Yes, I've had RAMEN noodles - I like the shrimp flavor.

Never bought any, but had a ramen noodle salad at a potluck luncheon.

yes, they are cheap and filling, and just so dang easy to prepare! Add some carrots, mushrooms, anything fresh and enjoy :)

I grew up on them. My mom always put cabbage in them.

They're a staple of cheap things to keep college students alive. :)

.44 cents? Somebody upcharged you! They are normally 10-20 cents a piece. Or at least that's what I remember paying when I was the poor college kid Plllog mentioned above.

Fast....easy....cheap ~ but as I started reading the labels I noticed the sodium count on these innocuous little packages.....875mg....YIKES!

I use them to make a Napa cabbage salad. Inused to eat them years ago. Now, I agree with Justlibda, they are salty.

It was a joke on the college campus, years ago...."When I finally get hired by ______.....I will NEVER eat Ramen again!" :0) Yet....I ate them at a restaurant in Ubud Indonesia and there are noodle restaurants here in the USA. I used to pay 12/$1. Top them with diced green onions and cabbage. They also come with flavor packages to make them spaghetti ramen, chili, cream of chicken, with sesame oil and HOT!

Yes I eat Ramen soups in Japanese restaurants and and other dishes that have them as an ingredient. But not the flavored nuke in the cup stuff. DH likes those now and then. Keeps them at work.

I enjoy them once in a while, add less of the seasoning or add more water to make it less salty.

Yep. I buy them on sale 10 for a dollar. Use them in stir fries all the time!

Once was enough for me. I really don't care for them.

Too high in sodium. Not good for you but so gentle on your budget

The salt is in the "flavor packet", which is like instant soup. You don't have to use all of it.--and shouldn't unless you're a sweaty college kid.

There's also "real" ramen, which is just the noodles from the refrigerator case, around which you make your own soup. (There are also fresh ramen in the fridge with salty flavor packets.) And you can get dry ramen in a package just like any other pasta. They're just skinny noodles. :)

So what you do to change it up, if you're a college kid, is put just a little of the seasoning in, chop (or tear) a scallion or any bit of veg you have, chop up the meat filling from the leftover sandwich, and/or any other little bit of sustenance that's in the fridge and not spoiled. :)

I see this recipe posted all the time on Reddit.com, a website whose primary audience is college kids.

College pad thai

I buy a big cardboard cup that is a Ramen noodle soup chicken or beef. These are different from the square packages, they have multiple packets of stuff to add to the water. I fill the container with water to the line mix in the packets microwave for 5 minutes. It makes a big bowl of soup Nissin Souper Meal . I like these have them for lunch occasionally. I stock up when I go to big Lots because I can't find them at the grocery store. I do occasionally use the square packages in other dishes. I get those at big Lots too. I never had them when I was a student actually but did use them in cooking when we first got married and had a slim budget.Souper meal

I have never eaten them as directed to prepare them but have used them in a chicken salad recipe which is very good. The noodles get broken up and baked in the oven and sprinkled on the salad. the seasoning packet is used in the salad dressing.

Too much sodium and high in fat.

I frequently use them instead of rice in a stir fry. The easy answer to the too-much-sodium problem is to simply discard the "flavoring packet" unopened.

I love Ramen noodles, but don't eat them often--they're getting a bad rap lately for causing metabolic syndrome and other health problems. I never add the whole flavoring packet, but I save it and use it in soups instead of salt.

I agree with Carol. Other than for broke and otherwise indestructible 19-year-olds, the instant ramen products aren't very healthy to eat. The same is true of other packaged soups.

bob, the noodles are a high fat product on a standalone basis - they're fried. Rice is better for you but even better yet is no starch. Most people can do without the added calories and blood sugar spike from eating rice. Or, if you want noodles, cook whole wheat noodles or those made from alternative and complex carb other grains.

Ramen restaurants are one of the very many different kinds of Japanese restaurants, Freshly made ramen soups, while likely high in sodium as is much of Japanese food, are delicious to enjoy every once in awhile. And taste and wholesomeness wise, bear no resemblance at all to packaged instant soups.

Look at the nutritional information on the package. Each "block" is considered to be two servings. Way too many carbs for me. They do taste good, though.

I survived on Ramen while going to college. I haven't eaten them since.

Never! They are processed garbage (or CARBage)

Here's a recent recipe I made using them:

Pork fried noodles

serves 3 to 4

1/2 lb pork tenderloin, (cubed)

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp minced ginger

1 small yellow onion (chopped)

2 jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)

1 banana pepper (seeded and chopped)

1 stalk celery (cut crosswise into 1/8" pieces)

8 baby carrots (quartered lengthwise)

3 white mushrooms (sliced)

2 tsp minced garlic

2 packages ramen noodles (discard "flavor" packets)

2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

3 Tbsp peanut sauce

1 egg

Put large pot of water on to boil.

In large pan cook pork over medium high heat in 1 Tbsp canola oil.
Add minced ginger, and stir until pork is browned. Remove to separate
bowl.

Add onion, peppers, celery and carrots to pan along with second Tbsp
of oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. When onions start
to become translucent, add mushrooms, and garlic and continue to stir.
Also add ramen noodles to boiling water at this time.

Add pork back then stir in the teriyaki sauce and the peanut sauce and continue to cook for about two minutes.

Create an opening in the center of the pan and break the egg into the opening.

Test ramen noodles for doneness, and then drain, and stir into pan.

Serve.

Pooh bear, very cute caption!

I'm another who subsisted on ramen noodles in college. I had three roommates and we all were pretty good about preparing a communal supper whenever we could. Ramen with added vegetables and chicken were always a hit.

Its a good thing to keep on hand when your sick. You can get a package of 6 for .99 at save a lot or the Dollar tree.

Maybe this will help you be more informed about them: What's Wrong With Ramen Noodles http://foodrevolution.org/blog/ramen-noodles/

Can you really even consider them "food"? They contain more than half the RDA of sodium for a day. Consuming too much sodium can increase a person's risk of heart failure, osteoporosis, stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease. Not what comes to mind while slurping up a hot, comforting bowl of soup.

I make most of my soup from leftovers and carcass bones for pennies without all that salt, fat, and calories! Vegetable broth is almost free when I use parings, root ends, leaves, stems, less-than-perfect vegetables from the garden, etc. Add any kind of noodle you like and you will improve your health risks 100%. Better yet, add a whole grain and skip the high-glycemic noodles.

Keep homemade broth in your freezer to use when you are sick - at least there are actual curative components found in real broth (http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/broth-is-beautiful/).

-Grainlady

I agree....they are 10 to 12 cents a package here. While I haven't eaten any in a long time, I do add something to them....like frozen vegetables, or cabbage or green onions. I don't have any on hand, but the mention of them made me think to get some. I don't worry about sodium. I am outside all day and I sweat like a horse. My blood pressure has never been high....so I do eat salt.

of course; used to eat all the time (cheap); break egg into while hot and swirl around for "egg drops"; add toasted sesame oil. Pretty good (if you like fried and salty things -- and who doesn't?)

grainlady, I see no evidence concerning the effect of broth on one's health in that linked article. But it's true there's no shortage of innuendo and make-believe science, like "The use of gelatin as a therapeutic agent goes back to the Chinese".

Toss the flavor packets and make your own broth. Discard the water used to cook the noodles and add the broth to the cooked noodles separately (will help keep the broth clear). I used to splurge on fresh noodles from a local Asian grocery store but have not been for a while.

Noodle connoisseurs/snobs might say there is a big difference in types of ramen, just as there is a huge difference between fresh ravioli and the stuff that comes in a can :-) Try real ramen if you get a chance.

Instant ramen vs. Chef Boyardee

Compare with: Ramen

I used to eat them all the time when I was very poor. I only used half the flavor packets. The only time I eat them anymore is when I'm sick -- they are so easy to make.

Never, they don't look appetizing to me.

I'll eat them once in a while if I'm sick and feeling dehydrated. That salt makes me thirsty and I get more water that way. My kids love them. I have to hide them or not buy them so they don't snack on those all of the time.

Yes, but not for ages. Back when that was my budget.

I would love to eat them but the sodium level is sky-high.

I ate Ramen noodles for a quick snack until a few years ago. Those are too high in carbohydrates for me to find room for them in my diet, I still have a few and will resort to one maybe once per 2 months.