Hey all :)
I'm looking to get a dehydrator to start making my own dehydrated meals for our future trips, there seems to be a lot of really great recipes out there. I'll definitely have to grab a copy of that book everyone raves about. I can't think of the name right now though...
Ramen noodles seem to be the backpacking staple food around here, I was just curious if anyone is at all concerned about the ridiculously high salt content of them? I think I've seen salt reduced instant noodles around but haven't checked the back to see how reduced in salt they actually are. I had a look at the back of a few a while ago and they all seemed to have almost 100% of your sodium RDI.
On second thoughts, I'm thinking that the majority of the salt is contained in the stock sachet and that the actual noodles themselves are like regular pasta and simply 100% durum wheat?

Thanks :)
Benen

Edited by benen on 10/20/2010 01:16:00 MDT.

The ramen in the stores here tends to have a fairly high amount of saturated fat. Some diets preclude that.

Yes, most of the salt is within the flavor packet. If you use only 10-20% of that packet, you can cut your salt intake down considerably.

I've been known to crush the ramen package down to crumbs, and then just sprinkle a little of that over a soup to thicken it slightly.

--B.G.--

Ramen is evil but can be OK - that salt content? Almost all of it is in the 'flavor packet'. Toss that and you are way better off.

Now having said that you can sub in baked ramen (not so easy to find) or Lo Mein (Chinese Noodles) that are very similar to ramen but are baked over fried. They work just the same in recipes.

"Ramen is evil..." But ohh so good.

I usually add dehydrated meat and veggies to mine to spice it up a bit. I use half to 3/4's of the flavor packet and the kind I buy comes with a small packet of sesame oil which goes in as well. Very yummy.

Is the salt such a bad thing while hiking? My own thought is that for home use...way to much salt...but when hiking and more importantly sweating all day....we can probably use the extra salt it contains at the end of the day.

Edited by PhilipD on 10/20/2010 08:05:26 MDT.

> Is the salt such a bad thing while hiking? My own thought is that for home use...way to much salt...but when hiking and more importantly sweating all day....we can probably use the extra salt it contains at the end of the day.

+1 (or at least that was my thinking as well when I WAS going to use only part of the seasoning packet). If I hadn't sweat pretty good all day, I would have stuck to the original plan. Had my potassium covered with other things.

If you do use the packets a good thought is sprinkle in to taste - that way you don't have it too salty. I live on a lower sodium diet which I bump up a bit when hiking but overall you rarely need a ton :-)

Though some of us love salt...Dicentra is a salt hound. Lucky her!

Ramen is a backpacking staple for me. I add veggies, chili sauce, all sorts of stuff.

Unhealthy? Sure. But a few nights? No big deal. As long as you're not living off the stuff.

It's pure carbs and salt, usually exactly what my body is craving.

I save the healthy eating for my regular life. But backpacking- especially short, fast-paced trips where I need fast and easy calories, anything goes.

When else can I eat snickers bars for breakfast and crushed pringles as snacks?

Buy some Ichiban noodles, lose the flavor packet and use instead a low sodium vegetable stock. Look in the "greenie isle" in your local supermarket and buy the stock from the EU. We can't get it here in Juneau, but I can find it in Anchorage, so might be a big city kinda thing.

The Ichiban packet is about the same size, costs twice as much and has a lot more calories. It also has less crap in it than raman. One packet with some dehydrated vegetables, stock and some dehydrated chicken is dinner for two. And that is just boil, pour and wait; no cooking.

Ichiban noodles taste better and, oddly enough, are probably better for you.

asian supermarkets usually have a whole selections of instant noodles ... buy a few different packs and take the ones you like

i wouldnt worry TOO much about the nutritional value ... as long as it gives you some carb BOOOM

more important is taste, cause youll need to eat it every day ... or go hunt some rooos

Thanks for your thoughts everyone :)

Most noodles, especially ramen noddles are mostly air.

Angel hair pasta is much denser, takes up way less pack space and cooks quick.
The flavor packets that come with ramen are nasty garbage.

Combine angel hair with dried herbs/veggies/cheese/meat and you will have a denser, more flavorful and nutritious meal.

I knew I had an image of ichiban somewhere...

Try adding low sodium boullion and some oil instead of the flavor packet.

That said, when you're sweating, low salt intake can be deadly too.

Unless you are a super athlete or have medical conditions that require be watching, we Americans get plenty of salt while backpacking in our standard food choices. A one ounce block of cheddar is pretty eye opening.....

Now potassium is something we often don't get enough of - if one is worried while hiking? With their cold mountain water have a bag of very lightly salted kettle potato chips. You get hydrated, potassium and sodium in one easy snack. Often when we get dehydrated we strip our body of potassium - one reason why leg cramps happen so painfully! Sodium is necessary but not in huge amounts. Spread out over the day in sane amounts - not 3,000 mg of it in ONE meal!

So, what you can do is buy some dieter's salt. It is mostly potassium chloride with a bit of sodium chloride.

--B.G.--

"So, what you can do is buy some dieter's salt. It is mostly potassium chloride with a bit of sodium chloride"

Yup. Look for Morton's Lite Salt. 1/4 tsb(1 gram) supplies 360 mg of potassium.

Just don't overdo it, there is such a thing as too much potassium. To much salt can be bad, but too much potassium can be lethal.

I think that your stomach would warn you that you have too much potassium chloride long before your blood chemistry got too fouled up.

--B.G.---

Aye yay yay..........

Straight-up 10-cent, no-chaser, full-sodium, no-potassium, MSG-laden instant ramen will not kill anyone if they eat it now and then in conjunction with an otherwise sane and balanced diet.

Deep breath everyone...instant ramen is OK on the trail.

Yoo-hoo kids: Eat your electrolytes! That was my point.....eat a steady diet that is full of colors. You don't need fancy supplements. You don't need a diet high in commercially added sodium.
Eat nanner chips, tater chips, dried fruit, etc and you get what you need. You also get fiber as well. Something we all could do well to have more of when hiking......