Baked Pasta Fake-Out - 1.0 Servings at 195 calories!

A few years ago I decided it was time for me to take better care of my body. I got into bio-hacking and started to learn ways to keep my body as healthy as possible as simply as possible. (I also lost about 30 lbs...) I'm about as fit now (or better) as I was when I was a senior in high school!

One of my favourite discoveries is the shirataki noodle. It's not the same consistency as a wheat noodle, it's a bit more vegetable like, which makes sense because they are made out of konjac yams. They are basically a flavourless noodle that is also gluten-free and the best part? 0 calories. Yup. You read that right. 0 calories.

So...because I love noodles, and because I try to eat healthily, and because I follow a gluten-free diet, I adore shirataki noodles (you can now buy these at many grocery stores in the refrigerated section, and most health food stores carry a variety of shirataki noodles and shirataki rice) and have hacked several recipes to include them.

Here is one of my cheezy favourites.

Baked Pasta Fake-Out - 190 calories for a 1.5 cup serving

*1 bag of shirataki noodles, thoroughly rinsed
*1/2 cup of a basic tomato sauce (if you use something fancy, or something high calorie {over 55 cal., per 1/2 cup} then you will have to adjust your calorie count accordingly)
*1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1.0 cups of veggies
(You can use olive oil in this recipe as well, I usually don't to keep calories low, but sometimes when I'm feeling decadent I oil up the pan before I toss the veggies in.)

*Note: I actually make my tomato sauce from scratch which can lower calorie count. I can tell you about this later,
but for now we'll go with 50 calories per 1/4 cup as a measurement.

*Note: Pssst...I also use a vegan cheese which impacts calorie count again, so you can switch it out, but I stuck with mozza because it's so commonly enjoyed.

1. Heat a medium stick-proof pan to medium heat. When the pan is heated, you can add the olive oil should you choose.

2. Turn on the oven to bake at 350 degrees Celsius.

3. When pan is hot, toss your veggies in. Heat them up and add a few tablespoons of water to help them soften. When the veggies are about 1/2 cooked, throw in the rinsed shirataki noodles, cook for 3-5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat.

4. Find an appropriate sized baking dish, set aside.

5. Toss the tomato sauce into the veggies and noodles, salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add to the veggies and noodles about 1/2 of your grated mozzarella, stir.

7. Empty saucepan into your baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

8. Bake your amazing creation at 350 degrees Celcius for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly and brown.

9. Remove from oven, tell yourself what a genius you are for hacking pasta, serve and eat!

Full disclosure: I do still eat gluten free noodles occasionally, and once or twice a year I eat the real deal, full calorie, no matter how high - I eat it and I love it. But most of the time, I stick with my calorie free noodle. Sometimes I even have two servings.

I hope you enjoy this pasta, play around with the recipe to suit your tastes and enjoy!