My husband and son love Ramen. My husband especially loves a Korean ramen (Nong Shim) that has a kim chee (I may have misspelled) flavor. Carl prefers the milder flavors, i.e. cup of noodles chicken.

 

Unfortunately regular ramen is not very weight loss friendly. Here are some of the nutritional information:

Nong Shim Shrimp: Serving size: 43 g, Servings per container 2,  the following is per serving: cal - 184, fat 6 g, fiber 1 g

Marchuran Instant Lunch Chicken: Serving size: 64 g, Servings per container 1, cal 290, fat 12 g, fiber 2 g

Nissin Cup Noodles: Serving size: Serving size: 64 g, Servings per container 1, cal 300, fat 15 g, fiber 2 g

Nissin Top Ramen: Serving size:42 g, Servings per container 2; the following is per serving: cal 190, fat 7 g, fiber 2 g

Nisson Chow Mein Spicy Chicken: Serving size: 56.7 g, Servings per container 2; the following is per serving: cal 260, fat 11 g, fiber 2 g (note to self, throw out any coupons for this product, do not buy again!)

 

So I started on the search for a low fat, lower calorie ramen.

 

Seaching online, I found one called Dr McDougalls.
http://www.rightfoods.com/scripts/display_product.php?product_id=6106
I have not found it in stores.

 

I then checked the Weight Watchers message board. Lo and behold they are talking about a new Ramen - Choice Ramen. I then start the search. Thanks to other people on the board, I found it at our local Kroger store, Fred Meyer. It is available there in chicken and beef. It comes in the packet like Top Ramen (as opposed to the cup like Cup o Noodles.) It still isn't listed on the Nissin website.

Here is the NI from the package:
Servings per container - 2
Calories per serving 140
Total Fat per serving 1 g
Dietary Fiber per serving 2 g

 

I prepared the beef as directed, then added a teaspoon of olive oil (I needed to get that second healthy oil in...) The beef flavor was full and smooth. A few days later I tried the chicken - without the oil, and all it tasted of was black pepper. I later tried the chicken with a teaspoon of olive oil - the pepper smoothed out and the chicken flavor was emphasized. So I really recommend adding a teaspoon of olive oil to the full package of Choice Ramen.

 

In the search for this product, I found this site:
http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/?p=610
It has reviews of new Ramen and recipes.

 

While shopping at Fred Meyer, I found Annie Chun's Noodle Express. This is a flat bowl with ramen and flavoring. Here is the NI: Servings per container: 2, Calories per serving 160, Total Fat per serving 4 g, Dietary Fiber per serving 1 g

 

The noodles are have a very fresh taste. This one comes with a chow mein sauce. I wasn't that crazy about the sauce flavor - but according to the website, other flavors are available.
www.anniechun.com

 

While going through the ramen/noodle cups in my pantry, I found that Thai Kitchen's Noodle Cart line (or at least the ones I have) are of reasonable nutrition. Here is the NI of the two I have:
Roasted Garlic: Servings per container 1, Calories per serving 230, Total Fat per serving 2.5 g, Dietary Fiber per serving 1 g

Pad Thai: Servings per container 1, Calories per serving 250, Total Fat per serving 2 g, Dietary Fiber per serving 2 g

 

I really like the fact that they are one serving per container. Lets face it - who really only eats half a pack or cup of ramen (besides my four year old)? I will be trying these soon (maybe tonight).

Here is the website: http://www.thaikitchen.com/
They list other flavors, but not the nutritional information.

 

There are low fat ramen choices out there!

 

------

 

PS - I did find the Choice Ramen Shrimp flavor at Thriftway. I did not care for the flavor, even adding oil. I will stick with chicken and beef, but I did find another location it is available.

At the mall with a friend and our sons this week, my son was hiding in the displays with his little friend. I was watch the boys while my friend was finishing a purchase. My son reached out from the display, poked me in the tush and shouted, "My mom has a big butt."

 

It wouldn't have been funny before I lost the weight.

I was sent some hand-me-downs from my niece (I think they are to short for her). They fit or are baggy!

This year we had a lot to give thanks for. My stepsister had out patient surgery on Tuesday. The doctors while closing her nicked her intestine and started some uncontrolled bleeding. Four hours and two units of blood later she got out of surgery. She was out of ICU on Thanksgiving.

 

We are happy to still have her with us.

I seem to be coming across a lot of guides to eating out.

 

Here is one site that has limited listing. The restaurants list the NI of only a few menu items.

 

Dotties (a great site) has points, but many are estimates:

http://www.dwlz.com/

 

This one has a lot of fast food information:

 

This one lists a lot of information, but not fiber:

 

The restaurant website should be the most reliable source. That too isn't always accurate as I discovered during my recent trip to Sharis.

One of the recent topics on the WW board has been following the plan on a budget. Our grocery bills have gone up since I started the Weight Watchers program.

 

So I have been keeping notes from the various postings and articles on line. I am also entering a few days food into a spreadsheet to calculate how much it actually costs to eat what I do.

 

I clipped an article from the Oregonian from the "Lean Plate Club" column. I couldn't find it on the Oregon Live site, but I did find it here:

It gives a lot of good ideas.

 

I am also rereading my Food Stamp Gourmet by Carrie Bailey. It too has a lot of good ideas.

 

Here is a summary of ideas from the WW boards

1. Limit yourself to 1 box of prepackaged food a week.

2. coupons

3. Frozen and seasonal fruits and vegetables, check out farms/farmers markets

4. Soups from scratch

5. Grow your own and can or freeze

6. Learn which stores have the best prices, dont be afraid of buying in bulk

7. Eat less meat, more legume protein

8. Canned meat or large packs and freeze

This post was so good I am posting all of it:

From MANDALEE65:
First, check out www.miserlymoms.com. The site has TONS of great tips on eating healthy at low cost. Plus there's a book by the same title.

Here's some of my tips:

1. In most dishes you can cut the amount of meat in half. Cut it up into very small pieces so it disperses well through the dish, and most people will never notice. Saves on points, too.

2. Limit yourself to one box of prepackaged snack food a week. Same goes for ice cream & other snacks.

3. Once or twice a week, double the recipe. Freeze leftovers in qt-size ziploc bags for later use. It might not seem like a $ saver, but if is if it keeps you from grabbing takeout two weeks later when you're crunched for time.

4. Don't let veggies go bad! If celery and carrots are at the edge of their lifespan, toss them in with some onions & seasonings and make your own veggie broth. Freeze for later use.

5. skip the bottled water. If you're worried about quality, you can always boil it. Buy a water bottle and a large jug for the fridge. It's better for the environment, anyway. 

This wonderful woman has a blog too - I love reading about other journeys too!
http://www.manderswwtrip.blogspot.com/

Anyway - more on this topic as I crunch some numbers!

 

 

 

Carl woke up early this morning with the stomach flu. He seems to be doing a little better now, but I want him to take it easy.

 

 

Life continues on in our household. Rich's technical conference is next week. He got the proof of his poster and was not happy. He tried to work on it then finally took me up on my offer to work on it. I got all of the graphic issues settled (I only worked in the industry for 18 years!) I look forward to seeing the final results.

 

Carl is doing great - we are working on the skills that aren't coming as easily in preschool. Fortunately it isn't too much. He loves the playtime - they go to the basement and ride tricycles. He is doing a lot better riding now.

 

Halloween was fun. Carl was Buzz Lightyear. He dressed up for preschool and stayed in costume all day. We went to my mom's for the neighborhood halloween parade, then came home and trick or treated with Rich to the houses we know. The backyard neighbors had some cars from cereal boxes in their goody tray - Carl loved it and slept with them.

 

We are now in Christmas thoughts - Carl wants almost everything he sees for Christmas.

 

I had my eyes checked for the first time since I moved back to Oregon - bad me. My eyes are tired.

 

Fun thing coming up - it is my turn for preschool treats and baking supplies - I get to buy the decorations for the gingerbread houses!

I Made Lifetime Membership in Weight Watchers!

 

This means that I maintained or lost weight for six weeks after meeting my goal weight! This is a major big deal!!!

 

Those six weeks were harder than loosing weight -  but I got through them. Now to keep maintaining my weight.