Every now and then

For a while I used to think that I was the only one who did this: buy instant ramen and then add an egg and veggies for an almost instant meal. I kept this meal a secret because as someone who believes in a) the beauty of real cooking, b) fresh, healthy ingredients void of corn syrup and things I could not pronounce, and c) never eating a meal that comes out of a box/packaging (unless you're an astronaut), here I was buying ramen that is 3 for a dollar (!!!) and actually eating that for a meal. There was always a lot of guilt and secrecy when I snuck into the neighborhood Foodtown and picked up the ramen.

However, I think one night I tipsily let it slip to my friends that this is what I was eating during a week or two dry spell of cooking. To my amazement, I was NOT the only one who was and has done this. Apparently everybody knew about "fancy ramen" and my shame began to dissipiate. However, I did recognize that the 3 for a dollar ramens you buy in the grocery store are packed with MSG and lots of other unknowns so I decided to head to the HMart in Ktown and look for a ramen that was perhaps slightly more authentic and a little bit more made for the Asian palette.

I have yet to find an instant ramen that lacks MSG but I did discover Shirakiki Japanese Style Noodle which has less MSG than others and all the ingredients I can pronounce and know what they are. And to top that, it tastes awesome and in the directions encourages that you add vegetables and other things to amplify the taste of the noodles! Packaging that alleviates guilt! Amazing.

So here it is, a confession: I eat meals out of packages. Sometimes I'm just too tired, too hungry, too lazy, or too annoyed to actually get out the cutting board, knives, pans, and ingredients to make myself a meal. And now that I've worn my stomach on my sleeve about it, I discover that thousands of others are doing the same too! So right now I'm enjoying a big bowl of this instant ramen that I made when I got back from my run. I had come home and was shaking out of hunger and had begun to start the task of making a meal and then decided, what the hell, every now and then it's okay to eat this junk and it's not even entirely junk when you add an egg, two handfuls of spinach, and top it with some kimchi.