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Ramen noodles everyday - Health ramifications?

dankplantgrower

dankplantgrower

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
488
Location
Inland Empire, CA
Hi BLers, my money is tight and Ive been getting a lot of ramen. Id say 2 meals a day consist of ramen noodles, the other some type of cheap frozen burritos or chicken strips. I also have some rice I should probably be cooking and eating to mix it up.

Anyway, a friend was telling me this is extremely unhealthy. I try to use just half the seasoning to cut down on the sodium intake, and I dont drink the juice, but my friend was mentioning something about all the starch too. Im relatively unversed with eating healthy and health effects from food. Can anyone tell me what detrimental effects all this ramen is having on my body? Anything else dirt cheap I could replace it with?

My buddy was making a big deal about it.... Ive done enoug damage to my body countless other ways, Id like to minimize it somewhat if I can. Thanks all.
 
it is unhealthy. ramen is pretty much starch and fat.

throw some veggies in there - brocolli, snap peas, spinach or cabbage? vegetables needn't be expensive if you shop carefully and they're great for you. stirn in an egg for some protein.

all that, a dash of soyraki or cheap hot sauce and your noodle dish so much better. and better for you.

alasdair
 
Biggest problem with eating noodles everyday : lack of micronutrients. Get cheap frozen vegetables, they'll provide necessary vitamins and minerals. You can also get a cheap multivitamin (10-20$ for a year's worth)
 
^^ Lack of fibre too. Buy dried lentils instead of ramen. They'll be just as cheap and you'll feel a whole lot better.

You can make a big pot of very nutritious lentil soup for a few dollars that will last you days - stock up on some spices that will last you weeks if not months, things like cumin, ginger, tumeric, coriander, chilli - and a bottle of olive oil

Then you can do something like this and make variations on it (e.g. substitute brown lentils for red, or use a can of chickpeas or red beans, switch around the root vegetables)

Dice and onion, fry for a few minutes.
Add spice mix, fry for a few seconds
And a diced carrot and diced sweet potato
Chop up a quarter cabbage, add that
Add a bag of dried of lentils
Top up with water so that the lentils 3 to 4 times higher and bring to boil
Leave to simmer over a low heat for 40 mins or so, checking and stirring every so often
Add a pinch of salt and a handful of chopped greens, simmer for another 5 mins
Serve in a bowl, either by itself or with cooked brown rice

It's dead easy once you get the hang of it and while you might be a a bit farty for the first week or so your body will soon adjust and thank you for it.

I went through a phase where I tried to live off ramen noodles and it made me very sick. started doing the above and would sometimes not even be able to afford veggies, just onion, spice, water and lentils - it wasn't the healthiest but I sure felt better than when I was eating the noodles.
 
try to get a a multi-vitamin as mentioned.

try adding one of the following cheap items to your ramen or rice

1. some chopped up leftovers
2. an egg
3. 1/2 can tuna
4. tablespoon of peanut butter
5. 1/2 can beans or chick peas washed in colander and added
6. 1/2 cup of frozen veggies
 
my local walmart sells sirachan chili sauce ( the green top popular brand ) for dirt cheap.

I have faced the same ( ramen ) dilemma in the past.
I remedied it by not using the included packets. Use the spices others have mentioned above, plus add protein to balance each Ramen meal.

Heres a cool one you might have never heard of:

-Cook the ramen for 3 minutes.
-Pour it into a colander ( a spaghetti drainer ).
-Set the sauce pan you used for cooking ramen onto a burner set at medium and let it warm up to medium setting for at least 2 1/2 minutes. Crack two eggs and whisk them in a bowl. ( don't try to put anything else into the egg mix. I've found it ruins the consistency of the finished product )

Set aside a plate or plastic chopping board ( something flat that is a little bigger in diameter than the ramen pan ) for use later.

You might have to run a little water through the ramen to make it loose if its already sticky

-Coat the bottom of the pan with enough butter to prevent stickiness.
-Pour the ramen into the pan and then the whisked eggs. mix it around for a even consistency. Put a top on the pan for a more cooked inside.
-You will have to experiment a little, but what you want is a nice golden coloring on the ramen cakes bottom.
-When youre ready to cook the other side, put a plate over the top of the pan and turn it over making sure to not injure yourself.
-Add another 1/4 tbs butter to the pan and carefully flop the ramen cake into the pan cooking until its done.

*x2 eggs adds 140 calories and 14g quality protein.
**Sometimes I add 2/3c of cheese for another 80c and 12g protein.
***My fav recipie is the one above making it a grand total of 650 calories and 26 grams protein
 
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IIRC there's MSG in the ramen seasoning, which is really unhealthy.

I don't get why it's expensive to buy a box of spaghetti and cook that? It's more hearty and more value for the money than an equal quantity of ramen.

You can add a fried egg with each meal, some fried or boiled veggies, and then eat a piece of fruit at the end. If you can afford a small stick of butter, you can coat the pasta in that once you strain the water to add some fat. If you need to do the broke diet thing, that's pretty well wounded: protein, fat, carbs, micro-nutrients.
 
Green Juice Smoothies...

Institute for Vibrant Living.... they have many products, but one in particular..... All Day Energy Greens .. buy this for 20 dollars (that's a steal) and a blender... if you have a Costco card, go to Costco, and buy Triple berry frozen berry mix, and bananas, and a large bag of the baby kale, baby spinach and green Chard... As well as any juice of your choice, orange, apple, etc... The more COLORS involved the better.

Oh and any type of Whey Protein (or organic works if your a vegan)

Basically put a ton of berrys with a banana, a scoop of the greens, a handful of the greens (after you wash them) , a scoop of protein, a handful of ice cubes, and pour enough of your juice over all that, then blend and enjoy... experiment with your amounts to suit your needs.... but this recipe has literally saved my health and my life.

you can enjoy all the Raman noodles you want after that.
 
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motiv311 said:
Green Juice Smoothies...

Institute for Vibrant Living.... they have many products, but one in particular..... All Day Energy Greens .. buy this for 20 dollars (that's a steal)
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy and eat greens? You get the nutrients PLUS the extra added benefit for the fibre they provide. Like, stirfry a shit load of greens and add your noodles to that?

EDIT:

Shit, just found the probable link that was deleted - what an unmitigated load of absolute codshit designed to strip money from gullible people 8(

"According to Dr. Robert Young, a nationally renowned cellular microbiologist..."

http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/young3.html
 
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