Convenience and low prices have given many Ohio University students a taste for Kraft Easy Mac and ramen noodles -two foods that are as high in sodium and carbohydrates as they are in popularity.
Easy Mac was originally advertised as the perfect after-school snack for teens to make, but with a microwaveable preparation time of about four minutes, it's become a staple food for college students.
Colin Bryant, freshman, said he eats Easy Mac as a midnight snack twice a week. It's easy to make
and it's really good he said. He said the 630 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates and eight grams of fat for each 3/4 cup serving doesn't really matter. We all die eventually.
Freshman Patrick Miner prefers ramen to Easy Mac, which he said is too expensive for the rate at which he consumes it. I buy ramen because it's cheaper and I buy it in bulk.
A box of Easy Mac costs between $2.50 and $3.50 for six servings. At about 25 cents a bag, ramen is a poor man's pasta.
Some students take alternative approaches to ramen consumption. Sophomore Megan Johnson breaks dry blocks of noodles and dips pieces into the packaged seasoning. It's like eating Fritos
she said.
Johnson was not aware that the seasoning packets and half of a block of ramen noodles, which are deep-fried, have between 710 to 890 milligrams of sodium depending on the flavor. There are also 25 grams of carbohydrates and eight grams of fat.
Usually when stuff has a lot of carbs in it
if I just eat a little bit of it ... it's OK. I'm not one of those carb freaks
Johnson said.
According to the package of Maruchan brand ramen, You may regulate the sodium level by simply using less of the seasoning packet.
Kate Kastenholz, sophomore, said she is a seasonal ramen eater. She tends to eat ramen and Easy Mac more often in the winter so she does not have to venture from her residence hall to a dining hall.
For others, love for ramen is not so fickle. Yokohama, Japan, is home to the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum.
According to one Web site about the museum, the historical development of instant ramen is painstakingly chronicled
and the invention of cup ramen (the kind where you pour boiling water directly into a Styrofoam cup) is celebrated as the dramatic technological advancement it most certainly was.
Also, several ramen cookbooks are on the market, including Everybody Loves Ramen: Recipes
Stories
Games and Fun Facts About the Noodles You Love
by Eric Hites.
