Do you remember those little packets of ramen noodles that we all ate when we were young and poor? I used to eat them all the time in college. You might have eaten them as an after school snack, in your dorm room, or even when you were struggling to pay the rent on your first apartment.
Maybe you still give them to your kids for lunch every once in a while. But have you eaten them lately?
When it comes to cheap eating, these noodles are king, but when it comes to healthy eating, they certainly don’t make the list. Buuuut, what if you thought of them as a delivery system for getting your kids to eat more vegetables?
We are having these for dinner tonight, and my kids will be eating carrots, green onions, napa cabbage, broccoli and bean sprouts. Just think about all those vitamins.
If you can get past the idea of eating ramen noodles for dinner, you can have a really yummy, sorta healthy and very cheap dinner. I can feed the eight of us for less than $10. Now I call that a bargain!
There are a bunch of ways to make this meal, but I like to get my wok out and play Chinese restaurant short order cook.
- First, I pre-cook the noodles and cut the veggies. I often do this when I have a little extra time and then put them into the fridge. You can even do this the day before.
- Then, I empty out the sauce packets and add a little bit of water (about 1/4 cup per packet) to make a sauce and set it aside.
- Finally, heat up the wok and take orders.
To individually prepare each person’s meal:
- Saute the veggies for 2 minutes.
- Add in the noodles and stir for 1 minute.
- Toss in a couple of tablespoons of sauce, stir it in, and serve.
- Move on to the next customer.
Hint: I always start with my slowest eaters and move my way up. That way, we can all sit down together for at least part of the meal. My oldest, Grace is about the age where she can cook her own serving.
I hope you try this meal. It is super easy, it gets the kids to eat their veggies and it is sooooooo inexpensive. If you do enjoy it, please let me know what you thought of it. I love to get feed back from you guys.
Brian
PS
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I ate ramen last week. We decided it was our “vacation food” and ate quite a bit while in Colorado. I enjoyed mine with a fried egg on top! Wish I had thought to add veggies though!