When many think about “instant noodles,” they may first gravitate towards ramen noodles. These noodles are absolutely instant, cooking in only three minutes. They are also easy to make, only requiring water, a skillet, and a utensil to stir. Many may also enjoy the taste of these noodles. The price is nearly unbeatable, with a cost of less than one dollar per bag, which contains two servings.
Ramen Nutrition
Unfortunately, with all of these positive aspects, the drawback to ramen noodles is the nutrition. These noodles contain over a dozen different ingredients. They include multiple that can be highly irritable to the gut, including wheat, soy, and dairy. When we look at the nutrition facts label, the one component that stands out the most is the sodium content, which accounts for 70 percent of your daily recommended sodium intake per day. The second-most scary part is saturated fat, which accounts for 36 percent of your daily intake per bag. Third, we should highlight that we would be consuming 380 calories per bag, which is almost 25 percent of a typical 2,000 calorie diet.
Fortunately for those who want to find a healthy instant noodle option, there is a great alternative. Those are shirataki noodles. A few companies make Shirataki, but Miracle Noodle is one company that offers a high-quality product. Miracle Noodle offers a ready-to-eat option that requires no cooking at all. You would drain out the water, and the noodles can be eaten right away. If you would like to cook the noodles and add a sauce, then all you need to do is cook the noodles in a pan for three to five minutes, and then you can feel free to add in any sauce or mix that you would like. The taste of these noodles can be almost anything you would like depending on which sauce or other ingredients you add to them.
Compared to ramen noodles, Miracle Noodles’ price is higher, with a cost of about three dollars per bag, which contains a little over two servings. However, the most significant difference between ramen noodles and shirataki noodles is the nutrition. Where the ramen noodles have over a dozen ingredients, Miracle noodles only have three. The variety of shirataki noodles that you purchase the ingredients may vary slightly. Still, Miracle Noodle’s basic brand includes purified water, konjac flour, and calcium hydroxide. Unlike ramen noodles, Miracle Noodles are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free, making these much easier to digest.
When looking at the nutrition facts, one bag of Miracle Noodle contains zero calories, zero grams of fat, zero grams of cholesterol, zero grams of sodium, and only one total gram of carbohydrate per serving. The single gram of carbohydrate comes from the konjac flour, which contains glucomannan. The soluble fiber called glucomannan can help to aid weight loss, improve blood sugar levels, decrease hunger, and relieve constipation. Thus, along with Miracle noodles being free of calories, the noodle’s soluble fiber may also play a role in improving one’s health.
Another great benefit to consuming these noodles is that they can be combined with almost anything to make a healthy meal. These noodles can be used to make a traditional pasta dish such as spaghetti. They also come in the form of rice that can be used in a stir fry. Since there is not much flavor to these noodles, they can be easily transformed into a flavor that you enjoy with the use of sauces, spices, and/or any ingredient you wish to include.
From the perspectives of health and various uses, the best instant noodle is the shirataki noodle made by Miracle Noodle. It is also worth mentioning that while although not a traditional “instant noodle,” spiral vegetable noodles made from zucchini or yellow squash should be a consideration as well. Even though they do not offer the soluble fiber content that the shirataki noodles offer, yellow squash and zucchini offer more vitamins and insoluble fiber to be beneficial to one’s health. If you have a spiral processer, then noodles can be made from these vegetables relatively quickly and used in a similar way that the shirataki noodles are utilized in meals. This spiral zucchini price will be similar to the shirataki noodles because the price for one pound of non-organic zucchini is around two dollars per pound.
If you are looking for a quick and healthy noodle option, then the shirataki noodles or spiral vegetables can be a great option. However, you could even consider alternating using one option for one meal and the other noodle for another meal, or even using both types of noodles during the same meal. Suppose you are not concerned about the noodles health aspects and are purely worried about cost. In that case, you may be leaning towards the ramen noodle. However, you should also consider the satiety factor, and that due to the soluble fiber content and quality of ingredients of the shirataki noodles especially, they are going to decrease your level of hunger with fewer noodles and keep you from feeling hungry for a longer period of time than if you were to eat the same amount of Ramen noodle due to the difference insoluble fiber and quality of ingredients. Also, it is also worth noting that Miracle Noodles and spiral zucchini have the option of being organic, which can be viewed as an advantage by reducing the number of chemicals you are consuming through food.
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