100 Calorie Fettucini Alfredo
Huh? No way. Even the smaller lunch portion of fettucini alfredo at Olive Garden has 800 calories and 48 grams of fat. But then again, this is a Hungry Girl recipe and Lisa Lillien (a.k.a. the Hungry Girl) can make any recipe work! Her Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo isn't new but I saw it for the first time last night when I was searching for recipes to use up extra packages of shirataki noodles I'd nabbed from the Nasoya shoot. I've never even tried the full-fat version but I was so fascinated by the extreme calorie difference that I had to test it out. Even better was its lazy girl appeal: four ingredients with a total cook time of 2 minutes in the microwave.
Knowing how bland shirataki noodles are and because of my doubt with the ingredients, I changed the recipe slightly to use one whole Laughing Cow Light French Onion wedge and heaping teaspoons of the other ingredients (instead of fat-free, I used light sour cream and regular Parmesan). I also added garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, and some fresh parsley. The recipe, which makes 1 1/4 cups, still comes in low at about 115 calories, 1.5 grams fat and 9 grams carbohydrate.
The result? Cheesy and very tasty! The cheese is not a creamy drippy sauce but the flavor is perfectly satisfying. The one downside is that shirataki noodles are not soft and chewy like regular pasta; they're rubbery with a bite to them. I still believe they are best used in noodle soups and stir-frys, Asian style. When trying to substitute these noodles in Italian pasta dishes, you're going to compare them with the real thing; you may replicate the sauce perfectly but the rubbery texture makes the dish seem an imposter. That said, the flavors of this recipe are great and it's probably best for someone like me who isn't a fettucini alfredo aficionado. It makes a wonderful low-carb (and gluten-free) side dish, or you can mix in some cooked chicken or shrimp and serve with a side spinach salad. If you don't need to watch carbs, I'd recommend using this low calorie/fat cheesy sauce on whole grain pasta or brown rice!
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Reader Comments (2)
I've seen this recipe and always wondered it it was worth making ... Thx for sharing :-)
You're welcome!