[There is an update at the end of this post]

The noodle soup packages you get from the stores are the staple for bachelors (and maybe teens, when left to their own devices). Given that these are packed with sodium and god-only-knows what else, I don’t know how I survived this far…

And so, I came up with an alternative. I believe, one day, there will be a bust in my honour, and maybe even a Nobel Peace Prize, for coming up with this recipe…or maybe not…

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Ingredients:

• 1/3 package of Catelli Ancient Grains Fusilli (about 111 grams)
• Chicken or Vegetable or Beef broth (whatever you like) – enough to cover the noodles – mind the salt (it’s bad for your kidneys, for example) – I use the 30% reduced salt version of broth.
• a pinch of cayenne pepper – adds heat, plus, many health benefits. See here: Cayenne Pepper: Health Benefits, Nutrients per Serving, Preparation Information and More (webmd.com)
• a pinch of ground ginger – many health benefits PLUS makes it taste like Turkey soup if you are using chicken broth for the base
• w beef broth, I am adding a pinch of Thyme, a pinch of Rosemary, a pinch of Cayenne and a pinch of Turmeric.
• 1 – 2 tbsp tomato paste – provides 29 mg of LUTEIN (10 mg/day is recommended for eye health. See here: The Benefits of Tomato Paste (and Full Nutrition Facts) | Nutrition Advance. Strained tomatoes can be purchased in glass bottles.
• on top of all this, I toss a cup or so of frozen vegetables. Food Basics carries Selection Brand and they are vending frozen versions of just about everything, including Soup Vegetables (onion, carrots, green beans, turnip, celery) and Autumn Vegetables (Sweet Potato, Turnip, and a couple of others I don’t remember – but its very good).

Directions:

• This is, after all, JUNK FOOD, and so, it has to be prepared in a MICROWAVE OVEN 🙂 – mine is 1200W. Use a microwave safe bowl.
  • I cook at Power Level 7 for 4:44
  • Let it sit for a few minutes, and then cook it at Power Level 6 for 2:22 then give it a little longer to soften the noodles.

Comments:

• The Ancient Grains noodles provide 12 gms of protein per cup. The daily requirement is 0.36 gms per lb body weight, so if you weigh 100 lbs, you should consume at least 36 gms of protein from various sources, every day.
• The Ancient Grains noodles provide 8 gms of fibre/cup. The daily requirement is about 25 gms per day for women/ 38 gms per day for men.
• The more one uses Vegetable broth, the more the World’s chickens and steers will like humans :).
• The health benefits of cayenne pepper are amazing! I strongly suggest following the links above.
• Have a great day and stay healthy!!!

Update:

I use purchased broth for backup now. I have taken to making my own broth using the carcass of a rotisserie chicken, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 blob of fish sauce, 1 tbsp celery salt, a wee bit of pepper…and lots of carrots – I save the carrots and the meat off of the carcass after slow-cooking for about 18 hours, and use them as a substitute for can food  for my dog. The dry kibble remains her main nutrition source, but she loves the broth-infused carrots and THIS IS SAVING ME A LOT OF MONEY, while adding nutritional value…

However, TOO MUCH CARROT WILL CAUSE DIARRHEA. If it does, reduce the amount of carrot intake to a level that will not cause diarrhea. Or stop the carrots altogether.