Make banana oatmeal and go for a treadmill run... This is what happens when you're a healthy living blogger lol!
DeleteI've had cellophane noodles in pho before- so good!!!!!!!!!!
Those noodles look sticky, like sticky rice which I am a big fan of. My new find was peanut butter coconut spread. I mix it into stir fry veggies with tofu, so easy, fast, healthy and delicious.
ReplyDeletePeanut butter coconut spread- I'm drooling right now :P That would be an amazing marinade for tofu!
DeleteInteresting noodle find! I have a bag of kelp noodles in my fridge that I'm dying to try out. I'll have to let you know what I think!
ReplyDeleteOooh kelp noodles. That sounds uber cool and PLEASE do let me know what they're like :P
DeleteOh my gosh - I've been trying to find kelp noodles for like a year!! Eat them now or send them to me. :)
DeleteLol! Where would you find kelp noodles? At a chinese store or a health foods store?
DeleteI tried the Earth Balance cheddar popcorn (vegan) this week and it's so yummy. I'm working on self control by NOT eating the whole bag in one sitting. :)
ReplyDeleteOooh! I LOVE popcorn and the fact that if you don't pour too much butter & salt it can actually be pretty healthy :) I used to eat quite a bit of popcorn in my "junk food university years". I was planning to go on a Whole Foods expedition tomorrow so I just might scout for these guys.
DeletePS: caramel popcorn- I tried some at Whole Foods about a week ago and kept returning to that sample bag. So goood!
So funny... I just had mung bean noodles the other night AND tried that chocolate coconut milk! In fact tomorrow I'm going to use the coconut milk to make a recovery protein smoothie after my long run to try out. I always tell my kids that it's important to be open to trying things, then if they don't like it they don't have to have it again. It cracked me up when I heard my 4 yr old explaining this to one of her friends :)
ReplyDeleteIt's always important to try new things because otherwise you can't find "better" things and improve. Plus it just makes life so much fun :P
DeleteGreat blog! That quinoa milk looks great:)
ReplyDeleteThe quinoa & oat milk is delicious :) Do give it a try and thanx for stopping by :)
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