ramen- not the emergency food of choice

[relics]

I have been hunting for this video.... http://earthweareone.com/what-happens-i ... t-noodles/ ....for a while, after seeing the number of people relying on it as a back up. Being more food oriented, I try to be careful what I eat (very little prepared or gmo foods),but we all have our weaknesses, and items that will be ok to get us by. Just thought I would share

[itzybitzyspyder]

Honestly in the PAW the last thing I'd be worried about is how unhealthy ramen is. To me it's a quick easy comfort food. More of a medium to add other things to. I've never seen a noodle come out of my butt so I can assume that I've digested the noodles.

[Boondock]

Honestly in the PAW the last thing I'd be worried about is how unhealthy ramen is.

Same. However, it's not something I'd plan to exclusively live off of for an extended period.

[mr_slappy75]

More of a medium to add other things to.

This.

Granted, as I've gotten older I eat them less and less, mostly because even without this article I pretty much suspected they are hardly good for me.

That being said, the addition of fresh uncooked or frozen veggies and leftover meat to a batch does quite a bit to improve the situation.

[duodecima]

Oh, I didn't think ramen was good for me even when I ate a ton of it my first couple years away from home.

But if you store ramen, do you rotate it and if so how? I actually keep a case around - but I can afford to donate it to the food pantry when the dates come up, we don't actually eat it often. So it may not be beloved by my children in a time of stress, and it's not the most efficient, to give it away rather than eat it.

Having said that? It's light, high cal, long shelf life, and requires less fuel to prepare, can be eaten without water if need be. (And avoiding the flavor packet avoids a lot of the salt...)

It's not like mountain house is massively healthy stuff either. Beans are, but they're a lot harder to prepare. There's always trade offs.

[Mikeyboy]

Most prepackaged food has high salt and MSG anyway. Usually the label term "natural flavor" is used by the food industry for glutamic acid which is chemically similar to MSG, lacking only the sodium ion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

The plastic additive TBHQ is the only thing I don't like about most Ramen style noodle products. However, for 10 cents a pop its hard to find a similar food item that is easy to prepare, with a 1 year shelf life, that is about 200 calories with a good mix of fat, carbs and protein. I just wouldn't eat them regularly, and if the SHTF are you are eating a bunch of Ramen you got bigger things to worry about than not eating something healthy.

[woodsghost]

While ramin has calories, carbs, fat, and some minerals....and a little protein, there is a lot it lacks. Maybe for 3 days it would be ok, but not for 3 weeks, in my book. You would probably not die from eating it for 3 weeks, but my body would be in poor shape and have a tough time operating at the level required by a PAW. My digestive system would hate me for life.

I like vitamins, minerals, fiber, and I like to avoid excessive sodium.

Knorr produces simple rice and beans packages which do a LOT more for you, nutritionally. Especially if you add a little oil. They are also lightweight and close to the same price per calorie. They still fall far short of perfect, and are still high in sodium, but they are better than ramin noodles.

[spanningtree]

(And avoiding the flavor packet avoids a lot of the salt...)

This. I am not a huge fan of the noodles but I'll take them (discarding the flavor packet) and reseal them in a new pack that has a packet of low sodium soy sauce, sriracha and a bunch of freeze dried veggies (corn, peas, carrots...etc). Decent for a snack or side while hiking/camping. If I were going all healthy I guess I would use the sweet potato based noodles but they are not very tasty IMHO and are somewhat pricey comparatively.

[Halfapint]

As everyone said, I actually rather like ramen noodles, but not the crappy ones we get here. I did most my shopping at the asian markets with higher end ramen (often upto .30-.65 cents each!!!!), they are often a bit better for you. Some of my favorites are the hot and sour soups, they are normally quite spicy, the soup base is good tasting (though very salty), but is GREAT to add other veggies to. I've moved away from ramen as I'm not as poor any longer but I'll definitely keep some around just as back up for a high calorie light weight noms.

[Murphman]

I used to throw away the flavor package and add the noodles to a Campbell's condensed soup, which I bought by the case. That, and Spam, got me through college. I have about a dozen ramen packages stashed somewhere, but it is emergency only.

Cheapest I could find Ramen on-line:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/search/sea ... omHome=yes

[Sworbeyegib]

I think the key word is emergency. It's not something you want to eat every day given better choices, but it's cheap, filing calories. It's also incredibly easy to make. It takes much less time/water/fuel to cook than rice or beans, and you can even eat it dry if you have to. Being able to buy a whole case for less than $10 means that it is something that anyone can afford to prep with. At worst, you can always use it as a give away to friends/family who are in need of something to eat.

[Stercutus]

Oh no! What I am going to do with eight cases of Ramen I have? I spent over $100 on that.

[AS556]

What you guys considering a case? I get cases of 12/$2. Surely you aren't paying $10 for that...

[Stercutus]

My cases have 48 in them. I just did the math again actually it is around $80. So nearly 400 servings of noodles set me back $80 or so. And this not as nutritious as the Western Sizzler buffet? I'll manage.

http://www2.costco.com/Browse/Product.a ... &topnav=bd

[Slugg]

I keep about 2 cases of these at any given time. I rarely eat them, and when I do I put about half the packet in. I work in a jail where "soups" are a form of currency, that and motrin. There are so many benefits for how little they cost. If you have the space, you should at least pick up 2 cases for barter. I'm really suprised nobody has brought up the 1000 uses for these. You can crush up the noodles to bread your chicken even

[Shmerlin]

As many have said, using them for a filler isn't the worst idea in the world. Round it out w/ some canned veggies and meats and you've got the makings of a semi-decent meal. Wouldn't want to live off of it forever but short/medium term is doable.

[angelofwar]

I share the same sentiment as most (on here anyways). I prefer to eat based off a paleo diet (non-GMO/natural fed) veggies/fruits/meats, try to avoid processed foods where possible...BUT, with that, when you're in a survival situation, you don't need to eat healthy, you need to eat right. Show me an indigenous tribe that doesn't eat meat, and I'll show you a dead tribe. Most fad diets leave out things our body needs, cause we've been preached to our whole life "this is bad", "that is bad".

Your body needs salt...your body needs fat...your body needs sugar...your body needs quality protein. Yeah, it's easy to sit in our office buildings and around the TV talking about how healthy we eat, but when your body is in a stressful situation (both physically and mentally), you'll need all that "bad stuff", and a lot of times, in extra doses. My BOBs have vienna sausages and ramen, plus some candy, for fast carbs.

[ineffableone]

I eat ramen fairly regularly, but use it as a base and add veggies, meat, and other goodies.

As an emergency food, I don't plan on ramen. It is too bulky for too little nutrition. There are tons of other foods that in an emergency make a better food source. That are more compact, have denser amounts of nutrients, and have long shelf lives.

Something I noted about the video. The scientist stated he eats ramen, and felt there is nothing wrong with eating it in moderation. I would say moderation, and not solo would likely be the best way to go.

[Shmerlin]

I eat ramen fairly regularly, but use it as a base and add veggies, meat, and other goodies.

As an emergency food, I don't plan on ramen. It is too bulky for too little nutrition. There are tons of other foods that in an emergency make a better food source. That are more compact, have denser amounts of nutrients, and have long shelf lives.

Something I noted about the video. The scientist stated he eats ramen, and felt there is nothing wrong with eating it in moderation. I would say moderation, and not solo would likely be the best way to go.

I should add that the ramen w/ canned veggies/meats is for a shelter in place scenario. If i'm on the move other options would be in play.

[tonydedo25]

I would suspect that if you ate enough Ramen noodles for the preservatives to become an health issue, the amount of sodium in those things would have already killed you.

Seriously, though, if you eat Ramen noodles regularly, you need to seriously take into consideration the amount of salt in your diet. That stuff is not healthy. But I wouldn't be concerned about occasional consumption, or keeping a case in the basement in case SHTF. My wife takes the stuff backpacking, in which case the sodium is actually good for you.

[Asymetryczna]

The use of the word "emergency" and "choice" in the same sentence makes me think of questions about things other than noodles. That said, I find myself very food-oriented when I am hungry and a pack of Ramen has often answered the mail.

I tend to save the seasoning packets and then sprinkle them "in force" in the back near the tree line. Many animals then mark the site on their internal compass and mapping system as a great place to lick the dirt.

[Kilo147]

What about supplementing your Ramen stash with Soylent? Long shelf life, a buck a meal, and 33% of basically everything you need. Should cover the bases well.

[Dawgboy]

No ramen thread should lack the Ramen sammich!

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Ramen-Noodle-Sandwich

[Kilo147]

No ramen thread should lack the Ramen sammich!

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Ramen-Noodle-Sandwich

That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen. So of course I'm going to make one.