No Shame in Ramen Noodles for Dinner
I've had a bad mental health week. I'm sure many of you have been there: pulling yourself out of bed and forcing yourself to shower and head to work so you can pay bills is hard enough, but the idea of standing in front of a stove and cooking seems completely impossible. Kids still gotta eat though.
So what do you do? Well I for one am a big fan of encouraging independence in children by giving them the occasional opportunity to feed themselves (at age appropriate levels of course) so "mom's feeling like a bowl of shit tonight meal" #2 was them making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with apple slices for dinner. The apple slices were impressively their idea. I'm very lucky to have kids that actually enjoy eating fruits and veggies; night #1 we ordered pizza. By night #3 I was feeling guilty about not cooking so I popped in the kitchen to make one of the easiest and quickest things in the pantry: ramen noodles.
Yes, ramen noodles, the college kid's life force. You might read that and jump to thinking what a lazy piece of shit I am. Or maybe you don't make ramen noodles for your own kids because you worry people will think that of you. Well firstly let me tell you to check your privilege, because there's some moms out there that can't afford much else right now. I should know, I've been one of them during my single mommy years. Secondly, there's actually quite a range of full, nutrient rich meals you can make out of ramen, it's hella cheap, and guess what? Most kids like them!
So here's what I made and it cost me about $5, and 10 mins, to make.
(you college kids feel free to save this too!)
Ingredients:
Chicken (I used 1/4 of a package of chicken tender strips I purchase for just under nine bucks, so about $2.25 worth of chicken.)
1/2 bag of frozen peas & carrots (bag was three dollars so about $1.50 worth)
2 packages of chicken flavored ramen noodles ($1)
Directions:
Cubed chicken with a little bit of seasoned salt and pan fry until thoroughly cooked (about 5-8 minutes depending how thick your cubes are.) Once cooked toss veggies in that same pan and cook until tender.
Cook ramen noodles as directed on package in a separate pot. Once done, drain water and add chicken and veggies. Stir together with seasoning from package and voila! A satisfying meal with poultry, veggies, and carbs! I wouldn't feed anyone this every night, but for a once in awhile quick meal when you just don't have the energy to whip up something fancy, this will do just fine!
You don't have to be supermom all the time.
So what do you do? Well I for one am a big fan of encouraging independence in children by giving them the occasional opportunity to feed themselves (at age appropriate levels of course) so "mom's feeling like a bowl of shit tonight meal" #2 was them making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with apple slices for dinner. The apple slices were impressively their idea. I'm very lucky to have kids that actually enjoy eating fruits and veggies; night #1 we ordered pizza. By night #3 I was feeling guilty about not cooking so I popped in the kitchen to make one of the easiest and quickest things in the pantry: ramen noodles.
Yes, ramen noodles, the college kid's life force. You might read that and jump to thinking what a lazy piece of shit I am. Or maybe you don't make ramen noodles for your own kids because you worry people will think that of you. Well firstly let me tell you to check your privilege, because there's some moms out there that can't afford much else right now. I should know, I've been one of them during my single mommy years. Secondly, there's actually quite a range of full, nutrient rich meals you can make out of ramen, it's hella cheap, and guess what? Most kids like them!
So here's what I made and it cost me about $5, and 10 mins, to make.
(you college kids feel free to save this too!)
Ingredients:
Chicken (I used 1/4 of a package of chicken tender strips I purchase for just under nine bucks, so about $2.25 worth of chicken.)
1/2 bag of frozen peas & carrots (bag was three dollars so about $1.50 worth)
2 packages of chicken flavored ramen noodles ($1)
Directions:
Cubed chicken with a little bit of seasoned salt and pan fry until thoroughly cooked (about 5-8 minutes depending how thick your cubes are.) Once cooked toss veggies in that same pan and cook until tender.
Cook ramen noodles as directed on package in a separate pot. Once done, drain water and add chicken and veggies. Stir together with seasoning from package and voila! A satisfying meal with poultry, veggies, and carbs! I wouldn't feed anyone this every night, but for a once in awhile quick meal when you just don't have the energy to whip up something fancy, this will do just fine!You don't have to be supermom all the time.
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