For me, whole wheat noodles are one of the few things that I can eat at the same time as a meal and not be hungry for the next meal. They are also so simple to make, are relatively inexpensive, and are an absolute great way to add protein, fiber, and flavor to your diet.
Although I love whole wheat noodles, I also love the fact that they are also low in sodium. Sodium is a key nutrient, so when I hear a new word I look it up, and when I find a new word I like, I go out and buy it. So when I heard whole wheat noodles being called “the next great grain” I went out and bought some. Now I’m a fan.
Well, that’s me saying I’m a fan. I’m not the only one. The whole wheat noodles trend is big right now, but the trend is really growing because of the fact that whole wheat noodles are high in fiber and low in sodium. Whole wheat noodles are also lower in calories and higher in protein than regular pasta. And I like the fact that they are low in calories too.
We’re not going to talk about whole wheat noodles because they’re pretty much the same thing as regular pasta and not really a good comparison.
But a couple of years ago I had a craving for a whole wheat noodle and I found a whole wheat noodle place in my neighborhood. They were super good (I liked them a lot). That night I ate one and it felt like I was eating a bowl of pasta. And I haven’t gone back since.
Nowadays that’s just a minor inconvenience. Whole wheat noodles are pretty much the same as regular noodles, and since they are so filling, they don’t really count as a “health food.” But in the past they were pretty much the only whole wheat noodles you could get in your neighborhood.
Whole wheat noodles were only available in small packages with a serving of only one or two. For most people that meant eating a few handfuls of whole wheat noodles. This was back in the ’80s though and it was pretty much an acquired taste. Nowadays whole wheat noodles are usually blended into a lot of other foods and they are usually just a very thin layer of something that has been mixed with wheat flour.
Whole wheat noodles were cheap and delicious back then. They were also hard to find and expensive to cook. You would often see whole wheat noodles being sold in the same places as cheap rice noodles and most of the time it was not very nutritious. You can see the difference between the two noodles in the photo above.
Whole wheat noodles are just as cheap and delicious as rice noodles although they are not as nutritious. They are just a thin layer of something that has been mixed with wheat flour. When you add the actual wheat flour into the noodles they are a little more nutritious since the whole wheat flour is not blended together with the wheat.
So why is it called whole wheat noodles, you might ask? Well, it’s really a wheat flour and wheat flour and more wheat flour. It’s wheat protein and wheat protein and more wheat protein and more wheat protein. The whole wheat is the wheat protein and the wheat protein is the gluten that holds the whole wheat together.