Easy Low Carb Chicken And Mushroom Asian Noodle Bowl

Who said consuming noodles has to be a guilt ridden experience? With this recipe, you can crave your noodles and eat them too! The rain has been teaming down for over a day. The damp, cold air had me thinking of the movie The Ramen Girl. In the movie, Abby (Brittany Murphy) is left stranded in Japan and after much persistence, begins to train under a master ramen chef to learn the heart and soul connection of preparing the deep and balanced broth that houses those curly noodles. Each ingredient in ramen is carefully concocted to create a symphony of perfect flavors. Given today's raw weather, I decided to put an easy Asian noodle bowl together. I made my own vegetable broth to reduce sodium and this can easily be made meatless by substituting tofu for chicken. I don't dare call this bowl ramen, rather it's a delicious, comforting, steaming blend of mushrooms, chicken and noodles that's easy, fast and best of all - it's ridiculously low in carbs and contains much less sodium than ramen noodle bowls! 

TIPS:

• Can be made gluten-free
• Want to make this super quick to make? Use store bought reduced sodium vegetable broth. Using store bought will raise the sodium content.
• Low sodium chicken broth can be substituted for vegetable broth.
• I used soybean noodles because they contain less sodium and carbs then other types of noodles.
• Whole grain spaghetti or other Asian noodles can be substituted.

RECIPE:
Makes 3, 1 cup servings

Calories 202; Carbs 13 g; Fat 5 g; Protein 18 g; Sodium 303 mg; Sugar 8 g; Fiber 6

Weight Watchers Points: 4

INGREDIENTS: 

4 tablespoons water

4 ounces lean ground chicken

1/2 cup button or shitake mushrooms, sliced

2 cups basic vegetable stock (recipe below) or reduced-sodium vegetable broth

1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice blend

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce (use a gluten-free if gluten intolerant)

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon white wine or mirin (I used white wine)

2 ounces Gluten Free Soybean Spaghetti (I used Explore Asian brand)

1 scallion, sliced (for garnish)

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of water and once it simmers, add ground chicken. Cook the chicken until it's no longer pink and break into pieces with a wooden spoon (5 minutes). Remove chicken from pan. Add 2 more tablespoons of water and the mushrooms. Cook for 5-7 minutes (until tender). Add the cooked ground chicken, vegetable stock, Chinese 5 spice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and white wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a small pot to boil. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside. 

Once the soup has finished cooking, divide the noodles into 3 bowls, then divide the broth into the bowls. Garnish with scallions and eat! 

Basic Vegetable Stock

In a bowl, combine carrots, onion, pepper and olive oil. Turn onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

Roast until browned.

Here's the scallions, thyme and rosemary.

Add roasted vegetables, scallions, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, pepper, clove and water. Simmer. 

Freeze or Use!

THE RECIPE:

Makes 4 servings

Calories per serving:

91 Calories; 3.7 g Total Fat; Saturated Fat 0.5 g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Potassium 335 mg; Carb 14.2 g; Fiber 4.2 g; Sugars 6.9 g; Protein 1.7 g; Vitamin A 191%; Vitamin C 19%

Weight Watchers Points: 3

INGREDIENTS:

27 baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise

2 medium Spanish onions, peeled and then quartered

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

5 scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 sprigs of thyme

1 large piece of rosemary

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 bay leaf

pinch of ground cloves

6 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine the carrots, onions, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Spread the vegetables onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until browned. In a stock pot, add the roasted vegetables, thyme, rosemary, ground pepper, bay leaf, cloves and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until stock is reduced to 4 cups. Strain and use!