Hacks to Upgrade Your Instant Ramen

In this article, you'll find 7 Hacks to Upgrade Your Instant Ramen.

Confession: I eat Ramen Noodles more often than I should. Honestly, I usually eat it for dinner like twice a month, but sometimes even more. I want to blame it on me being super busy between juggling grad school, my job and my hobbies, but really, I eat it because I truly enjoy the taste *bows head in shame*. 

I don't know what draws me more between its ridiculously low cost or extremely quick cooking time, but getting 5 packs of noodles for only $1 and a 5 minute meal for dinner? I'm SOLD... and I know I'm not alone here. So to all my other little Ramen lovers out there, I want to share some of my favorite hacks to upgrade your Instant Ramen Noodles into a tastier and more nutritious meal, or what I jokingly refer to at home as "fancy Ramen". These hacks are all super simple, quick and affordable.

Here are Some Hacks to Upgrade Your Instant Ramen:

First things first, TOSS OUT THAT LITTLE SEASONING PACKET THAT COMES WITH THE NOODLES. I understand that this carries all of the real flavor in the ramen noodles, but I promise you, we can exclude it and still have a tasty meal after we add a few of the herbs and spices listed below. The seasoning packet is high in sodium, monosodium glutamate (MSG)*, and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). While these ingredients have been deemed safe for consumption in small amounts by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA),

*Some Instant Ramen Noodles now come without added MSG, but there's still high levels of sodium and TBHQ.

Now that we've gotten rid of that little packet, we can talk about what to add to enhance the flavor the noodles.

Add Fresh Vegetables 

Green peppers, Scallions, Carrots

Add Fresh Herbs

Onion, Garlic, Chives

Add Protein

Eggs (Get fancy with an egg drop soup or add a hard or soft boil egg to the cooked soup)

Meat (Pork, beef or chicken - this is where I put my leftovers to work)

More Hacks to Upgrade Your Instant Ramen:

Black pepper, Red pepper flakes, Oregano, Cayenne

Add Sauces

Soy sauce, Sesame oil, Sriracha

Use your own broth

Chicken, Beef, Vegetable (This makes up for tossing out the little salt packet.)

Instant Ramen Noodles can taste even better, have more nutritional value and be a lot more filling with these simple modifications.

So, the next time you're just having a lazy day or you're extremely swamped with work to do, and don't have the time or energy to be in the kitchen to make an hour long dinner, head to your local grocery store and grab a pack of Instant Ramen Noodles. Then, use some (or all) of these hacks and turn your noodles into a proper meal that is tasty, cheap, fast and nutritious. 

Do you have any of your own hacks to upgrade your Instant Ramen? Share them with me in the comments. I'm always looking for new ways to get creative in the kitchen.