Skip the Ramon Noodle Soups

By : | Comments Off on Skip the Ramon Noodle Soups | On : May 30, 2012 | Category : General Information, Health Benefits, Lunch, Sodium, Soup

Bowl of Ramon Noodle Soup

They are quick, inexpensive and packed with sodium.

One brand boasts in large type on the front of the package that their soups have zero grams of trans fat. On the back of the package in small type it states you can reduce the amount of sodium by simple using less of the flavor packet. The main ingredient in the flavor packet? Monosodium glutamate; MSG. And the nutritional information doesn’t distinguish between how much sodium is in the noodles versus the flavor packet. Dry Italian pastas have little or no sodium. The sodium is from the tomato, Alfredo, or pesto sauce and added cheese. You can control the amount of sodium the controlling the amount of sauce per serving.

That isn’t the case with packaged, dry Oriental soups. You don’t know how much sodium is on the prepared soup because salt is added to the noodles. One 3-ounce package has between 1600 to 1900mg of sodium if you use the entire flavor packet. Three ounces isn’t a lot. I can easily eat one package. The nutritional information is for one half brick meaning two servings per package. That cuts the sodium to 800 to 950mg. Add a sandwich with processed meats and cheese and you have a meal packing 1800mg of sodium or more. Eat the entire package of soup with a sandwich and you’ve exceeded the recommended 2,300mg of sodium in just one meal.

Regardless of their low cost and convenience you are better off skipping Ramon noodle soups. Instead, add an ounce of angel hair pasta to homemade chicken soup for a low sodium meal.

Homemade Chicken Soup with Pasta