How to make Top Ramen healthy

hawk4117
hawk4117 Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
Ok so IF your on a Ramen budget here's a tip on how to make it a bit healthier.

FIRST: Throw away that packet of sodium heart attack!

SECOND: Before you actually cook your ramen in boiling water, rinse it first with super-hot tap water for a couple of minutes in a colander. Top Ramen is deep fried in palm oil which is about the most saturated fat there is, so by rinsing it in hot water for a few will skim a lot off, especially if you boil it, breaking the noodles down a bit, then straining it a colander while rinsing it with super-hot tap water again. The concept here is to break off some of that saturated fat that Ramen noodles are processed in.

The rest is up to your imagination. My favorite ramen dish is with with cooked chicken pieces, frozen mixed vegetable and ½ tsp of chicken bouillon (Caldo De Pollo) and ½ tsp of Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Onion & Herb Seasoning Blend. Now granted there’s sodium in chicken bouillon, but ½ tsp is nowhere near the amount found in that little packet of death! Lol Experiment with your favorite seasonings and try to stay the course with low or no sodium stuff. Experiment with low sodium spices until you find your healthy niche. Please share your recipes and Enjoy!
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Replies

  • CynthiaT60
    CynthiaT60 Posts: 1,280 Member
    I used to eat a lot of ramen (different brand). I usually did use the "spice pack" (half of it sometimes); I threw away the "oil pack" and just put in a teaspoon or so of olive oil.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Three steps to making ramen healthy

    Step 1) Throw away the spice packet

    Step 2) Throw away the ramen noodles

    Step 3) make real soup with some fresh veggies.
  • maroonmango211
    maroonmango211 Posts: 908 Member
    Three steps to making ramen healthy

    Step 1) Throw away the spice packet

    Step 2) Throw away the ramen noodles

    Step 3) make real soup with some fresh veggies.

    True story.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Or you could just eat it. I like to put chicke in mine, but otherwise I leave it as is. Why mess with a good thing?
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    honestly I would just go buy some egg noodles and forget about the ramen. Although I do like them the cals and salt aren't worth it and the extra effort you suggested to make them healthy seems like a lot of work for a noodle ... just sayin :ohwell:

    edit: I never really ate them as soup - I would drain them and add the spice packet for a noodle side dish :wink:
  • sushisuzi2
    sushisuzi2 Posts: 111 Member
    Less spice packet. No oil packet. Rinse.
    Add eggs or egg white.
    Yum.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Less spice packet. No oil packet. Rinse.
    Add eggs or egg white.
    Yum.

    again then it's just noodles?
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    I agree with an earlier post. Just buy some egg noodles and season them up however you like.

    Or just make it fit under your calorie limit and enjoy it if you really must have it.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I agree with an earlier post. Just buy some egg noodles and season them up however you like.

    Or just make it fit under your calorie limit and enjoy it if you really must have it.

    Isn't it like 380 calories (for two servings I might add)? Is that really so much that eating it is something you only do when you 'really must have it'? Ramen+4 ounces of chicken+an egg cracked into the both=Yum.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member


    Isn't it like 380 calories (for two servings I might add)? Is that really so much that eating it is something you only do when you 'really must have it'? Ramen+4 ounces of chicken+an egg cracked into the both=Yum.

    Tell me more! :) Do you stir up the egg in the hot broth to make something like egg drop in the ramen?
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    tumblr_m5blzd6pWr1r75tapo1_400.jpg

    Do as the Koreans do. They have ramen perfected. Veggies + Egg on top.

    Not sure why you'd want to throw away the spice packet... it's kind of a defining thing for Ramen. Ramen without the spice packet just isn't ramen. It's noodles and water.
  • ReaganP13
    ReaganP13 Posts: 35 Member
    I'm a salt-fiend and throwing away that little bag of MSG sodium stuff would make me cry.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Or you could just eat it. I like to put chicke in mine, but otherwise I leave it as is. Why mess with a good thing?

    Wise words.

    Sometimes, I cook as usual, drain and add to pan fried (once frozen) vegetables with a little sesame oil and a lot of soy sauce. If I want more protein, I add a diced chicken breast and a scrambled egg. Awesome.
  • Luv2eatSweets
    Luv2eatSweets Posts: 221 Member
    I have never eaten Ramen before.
  • st0rmagedd0n
    st0rmagedd0n Posts: 417 Member
    tumblr_m5blzd6pWr1r75tapo1_400.jpg

    Do as the Koreans do. They have ramen perfected. Veggies + Egg on top.

    Not sure why you'd want to throw away the spice packet... it's kind of a defining thing for Ramen. Ramen without the spice packet just isn't ramen. It's noodles and water.

    Plus kimchi, tofu, and enough chili derivatives to make you cry.

    God bless Korea.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,736 Member
    A friendly reminder that one brick of ramen noodles is not one but two servings.

    I used to eat two bricks at a time. I would drain the water out of the noodles and sprinkle on a little bit of the flavor pack for flavoring. It was just a really easy 5 minute way to get dinner.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,736 Member
    Double posted. I *really* wanted to remind people! :smile:
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Why buy Ramen anyway? Just get a box of noodles. The price per serving is pretty close. You are basically saying just to use the noodles anyway. In the time it takes to cook ramen, you can cook spaghetti/macaroni/shells/etc
  • TriNoob
    TriNoob Posts: 96 Member
    Healthy ramen? Here's a thought...don't eat instant ramen. And, the Koreans didn't perfect ramen...the Japanese did. Veggies + Egg on top? That's a basic Japanese prep. Kimchi in ramen? No thanks. Give me a miso, shoyu or tonkotsu please. Kimchi fried rice is good though.

    Instant ramen isn't technically ramen anyway.

    Edit:

    Ramen - ramen-dojo-large.jpg

    Not Ramen - 1354804315459.jpg
  • dlkingsbury
    dlkingsbury Posts: 90 Member
    why not just buy a box of noodles?
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    Fresh ramen noodles are super cheap at Asian grocers. Again, I'm in Los Angeles ... so a little spoiled by ethnic groceries
  • gaylebodine
    gaylebodine Posts: 1,689 Member
    Oh, thanks so much! I love ramen, especially like you described with chicken pieces, vegis and bullion. So how do you enter the calories/sodium/etc. That is all that is keeping me from going to have some now.
  • oxers
    oxers Posts: 259 Member
    Yeeeah, instant ramen is kind of an abomination. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna go all out and make real ramen. It's an all day affair, but it's completely worth it and probably won't raise my blood pressure by six points, either.

    I don't understand why you'd eat instant ramen if you're not stretching a very tight budget? Like.. if you REALLY like it, okay, fine, but the noodles are crap, the spice blend is crap, the whole thing is just. I don't know. Terrible ingredients don't make good food. The first time you have real, street style Japanese ramen, you'll never be able to look at the packet **** again.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,948 Member
    If you eat instant ramen, you can save a lot of calories by looking for types that use rice noodles or bean vermicelli instead. These noodles don't need to be fried to make them instant. My brand of bean vermicelli noodles (Vina Acecook) is only 189 kcal per package, including the little packet of garlicky oil..
  • ge105
    ge105 Posts: 268 Member
    I agree with an earlier post. Just buy some egg noodles and season them up however you like.

    Or just make it fit under your calorie limit and enjoy it if you really must have it.

    Isn't it like 380 calories (for two servings I might add)? Is that really so much that eating it is something you only do when you 'really must have it'? Ramen+4 ounces of chicken+an egg cracked into the both=Yum.

    Winner. Its not that many calories if you like them- just don't have them be all you eat and you'll be fine.
  • StoneColdLiger
    StoneColdLiger Posts: 29 Member
    Would just like to say after reading this post, I went into the kitchen and made some Ramen.

    (I mixed in summer sausage and frozen veggies)

    I don't understand all the rules about you should eat this, shouldn't eat that. I just eat what I enjoy. Pretty much anything is fine in moderation.
  • pbbagel
    pbbagel Posts: 53 Member
    Healthy ramen? Here's a thought...don't eat instant ramen. And, the Koreans didn't perfect ramen...the Japanese did. Veggies + Egg on top? That's a basic Japanese prep. Kimchi in ramen? No thanks. Give me a miso, shoyu or tonkotsu please. Kimchi fried rice is good though.

    Instant ramen isn't technically ramen anyway.

    Edit:

    Ramen - ramen-dojo-large.jpg

    Not Ramen - 1354804315459.jpg

    Instant ramen was invented in Japan...
  • TriNoob
    TriNoob Posts: 96 Member
    Instant ramen was invented in Japan...

    Instant noodles were invented in Japan...but anyway, what's your point?
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Ramen without the "packet of death" is simply not Ramen. That's like saying...oh, you can make Doritos healthier by running them under water to get the cheese off. Uh, ew, and no, Doritos (and Ramen) should be left as is. If it doesn't fit into your calories, don't eat it. If it does, party on. And as others have said, using regular non-Ramen noodles would work just fine.

    Psht...throw away the seasoning. Blasphemy!
  • workshardplaysharder
    workshardplaysharder Posts: 44
    There is nothing wrong with Ramen noodles. Just use half the seasoning. Sometimes I'll add some frozen peas and corn to it. I don't eat it often but when I am not in the mood to make anything and I want to eat something I make that because it's quick

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