Day 18 - Home Made Ramen Close Enough

Ramen substitute

As part of my job   I need to take people to eat sometimes and have conversations over food. My office happens to have zero vegetarian friendly Ramen places so I opted for an Asian pasta option  that is pretty close. Only thing missing was the broth.

Pad Thai, I ate before I remembered to take a pic

I had the tofu and vegetables pad thai without egg. It was pretty good but very very hot (temperature). I got the small since the large is uneatable unless you want to be in a carb coma all day. The tea they had was undrinkable as well so I probably won't be going here often.

The Ramen diet is on the back side of completion

Tonight I planned to make a fresh from scratch Ramen recipe. I chose a recipe from of all places Canadianliving.com. I am serving this to the whole family so it better be good or I won't hear the end of it.

Shiitake mushrooms for broth

I made the broth first starting with a vegan chicken broth I got from Sprouts. My wife has issues with gluten and soy so the miso in the broth I used a brown rice miso instead of a traditional.

Brown rice miso

I had to make three bowls of Ramen for dinner and all three were slightly different. I used my broth for all of them but my daughter wanted meat on her's and my wife wanted Rice noodles in her's. I don't like the rice noodles because they soak up the broth and become slimy.

Traditional Japanese noodles

The night before I took my daughter to the store with me and she picked out the fish cake and pork she wanted in her Ramen. She also wanted a hard boiled egg in her's because she says you have to have it or it's not real Ramen.

Pork loin chunks

Everyone liked the broth a lot. My daughter ate her food like a prison inmate. I can tell something is good when she eats like that. She wanted no vegetables in her's which was disappointing.

All meat, fish cake, and egg Ramen for my kid

My wife and I had mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, bok choy, and green onion in ours. I thought it all tasted very good. It did need a little salt so I think if I make this again that I will add more soy sauce to the broth when I cook it. Overall I thought it was a great success.

Veggie Ramen with Tofu

Thanks for checking in. Let me know if you have any Ramen recipes that I could try as well. Remember I only eat veggies.

Day 17 - Ramen Baked Potato

Baked Potato Ramen

I worked from home today so I had some time to make a decent dinner for the family. For breakfast I had coffee and for lunch I had some more of the amazing Trader Joe's Miso Ginger Broth and Somen noodles. I really like the texture of these noodles. I went and bought some more and tomorrow I will be making Ramen for the whole family. My daughter eats meat so she had me buy a fish cake and some pork to cook for her Ramen.

For dinner I made the family some baked potatoes. I was getting bummed when I was cooking because I wanted a baked potato. It's getting cold here and will be raining tonight so what better food for that weather. Then I got the brilliant idea, Ramen Baked Potato!

Oh yeah, gourmet Ramen Potato

I used the Nissin Ramen and cooked it and let it sit to soak up the broth. Then I drained the remaining broth so it wouldn't just coup up the potato. I put some butter on the potato and some bacon bits then topped the whole thing with broccoli and cauliflower and some sauteed mushrooms and garlic with basil.

Sauteed mushroom with garlic and basil

My family was disgusted. My daughter didn't like her potato anyway because I didn't have any cheese or sour cream. She doesn't like healthy baked potatoes I guess. My wife saw me cooking the Ramen and asked if I was going to have some Ramen with our potatoes and I said no it was going to be on it. She thought I was kidding until I brought it to the table. Then she was disturbed.

It was actually very good. I may try incorporating some other normal food with Ramen in the future since this turned out so well. What do you think I should put Ramen on/in next?

Day 16 - Bland and Full of Salt

Looks good, but tasted borring

Another AM/PM coffee and I was racing to work. Today seemed to go ok but a little out of whack. Work is a tad chaotic recently due to our staffing shortages but I've gotten used to plate spinning. I wonder if that could be a good circus act to use to run away with?

Today's lunch was some healthier organic Ramen, and boy did it taste like it. I don't know if I maybe used too much water or that the seasoning was just too boring, but it wasn't great.This was probably one of the most flat Ramen tastes I've had so far. Even the noodles looked boring.

Whole wheat noodles? Why are they brown?

Dinner on Tuesday nights is usually with a bunch of my friends. We meet at random restaurants and eat and talk. Tonight I will eat first and then go to the meet up to hang out and watch everyone else eat while I drink my tea. I would cancel but I drive my nephew who comes as well so I'm stuck for another two weeks watching people eat food I want to eat.

Ol' reliable

For dinner I needed something that I knew was going to taste good. Lunch had been so underwhelming that it bummed me out. I added all the same vegetables and some tofu and went full seasoning packet instead of a partial. After I ate I went out to eat with all my friends to a local dive burger joint. I watched them all eat greasy burgers and fries dipped in ranch. I didn't have any cash on me so I didn't feel like busting out the ATM card for just a tea so I just sat and talked. Afterwards it was a friend of mine's birthday and there was cake.

Sometimes being on a silly diet that has no point is a bummer. Has any one else out there has this kind of experience? Thanks for checking in.

Day 15 - Cooking at Work

If it's in the bowl and you eat with chopsticks, it's Ramen

Today is the halfway point. I go from being sick of Ramen to looking forward to it every day. My tongue feels worn out from the salt so I am hoping the fresh broth and better noodles create an improvement there. I still have a hard time drinking enough water. I have lost some inches. I never weighed myself so I don't know if weight has gone away, but my belt loop is one hole shorter so that is one positive to take away from this whole crazy experience. I have also realized it takes very little time to prep and eat fresh food from home. Eating at work is saving me money and giving me an excuse to write on this blog daily.

Boiled noodles in the microwave then drained

Today for lunch I brought some Japanese soba noodles. I had to boil them in the microwave then drain and rinse. I wished that I had a colander but I made due. Then I cooked the broth I got at Trader Joe's with a bunch of veggies and some vegan beef.

Steamed in broth

 It was so good. I can't wait to eat this again later tonight for dinner. These noodles were very delicious and had a great texture. This weekend while shopping at the 99 Ranch Market I also bought some comically large chopsticks and ate with those. They worked much better than I thought so I washed them and plan to use them at work to eat for the rest of the time.

Giant chopsticks

I made pretty much the same thing for dinner that I had for lunch. I also made my wife some Thai eggplant with red curry sauce and rice. It smelled so good. My daughter hates this for some reason so I had to microwave her something else. Making three meals is a little time consuming and when I make something that tastes this good I wish the Ramen thing was over.

Thai eggplant with red curry sauce and rice

So good!

The noodles pictured above were very good though and once I started eating them I didn't feel so bad that I missed out on Thai food.

There's noodles under there I swear

I checked on the sodium in these noodles and the miso ginger broth I am using from Trader Joe's and the noodles look pretty good but the broth is still loaded with sodium.

Noodles look good

I am not sure there is a way around all the salt when it comes to this food. I am making some fresh broth in a few days for dinner and my whole family is eating Ramen. I think when I make that broth it will be lower in sodium than this other broth I've been eating.

Thanks for checking in. Make sure and comment below with your um...comments.

Day 14 - Fresh Ramen

Ramen bowl, bunnies chasing each other

I was pretty wiped out from a long day yesterday and was in no mood to eat any breakfast. I had a small coffee but was still full from the night before. For lunch I had some reduced sodium Ramen that I had purchased at the local vegan grocery. It was as expected very bland. I had a lot to do today so I rushed through it and tried not to put any salt on my soup.

Reduced Taste

Ramen with beef chunks

I cooked the rest of my beef and added it to the bland Ramen. It helped some but it was underwhelming for sure.

Fresh Ramen

The noodles I got for dinner were fresh and needed to be refrigerated. I didn't like them much, but not due to the flavor. They were rice noodles which soaked up the broth very quickly and became way too slimy. I eventually abandoned the chopsticks for a fork to finish the soup.

Broth from Trader Joe's

Instead of some packaged MSG powder I used a new broth from Trader Joe's. The miso flavor combined with ginger was so good! I also chopped up some fresh ginger to add a little kick. (Remember if using fresh ginger only use a tiny amount, this stuff is strong and can easily ruin a good meal if used in excess.)

I plan on making more fresh Ramen with this broth over the next week. We'll see how that goes when I am at work. I am also planning on a freshly prepared broth from scratch for dinner this Thursday when it's going to be cold and possibly raining.

Thanks for checking in. What do you like to eat when it's cold out?

Day 13 - Cheat Day #2 Chipotle Quesarito

Breakfast of champions, coffee and heavy metal

Today I not going to eat a ton. I have a festival my band is playing and it's in the middle of nowhere so facilities will be only porta potties. I don't want to end the night taking a dump in a port john so I gotta eat as light as possible for a cheat day. That means liquid breakfast to start. Two cups will do me fine until lunch time.

Chipotle, you failed me today

Chipotle was on the menu for lunch today. I had heard about their new Quesrito which is on a secret menu. It was supposed to be a full size tortilla quesadilla then they make a burrito out of that. Instead the girl made a single tortilla folded in half quesadilla then peeled it open to add my burrito stuff. Basically making it a normal burrito with already melted cheese. At least they didn't charge any extra but I felt jipped. On the plus side they had some new tofu meat which was very good.

The massive tofu Quesarito wanna be

That burrito kept me full all day and night. I had a show and my band played until around 11pm. I finally got hungry after I used a bunch of energy playing drums.

Back Yard show at Bob's Bang Shack

After I left the show and thanked all the people for showing up I was starving. In California the only place to go late at night when you're starving and it's cheat day is In-N-Out. I got a grilled cheese and it was awesome!

Grilled Cheese - another secret menu item

So both my cheat foods were secret, under cover, and delicious. The show went great and we had a blast. It was a good day. What did you eat on your cheat day this weekend?

Day 12 - Lemon Flavored Yuck

Lemon is strong with this one

For breakfast I had my usual coffee and juice. My work had an office meeting and bought tiny burritos which I loved but the girl who buys them knew I was doing Ramen and didn't buy any vegetarian ones. I dodged a bullet because I love these mini burritos and would have definitely ate some with the fresh guacamole.

The aroma was worse than the bite

I was surprised at lunch by the strength of the lemon smell from this Ramen. I should have expected it since it has lemon in the title but I was taken aback. I was able to get past it and finish the bowl since the smell was stronger than the taste. If it had tasted as lemony as it smelled there's no way I could have finished it. I am ok with lemon in sweet things but not my hot Ramen lunch.

OMG The sodium!

So after yesterday and the realization that I am eating probably too much salt, I started looking today. For dinner I found this packet of Nissin regular flavor has over my daily allowance of Sodium. I only put a small amount of the flavor packet so I can hopefully save myself the heart attack.

Broccoli, tofu, green onion, cabbage, and asparagus

Even with only a small amount of the flavoring this Ramen was very tasty tonight. I am really loving the fresh tofu. Make sure you use only the extra firm tofu or it will fall apart in the Ramen.

Ramen at the computer while I am blogging

The one thing about eating Ramen, it is always very filling. Thanks for checking in. Let me know if you want me to mention anything specific about this process.

Day 11 - Discombobulated

Be careful, it will burn your mouth off

Today I feel out of sorts. I woke up a little dazed and it hasn't been going like I had planned. My morning coffee was too weak and I had to stop and get something else at AM/PM. Their coffee tasted fine but was way too hot so I burned my mouth off.

Bag-O-Veggies and some Kung Fu

For lunch I was out at a client's office so I had to make the food in their break room. The little styrofoam bowl is no substitute for my ceramic ones and left little room for my extra vegetables. I usually steam my vegetables in my bowl but today I had to sit them in there with hot water and hope for the best. It was doable but I need to get a better portable bowl for the next time. They're cheap enough that I can get one and leave it in the car.

Forks and Ramen should not mix

I also ate with a fork for the first time on this diet and it was actually harder to eat that way. I don't know if it's due to the fork or the fact that I am so used to using chopsticks. Either way I need to start carrying some chopsticks in the car as well.

Another concern people have with this diet is the salt intake. Just in the Kung Fu Ramen pack listed above it has 47% of the daily sodium intake per serving. Of course the bowl is 2 servings. So as it sits this lunch meal gave me all my daily recommended salt intake. That can't be good to do in one sitting, let alone multiple times a day. I have to be more observant on the packages to their sodium content.

Dinner Ramen. Cooking in a pan is my favorite way to cook Ramen

For dinner I made some healthier Ramen. Annie Chun's Spring Vegetable comes with fresh Ramen in a pouch not the dried stuff and the flavor packets isn't a powder but a sauce you add to the water. The broth was very good and the fresh Ramen noodles are way better than their dried counterparts. 

As healthy as any Ramen can be

Fresh noodles are the best

The dinner meal was much better than my weak lunch meal. As per usual my daughter and wife had food that made me wish I was eating something else but I powered through. Hope you enjoyed today's update. Keep checking back and let me know if you have any ideas or links for Ramen recipes.

Day 10 - What is this pink thing?

Juice for breakfast, pineapple and grapefruit

At breakfast time I chop up some pineapple and peel some grapefruits and run them through the blender for a nice eye opening juice. I friend of mine who is no longer with us gave me this juice recipe. You juice the whole pineapple too, rind and all. It's supposed to be good for joint pain and my wife says it helps with her's. I just like the taste and it makes a good breakfast juice.

Vegetarian Noodles, Kim Ve Wong

I'm pretty busy right now at work and even though I got to work from home today I still had lots to do. I was looking for a quick and easy meal so I could get back to my pile of stuff. I picked this rather large bowl of "Vegetarian instant noodle mixed flavor".

The large packet is fresh (well as fresh as they could be) vegetables

The noodles came with multiple packets of flavoring and vegetables. I used the stuff it came with but the vegetables were barely recognizable. I have no idea what the pink things were so I pulled them all out of the soup. I also steamed my own mix of veggies to add to the bowl.

Ramen with the veggies that came with it

I took the bowl that it came with and dumped it into one of my new Ramen bowls that had a cat on it. You can see it below peeking it's head out from behind the vegetables.

Kitty cat bowl, he's hugging my food

The soup was very good but the pink things were scary. I didn't try it so I couldn't tell you how it tastes or the texture. If you know what it is please comment below.

What the hell is that pink thing?

For dinner I made my wife mole enchiladas filled with zuchini, peppers, and onions with spanish rice and refried beans. OMG I wanted to eat this instead. I was in a hurry tonight as well because I had somewhere to be. I grabbed some vegan beef and tossed in a bowl of Kung Fu Ramen with no extra veggies. It was passable for a fast meal but nothing like that mole enchilada plate my wife had.

Ramen with nothing added but the vegan beef

It's times when I am rushed that I feel are the hardest to stay the course on this diet. It's so easy to make the meal for the family and then fix myself the same thing. Cooking a new meal just for me can be a pain when I am in a hurry. Not having vegetables with this dinner was a bummer but I was pressed for time so the re-hydrated stuff you see above was my only option.

Thanks for checking in. What do you do in a rush?