Ramen Noodles -- Good or Bad?

barkin43

BAD! BAD! VERAH BAD! Be safe and send them all to me for proper disposal!

Sweetestthing87

^^^^
This

This made my day.. hilarious!

Lleldiranne

1/2 package ramen
1 egg (you can poach it right in the water as you boil the noodles, or fry it on the side)
1 serving frozen veggies - cook them right in the water as well, or add them as soon as you take it off the heat if you like them less soft

It makes a very satisfying meal and adds in the protein and nutrients that you don't get from ramen alone. It's not just the sodium and msg thats problematic with Ramen, it's also the fact that it's a very starchy meal with not much else to show for it, unless you add stuff to it. Basically "empty calories" (to use a term from the 90s :laugh:)

Ramen is one of those things that fall into the "everything in moderation" category. Eating it a couple of times a week won't necessarily derail weight loss efforts or make you unhealthy. But eating a full package daily can be trouble, unless you have a high calorie goal and make sure that you are hitting all your macros.

ruffnstuff

Poached egg, or fried egg over-medium.
Wakame seaweed (sprinkle while cooking, no need to re-hydrate separately).
sugar snap peas.
Shrimp
Minced fresh scallion (green onion).
Pinch of chopped cilantro.
Slice of fresh ginger (into the broth).
Lime zest-juice
lime chili ramen....;-)

Love them- Only eat every few months, but good-toss packet.

Wouldn't even be able to tell you the last time I ate Ramen - 10 years? 15 years? But, dang, if this thread and the above description of doctoring them up doesn't kinda make me want to buy some. I'm pretty sure my kids have never had dried ramen (they are 7 and 8). Maybe a cheap dinner next week - thanks everyone!

aliencheesecake

I love them, too. I don't know what it is about that 15 cent package of soup....but they're good! I just eat the whole thing, by itself, with all of the seasoning packet. My boyfriend makes them and adds all kinds of crap, but I just like them plain.

In college I ate them 2 at a time. Prob why I have BP issues now. LOL. I love them, but now that I have to make every calorie count, I can only eat stuff like that when I have a surplus of calories left for the day or have done a LOT of exercise.

QuietBloom

Maybe of interest:
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/teen-eats-ramen-noodles-13-years-article-1.1312782

Love this part:
"Readman's doctors said she is malnourished and has the health of an 80-year old. She weighs about 98 pounds at 5'3".

Yummy noodles.

Definitely an extreme case! I have a nephew with a selective eating disorder. He has eaten nothing but chicken fingers and french fries since he was 3 years old. So far his doctor says he is healthy enough. They have tried all sorts of behavioral therapies to try and help him, but as far as I know, nothing has worked. I think this disorder has been diagnosed as being a type of autism, though I could be wrong.

rml_16

Hi All --

My weakness is Ramen Noodles, beef flavored. I've done some research on if it's good or bad, ways to make it healthier, etc. I don't eat them often, but when I do I only eat half of the noodles and half of the seasoning packet. So that makes it less bad.

I know the sodium amounts are crazy, but I try to drink more water to compensate it. I'd hate to cut em out all together. My question is, does anyone else suffer from a love for Ramen? Or am I alone in this battle. And if you are a Ram-eater, how do you make yourself feel less guilty eating it? Do you add anything, etc.?

Thanks,
Joanna

If you enjoy them, nothing wrong with having a treat once in a while. I wouldn't eat them fir every meal or anything. Not much nutrition. Personally, all I can taste is salt when I eat them, so I don't.

garber6th

I sauté cabbage, mushrooms, garlic and I add ramen noodles to that. SO good.

VorJoshigan

Ramen = Salty deep fried starch.


Of course they're good.


NEXT QUESTION!

vicrandom

How many other gross junk food meals come in under 500 calories? Well, probably a few, but whatever.
The sodium wrecks my tummy, so I add the whole packet and then dump half the broth (or replace some with plain water after cooking is finished). I add TWO eggs and some snow peas or sliced red pepper, maybe some halved cherry tomatoes, whatever's around (but not usually more than one or two of these things at once).

How many times has a bowl of ramen prevented me from purchasing and eating most of a pizza? Many times. I try to plan and really enjoy the hell out of my higher-calorie, unclean meals, but if I slip and have an unmindful/binge-y/emotional meal, ramen is my harm-reduction. Pocketbook thanks me, calorie/macro balance usually thanks me as well.

Also, if you live in a decent sized city, you owe it to yourself to find your town's best (or only) Japanese noodle house and get yourself a bowl of real, non-instant ramen. I've only had it once, but my instant ramen consumption dropped dramatically afterward. I didn't enjoy it less, but my bar for being truly transported by this salty, unctuous indulgence was raised substantially.

Myhaloslipped

I was craving creamy chicken ramen something awful the other day! But the fact that I consider them processed death keeps me from eating them. lol. I was all about ramen in college because it's so cheap.

CookNLift

You guys need to get out and have REAL ramen, not the instant kind. It is actually my favorite food of all time, it has everything

WithASmile19

go on photobucket and look u gifs.

vytamindi

Too much talk of ramen, not enough Naruto!

sloth3toes

Ramen is loaded with sodium, I am a college student and despise ramen. There was a guy that was in my class for the first 3 months, the only thing he could afford was ramen, he at it everyday for 3 months, his body was suffering from malnutrition, eventually they found him in his apartment dead. Apparently he had been dead for at least 3 days before anyone found him. The autopsy showed that all he ate was ramen and it pretty much killed him. He didn't have any of the vitamins, or nutrition to maintain his well-being.

I was going to start a thread, asking what everyone thought about my idea of going on a Ramen-only diet for 3 months. But now, I see it's a bad idea.

I love them. Sometimes I eat the noodles raw, just poor the seasoning on top. I love crunching on it. But the sodium is outrageous.

I was wondering if anyone else ate them raw. Just like with the slice it up and bake it cookie dough.... I have to eat SOME raw. With Ramen, ( our go-to brand is Sapporo Ichiban, which around here, retail for closer to a buck a pack, I think... not the 15 - 20 cents / per, that others are quoting... ) so, anyhow... with Ramen, I usually break off a chunk, to eat raw, while cooking the rest, then break off another chunk before I throw 'em in the water... and scarf down the remaining crumbs outa the bag, raw as well.

How many times has a bowl of ramen prevented me from purchasing and eating most of a pizza? ramen is my harm-reduction.

I love this. The term harm-reduction is used in reference to needle exchange programs, etc.. Using it in context of not wrecking your diet, ( with Ramen Noodles ) is priceless !

dlibonati

I get an odd craving for them once in awhile, but I made the switch to the non-fried ones. They're a bit more expensive but way less cals and sodium in them. Usually make my own sauce or add natural peanut butter, egg and low sodium soy sauce and it's filling with protein.

Yeller_Sensation

I eat it all and add all kinds of stuff:

Mainebikerchick

I like them but they don't like me and I bloat SO much after eating them...must be the sodium

KMiYong

I absolutely love ramen! I don't eat it much at all.. been a long time since I ate it.. honestly, I would prefer making the ramen soup myself, the traditional japanese way. this way you can also make it to your taste - what kind of noodles you want, what seasoning, etc' etc', and you can reduce the calorie count by making the noodles itself, for an example, with a lower calorie recepie before putting them in but it you want something quick.. I rather take the noodles itself, add water, and put some of that dry soup seasoning thing.. about 2 tea spoons, or addmy own seasoning instead of the stuff that comes with it.

ANDRE_DOE

I STARTED eating them with tuna and my own seasoning like garlic power black pepper and the unmistakable taste of green Tabasco hot sauce. after I saw kali muscle talk about how he used to eat them in prison. I like the protein from the tuna I sometimes add cheese.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7E8leWkMNc

mryak750

look up KALI MUSCLE on you-tube....He claims that's his diet...."top ramen and tuna"

MstngSammy

THOSE THINGS ARE HORRIBLE FOR YOU!!!

I like mine with eggs cooked in :bigsmile:

MstngSammy

I eat it all and add all kinds of stuff:

Except for the french fried onions....that looks DEE-licious!

ReinasWrath

I love ramen =] Usually I eat em plain with all the delicious fairy dust seasoning and all but once in a while I'll eat only half the noodles and dump in a ton of broccoli instead. For the people saying they put egg in do you like fry your eggs and dump in em after or???

whispeR8GT

Ramen ramen ramen... I'm Korean and I eat ramen like every week.

I like em plain, although I have also invented my own recipe.
-Make the ramen in every way that's normal until you start to put the noodles in
-While the water is boiling fry some Spam until it's about halfway cooked
-Stick the Spam into the ramen along with the noodles. Cook until noodles are still slightly hard.
-Add an egg and just a tiny bit of milk
-Wait until the egg's yolk is solid enough so that if you stab it it doesn't bleed
-While serving add some jalapenos
-Serve

It sounds nasty, but it's slightly nutritious and it takes GREAT. It's like Spam with noodles in the ramen, with a slightly exotic twist with the egg and milk. Great for lunch, though I will say that you should have access to the bathroom, as it's going to get pretty dangerous

That's the way I like it. Otherwise I like it plain with the regular spicy flavor, none of that fancy chicken or beef stuff.

Kenazwa

For me - bad.
Salty glop, that's how I'd describe Ramen soup.

But there are plenty of other things I can barely resist that Ramen eaters probably wouldn't understand, so each his or her own vices.

ruqayyahsmum

no ramen here but we have this
http://www.batchelorsrange.co.uk/range/super-noodles/

i loved the chicken ones with added chicken, sweetcorn and cheese

or i would skip the seasoning pack, add ham and cheese and bind it together with mayo

makes me queesy just thinking about it now