Miracle Noodles mixed with an Avocado Sauce

I first heard about Miracle Noodles a little over a year ago. Back then I was on the extremely strict HCG diet (only 550 calories allowed each day), and I was completely obsessed with finding ways to make low-calorie versions of the meals that I love…which, to be honest, is anything and everything. I love to eat. Anyway, I was reading some bulletin board and stumbled upon a thread about Miracle Noodles, a zero-carb and zero-calorie alternative to pasta.

No calories AND no carbs? Sold!

After doing some extensive research (a.k.a. Google), I learned that Miracle Noodles are made of a healthy natural fiber called Glucomannan, which is derived from the roots of the Konjac plant.  In addition to all of the health benefits of high fiber foods, fiber also keeps you feeling fuller longer, preventing overeating. Yada yada yada….

Honestly, it wasn’t the product descriptions or the reviews I read that convinced me to buy Miracle Noodles. It was the idea of making – and eating – a healthy version of Chicken Pad Thai, one of the dishes that I was missing the most. So I headed to amazon.com and bought a 6-pack of the angel hair noodles.

By the time they came in the mail, I had probably read over 200 reviews on the noodles. The negative ones mostly talked about the fishy smell of the liquid they’re packed in, which for some people seems to be overwhelming. I was expecting to be completely nauseated when I opened up my first package of the noodles, but that wasn’t the case at all! In fact, the “fishy” smell was so faint that I had to actually hold the bag up to my nose in order to smell it.

Nonetheless, the first dish I made using Miracle Noodles was a FAIL. Why? Because the Pad Thai recipe I had settled on turned out to be gross. The thing I’ve since come to learn about the noodles is that they don’t have any flavor when you eat them by themselves. So the success of the meal depends entirely on whatever you choose to mix your noodles with.

I tried again a few days later, this time following a recipe for sesame noodles that I found on the Miracle Noodles website. This time it was a complete success! The sauce was AMAZING. After 3 months on a super restricted diet, I thought I had died and gone to Chinese Japanese Thai Asian-food heaven.

Miracle noodles with sesame peanut sauce

So are Miracle Noodles really a ‘miracle’? I think that answer depends on your perception. They definitely don’t taste like pasta, so if you’re expecting them to then you will be severely disappointed.

But if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: sometimes when you’re dieting all you need is a hint of a flavor to satisfy a craving. So if I use Miracle Noodles to make some Asian-inspired dish and that keeps me from going out and ordering some pork lomein from the Chinese food place, then yes, I would consider that a diet miracle.