During Corona Madness I set myself a challenge. Take something unhealthy but tasty, in this case, Spicy Ramen, and add to it to make the healthiest food possible. And don't worry, even though it says it's Hot Chicken flavor, there's no meat in it, it's vegan.
And alone, this certainly fits the bill for unhealthy and tasty. It's 550 empty calories. Here's cronometer to confirm it:
So, what do you do when you want to add maximum nutrition? Do a quick oil free "sautee" of a red onion, 5 cloves of garlic, a cup of mushrooms, a cup of cauliflower, 2 cups of kale, 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of Pumpkin seeds.
Once that's all cooked up so that everything's the appropriate level of crunchy and soft, throw in the sauce from the packet and mix everything together with cooked noodles. Suddenly, you've taken something that was pretty hollow, nutritionally, and jacked it to 11. Here's cronometer for the complete dish.
And, it was delicious. Spicy enough to make you cry (if you don't want it as spicy, don't put in the whole sauce pack). Healthy enough to keep you from dying. Loaded with great antioxidants, omega 3's, cancer fighting nutrients, fiber, and yes, even protein.
I didn't just make Ramen a health food, I made it a SUPERFOOD!
If you want an official "recipe" I'll try to walk you through it.
Ingredients
1 pack of Ramen (I used Samyang 2x Spicy Hot Chicken)
1.5 cups of water
1 cup of fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 cups of fresh kale, chopped small
1 cup of fresh cauliflower, chopped small
1 small red onion
5 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds
1. Chop onion and garlic into small pieces, I put mine in a food processor for a tear free chop.
2. Add this to a hot pan over medium high heat, stir until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes
3. Add the mushrooms and let them sweat out for 3-4 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds or so.
4. Add the cauliflower, chia seeds, and kale and let them cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds or so.
5. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.
6. Boil water, once water is boiling, remove from heat and add noodles.
7. Let noodles cook in water for 5 minutes.
8. Drain the water, add the sauce and veggie mixture and stir until the sauce is evenly coating everything.
9. Eat and sweat!
If you want to use different ingredients, go for it. This recipe is VERY adaptable to your preferences. It's easy, it's fast, it's comforting, and it's healthy. What more could you want?
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