I Don't Have a Problem With Noodles?
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I met a woman yesterday at the baggage claim of MM2 Lagos who walked up to me that he watched a podcast where I criticised Noodles. She asked " what do you want poor people to eat in today's Nigeria."
I was looking at her and smiling because I didn't know the best way not to appear like insensitive Queen Maria Antoinette who famously quipped "S'ils n'ont pas de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche!"
For people who eat noodles not as a last bus stop, meaning they can afford other foods of their choices, there are lots of ways to "healthify" noodles. Asians have been eating it for over 4000 years. But they prepare it differently.
In my considered opinion, the problem is not noodles per se, but which type of noodles and how it is prepared. Noodles are similar to rice when it comes to the method of preparation which determines how healthy it turns out to be.
But noodles are different from rice in that we have normal noodles and instant noodles, just like Coffee. And in nutrition, most instant foods are 85% not as healthy as the real thing.
Let's talk about noodles, unarguably one of the most consumed foods in Nigeria today. Especially instant noodles because 99.8% of Nigerians have not seen noodles in their original forms.
I was shocked the first day I saw huge bags of noodles in an open market in Kuala Lumpur and also in Singapore. Never knew that's how they are.
It was Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese -Japanese man who changed the story with his invention of instant noodles in 1958 as a form of protest against American food imperialism in post 2nd World War Japan. And also use food as tool for peace. He believed that when people are well fed, peace becomes easier to achieve, so Ramen Instant noodles was his answer. I visited the museum where he invented it in Tokyo 14 years ago.
During its production, instant noodles are steamed and then deep-fried to remove water for quick cooking. And they have a pre-gelatinized, porous structure that rehydrates very fast, making them softer, and to make them stick together starch is used with natural thickeners like guar gum, Noodles stick together because of starch.
When they cook or sit in water, the starch on the surface swells and acts like a glue. However, the deep-frying to remove moisture makes them have very high amounts of unhealthy saturated or trans fats.
The basis of my quarrel has to do with the fact that they are highly processed and lack essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, and fiber.
They're also accompanied with preservatives, stabilizers and high amounts of sodium. During the frying process, the oil absorbed adds a lot of calories and saturated fat such that a single block can contain about 15-20g of fat. It is like adding oil to flour and frying it.
One serving of noodles with the seasoning has about 2,000mg of sodium which is almost an entire day’s limit of 2,300mg. And they offer minimal protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals. They're simply stripped of essential nutrients.
Can it be made healthy?
Yes it can, and I am saying this with all sense of responsibility because I found out it is one of the cheapest foods many families can afford in these hard times.
Unfortunately, the cost of most basic ingredients that would help to make noodles healthy are even more expensive than the noodles.
For example four pieces of healthy Carrots sell for about N1000 in Lagos, and a stick of Cucumber is N500, while a pack of noodles is about N500 depending on the size. Hope you understand the survivalist economics this could throw up?
But even if you can't afford the vegetables, start with the lowest hanging fruit which is to discard the seasoning packets, and boil the noodles separately to remove excess fat by pouring away the water like parboiled rice.
It would be insensitive to suggest to struggling families to add proteins like chicken to their noodles but I think they can go for eggs as an alternative and cheaper source of protein.
Leafy greens like Spinach may be out of their reach but Ụgụ is not (I believe so). Lettuce is more expensive than noodles. And grated garlic, and fresh ginger can help to upgrade its antioxidant content.
You see that I don't hate your noodles even though I won't eat it.
Kelechi Deca
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I met a woman yesterday at the baggage claim of MM2 Lagos who walked up to me that he watched a podcast where I criticised Noodles. She asked " what do you want poor people to eat in today's Nigeria."
I was looking at her and smiling because I didn't know the best way not to appear like insensitive Queen Maria Antoinette who famously quipped "S'ils n'ont pas de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche!"
For people who eat noodles not as a last bus stop, meaning they can afford other foods of their choices, there are lots of ways to "healthify" noodles. Asians have been eating it for over 4000 years. But they prepare it differently.
In my considered opinion, the problem is not noodles per se, but which type of noodles and how it is prepared. Noodles are similar to rice when it comes to the method of preparation which determines how healthy it turns out to be.
But noodles are different from rice in that we have normal noodles and instant noodles, just like Coffee. And in nutrition, most instant foods are 85% not as healthy as the real thing.
Let's talk about noodles, unarguably one of the most consumed foods in Nigeria today. Especially instant noodles because 99.8% of Nigerians have not seen noodles in their original forms.
I was shocked the first day I saw huge bags of noodles in an open market in Kuala Lumpur and also in Singapore. Never knew that's how they are.
It was Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese -Japanese man who changed the story with his invention of instant noodles in 1958 as a form of protest against American food imperialism in post 2nd World War Japan. And also use food as tool for peace. He believed that when people are well fed, peace becomes easier to achieve, so Ramen Instant noodles was his answer. I visited the museum where he invented it in Tokyo 14 years ago.
During its production, instant noodles are steamed and then deep-fried to remove water for quick cooking. And they have a pre-gelatinized, porous structure that rehydrates very fast, making them softer, and to make them stick together starch is used with natural thickeners like guar gum, Noodles stick together because of starch.
When they cook or sit in water, the starch on the surface swells and acts like a glue. However, the deep-frying to remove moisture makes them have very high amounts of unhealthy saturated or trans fats.
The basis of my quarrel has to do with the fact that they are highly processed and lack essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, and fiber.
They're also accompanied with preservatives, stabilizers and high amounts of sodium. During the frying process, the oil absorbed adds a lot of calories and saturated fat such that a single block can contain about 15-20g of fat. It is like adding oil to flour and frying it.
One serving of noodles with the seasoning has about 2,000mg of sodium which is almost an entire day’s limit of 2,300mg. And they offer minimal protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals. They're simply stripped of essential nutrients.
Can it be made healthy?
Yes it can, and I am saying this with all sense of responsibility because I found out it is one of the cheapest foods many families can afford in these hard times.
Unfortunately, the cost of most basic ingredients that would help to make noodles healthy are even more expensive than the noodles.
For example four pieces of healthy Carrots sell for about N1000 in Lagos, and a stick of Cucumber is N500, while a pack of noodles is about N500 depending on the size. Hope you understand the survivalist economics this could throw up?
But even if you can't afford the vegetables, start with the lowest hanging fruit which is to discard the seasoning packets, and boil the noodles separately to remove excess fat by pouring away the water like parboiled rice.
It would be insensitive to suggest to struggling families to add proteins like chicken to their noodles but I think they can go for eggs as an alternative and cheaper source of protein.
Leafy greens like Spinach may be out of their reach but Ụgụ is not (I believe so). Lettuce is more expensive than noodles. And grated garlic, and fresh ginger can help to upgrade its antioxidant content.
You see that I don't hate your noodles even though I won't eat it.
Kelechi Deca