Homemade Ramen

It's January and like many of you - I'm trying to eat just a little healthier in 2019.  In order to help me make better food choices, I started counting my macros.  It's basically a way of counting  the grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates that I consume in a day.  It's a little more involved that just counting calories but I feel like it gives a more accurate picture of my daily nutrition.  

Everyones macro needs are a little different and as far as I can tell, the calculations that are used to estimate macros, vary quite a bit as well.  It took me a little time but I finally managed to calculate my macros and based on my dietary needs.  I'm shooting for 18% fat, 37% protein and 45% carbohydrates in my diet. 

I don't have aspirations of eating every single meal according to my macros but I do think it will be interesting to see where I'm falling short as a whole.  Am I getting too many of my calories from carbohydrates like sugar or am I falling behind on my protein consumption?  

As part of my healthier eating plan for 2019, I made a giant pot of homemade ramen soup.  What could be easier than warming up a bowl of this delicious soup for lunch when I'm in a hurry?  It's warm and hearty and super satisfying on cold January days.  

One bowl of this delicious soup has 110 calories, 4 grams of fat, 18.8 grams of carbohydrates and 7.8 grams of protein.  I used the recipe calculator on the My Fitness Pal app to calculate the exact nutritional components of my homemade ramen soup.  This soup is made up of 13% fat, 27% protein and 60% carbohydrates.  I've got to say, this soup is pretty darn close to my macro goals.  

No man or woman in the world has the time to calculate the fat, protein and carbs for every single thing that goes into their mouth throughout the day.  As much as I'd like the idea of being able to track all of my macros on a daily basis, let's face it - that's not going to happen.  I rely on My Fitness Pal to help me estimate my calories and my macros and as long as I take the time to enter the food that I eat into the app, it does an excellent job of calculating my daily nutrition.  I'm not sure what is more challenging - sticking to my macro plan or remembering to enter my food into the fitness app.  

Homemade Ramen

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 4 teaspoons grated garlic
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• 4 cups water
• 3 ounces shiitake mushrooms
• 1 package udon noodles
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions or chives
• 2 cup chopped kale (optional)
• 1 cups shredded carrots
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• crunchy golden panko crumbs for topping

Heat oil in skillet.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. 

Add broth and water and bring to a simmer.  

Add mushrooms and simmer 10 minutes. 

Add noodles and simmer 5 minutes.  

Stir in scallions, kale and carrots. 

Top with a spoonful of panko.

Serve with a half of a boiled egg. 

I need to hear from my readers who are experienced macro counters.  What are your tips for making it easier?  Which apps do you use to help you keep track?  I'm new to this whole macro counting world and I need all the help and support that I can get.  

The only reason that I didn't add the kale to my ramen soup is that I didn't have any.  (And I didn't want to make another trip to the store.)  I do think that it would boost the nutritional content even more without adding additional calories so I am already looking forward to making another pot of ramen - WITH kale next time.  

​Ciao!  

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