Kaylee's not-a-blog » Food » Meals » ramen "loaded" with dehydrated vegetables and bacon bits

Since I spend most of my time working (creating computer Code and analyzing cybersecurity Data), I need to be able to quickly make some filling yet easy meals.

During my first summer, I consumed rather large amounts of "cup-a-noodles" (typically 2 to 3 3-packs per week).
They're convenient, and have dehydrated/freeze-dried vegetables (so are more nutritious & flavorful than regular ramen), however the styrofoam cups are a nuisance to recycle.
I often reused the cups with regular ramen.

Next, as an experiment, I started adding some freeze dried vegetables (sweet corn & green peas that I had bought years ago) to the ramen, inspired by the vegetables that are most noticeable in the cup-a-noodles.

The biggest evolution was adding bacon bits... Oh Grandpa does that ever pump up the flavor! :)
Shortly after, I bought a #10 can of dehydrated carrot dices.
All four items combined dramatically improve the flavor, nutrition, and texture. :)

Now I rarely use "cup-a-noodles", and instead use a plain lightweight bowl (3 for a buck at Dollar Tree), which is very easy to clean.
When I add the "loaded" items, I always eyeball them, instead of measuring.
Recently, I weighed the baggies that I keep my "in use" veggies in, immediately before & after a new bacon bits pouch (i.e. nine servings of ramen), then calculated the actual cost.
Here's pictures & numbers...

Pictures:

First, I measure two cups of water into my kettle, then, while the water heats (on my butane stove), I add the "loaded" extras to my clean bowl:

I break up the ramen in its package (so it's easy to eat with just a spoon), then add it to the bowl (on "top" of the extras), with only half the ramen "flavor"/salt packet.

As soon as the water is boiling (or very close), I add almost all of it to the bowl, and just let everything sit for 5 to 20 minutes, while I do other routine tasks.
That's easier & cheaper than boiling & simmering in a pot. :)

Final fully rehydrated "loaded" ramen:

I have two primary bowls, and typically use a bit of the boiling water to clean the previous day's bowl.
That's easy, and means I have something to do while my ramen rehydrates. :)

While I wait, I often make a very quick grilled cheese sandwich (usually factory whole wheat bread & generic process cheese "Single"), which increases the fiber & protein in my meal, at very little cost & time (about 25 cents & 3 to 6 minutes).

Costs:

The final cost mildly surprised me.
I had guesstimated that it would work out to about 50 to 60 cents, and that all the veggies combined would about equal the cost of the bacon bits.
The veggies were almost twice as much as the bacon.

This does demonstrate, on a small scale, why Science Matters. :)
For my next/current Bacon Bit pouch, I am focusing on reducing the quantity of the more expensive ingredients, in particular the sweet corn and green peas.
I may start measuring some ingredients (will look for a small scoop in one of my bins).

Conclusion:

"Loaded" ramen is very easy, fast, and inexpensive. :)

Core Concept:   Try different ingredients.

I've used non-dry vegetables, including: canned corn, canned green peas, baby carrots.
All are cheaper than their dry versions, and easy to work with. The canned vegetables should be refrigerated/chilled, unless you can use the whole can within a day.

Ramen is cheap & quick, so even if some of your experiments are disappointments, others will likely work well. :)
It's a lot easier to experiment with ramen, and will empower you to experiment with other easy, then more complicated, meals.