Top Ramen is my second savior

[Raccoon1010]

My family eats this brand. I was pleasantly surprised to see “made in USA” on the package. I figured they were made in China.

Yeah me too. This is the brand I eat also.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Yeah me too. This is the brand I eat also.

See? We DO have something in common!

 

[TLHKAJ]

OK so I read about it, and yes they have a US company but it is originally from Japan. They also have a Japan based op. Strange that it only cost 25 cents if it's US based.

They used to be 19 cents each not too long ago. lol
Well, that was the price when I used to buy them ...probably longer ago than I realized. It's been over 10 yrs since I bought them. No nutritional value, tons of carbs and sodium.

 

[amadeus]

Wow, I was a heavy equipment mechanic and a long-shoreman in the USMCR. We tied supplies to helicopters for troop supplies for the most part. I was in the landing support battalion.

When I arrived in Viet Nam [Aug 1964] there only 16,000 active military Americans military there with no combat troops. The Signal Corps probably comprised the largest part from the US Army present. Probably most of the rest were in the Air Force. In January of 1965, President LB Johnson sent the first contingent of combat troops to Viet Nam. I remember when the U.S. Marines straight from San Diego Calif. landed on the beach not far from Danang where I was. They came ashore with fully loaded packs, weapons and ammunition and they were definitely not acclimatized. It is warm and sometimes hot in San Diego, but Viet Nam is more like the southern most part of Texas hot and extremely humid.

As the Marines trotted ashore probably half or more of them collapsed from heat exhaustion before clearing the beach. Too much weight and too much heat and those were guys in excellent physical condition... for Southern California. Fortunately the enemy was not there to take advantage of their initial weakness. By the time I left in Aug of 1965 to go home the number of American troops was up to 65,000 and many of those were combat troops. It was really beginning although it really had already started. We had two men killed by the Viet Cong from our Signal Company. [Our company was spread over the whole country manning the Microwave stations.]

 

[Raccoon1010]

They used to be 19 cents each not too long ago. lol
Well, that was the price when I used to buy them ...probably longer ago than I realized. It's been over 10 yrs since I bought them. No nutritional value, tons of carbs and sodium.

I eat that and eggs on toast near the end of the month to survive. I usually do better but it was Christmas,

 

[Raccoon1010]

When I arrived in Viet Nam [Aug 1964] there only 16,000 active military Americans military there with no combat troops. The Signal Corps probably comprised the largest part from the US Army present. Probably most of the rest were in the Air Force. In January of 1965, President LB Johnson sent the first contingent of combat troops to Viet Nam. I remember when the U.S. Marines straight from San Diego Calif. landed on the beach not far from Danang where I was. They came ashore with fully loaded packs, weapons and ammunition and they were definitely not acclimatized. It is warm and sometimes hot in San Diego, but Viet Nam is more like the southern most part of Texas hot and extremely humid.

As the Marines trotted ashore probably half or more of them collapsed from heat prostration before clearing the beach. Too much weight and too much heat and those were guys in excellent physical in good condition... for Southern California. Fortunately the enemy was not there to take advantage of their initial weakness. By the time I left in Aug of 1965 to go home the number of American troops was up to 65,000 and many of those were combat troops. It was really beginning although it really had already started. We had two men killed by the Viet Cong from our Signal Company. [Our company was spread over the whole country manning the Microwave stations.]

Speaking of heavy load, we were briefed before Iraq deployment, which was cancelled, not to bring too much ammo during C-130 jumps. In Panama the Army jumped in overloaded and many had leg fractures and such. Too many grenades and ammo.

 

[Raccoon1010]

When I arrived in Viet Nam [Aug 1964] there only 16,000 active military Americans military there with no combat troops. The Signal Corps probably comprised the largest part from the US Army present. Probably most of the rest were in the Air Force. In January of 1965, President LB Johnson sent the first contingent of combat troops to Viet Nam. I remember when the U.S. Marines straight from San Diego Calif. landed on the beach not far from Danang where I was. They came ashore with fully loaded packs, weapons and ammunition and they were definitely not acclimatized. It is warm and sometimes hot in San Diego, but Viet Nam is more like the southern most part of Texas hot and extremely humid.

As the Marines trotted ashore probably half or more of them collapsed from heat exhaustion before clearing the beach. Too much weight and too much heat and those were guys in excellent physical condition... for Southern California. Fortunately the enemy was not there to take advantage of their initial weakness. By the time I left in Aug of 1965 to go home the number of American troops was up to 65,000 and many of those were combat troops. It was really beginning although it really had already started. We had two men killed by the Viet Cong from our Signal Company. [Our company was spread over the whole country manning the Microwave stations.]

Also in school I almost passed out from the heat and humidity on a run in North Carolina. My eyes blacked out and I had to stop. So I kinda understand.

 

[amadeus]

Speaking of heavy load, we were briefed before Iraq deployment, which was cancelled, not to bring too much ammo during C-130 jumps. In Panama the Army jumped in overloaded and many had leg fractures and such. Too many grenades and ammo.

I expect as it was when I was in the military someone knew a better way to do it, but lots of hardheads running the show with the result that some poor foot soldier with no rank or influence carries the load and does the suffering.

Kind of compares to the civilian USA today where the bigwigs in Washington D.C. and similar places make decisions with the wrong set of priorities... with little understanding or real compassion for for all of the little guys out here where we live... Of course some of those bigwigs probably know exactly what their actions or inactions cause, but as long as it is in their own best interests...?

 

[WaterSong]

Ramen is one of the best 'survival' foods.
- According to.. some survival experts.

I saw people leaving WalMart when this lockdown started with case stacks of Ramen in their carts. They're healthier now than before. The company removed the MSG, lowered the sodium levels, removed a lot of the artificial ingredients. Buy a pack of mixed veggies for a little under a dollar to add too, some low sodium real soy sauce, and dinner is served.

 

[amadeus]

Also in school I almost passed out from the heat and humidity on a run in North Carolina. My eyes blacked out and I had to stop. So I kinda understand.

Yes it can happen to anyone who is not used to that kind of weather. You can get used to it but it takes time. Perhaps they should have sent all of those Marines to Texas or Georgia for a few weeks before the trip to Viet Nam. But, I'm not an expert either!

 

[WaterSong]

Got me thinking, I wonder if you can add spam to top ramen, pork ramen of course. We had MRE's in the military when I was in in the 90's. Missed out on spam

Nothing wrong with SPAM. It's made of ham and pork shoulder. Good stuff. Fried up , with a side of Guldens mustard to dip pieces in before munching. Toast goes good with it too, as in sandwich. Add some sauerkraut.

 

[Raccoon1010]

I expect as it was when I was in the military someone knew a better way to do it, but lots of hardheads running the show with the result that some poor foot soldier with no rank or influence carries the load and does the suffering.

Kind of compares to the civilian USA today where the bigwigs in Washington D.C. and similar places make decisions with the wrong set of priorities... with little understanding or real compassion for for all of the little guys out here where we live... Of course some of those bigwigs probably know exactly what their actions or inactions cause, but as long as it is in their own best interests...?

Approaching the Iraq war we were trained in combat. And one time we went to north Canada to have war games against the British Royal Marines. Our officers put us in a valley and them on the hill. It was freezing and I woke up in several inches of water. Needless to say I was wroth. Overall I enjoyed the exercises. But could have done without the valley rain filled encampment order.

But when you enlisted, you get stuff like that. So oh well.

 

[Raccoon1010]

Nothing wrong with SPAM. It's made of ham and pork shoulder. Good stuff. Fried up , with a side of Guldens mustard to dip pieces in before munching. Toast goes good with it too, as in sandwich. Add some sauerkraut.

I like to make a Pho type meal out of it.

 

[WaterSong]

I like to make a Pho type meal out of it.

Yep. It's easy to get creative with SPAM.
SPAM stir fry.
Vintage SPAM advertisements over the years @ Wititudes

 

[amadeus]

Approaching the Iraq war we were trained in combat. And one time we went to north Canada to have war games against the British Royal Marines. Our officers put us in a valley and them on the hill. It was freezing and I woke up in several inches of water. Needless to say I was wroth. Overall I enjoyed the exercises. But could have done without the valley rain filled encampment order.

But when you enlisted, you get stuff like that. So oh well.

LOL yes, really good times, huh? When I was going through basic training at Ft Ord, Calif. we had a night training exercise where we all set up our tents [shelter halves, where two men carry the two halves of a two man tent] on a hillside and crawled into our tents for a few hours sleep. We had a cloud burst and that hillside became a raging torrent of run off water flowing through many of the little tents and washing some of them away. We were a wet exhausted bunch anxious for a hot shower when we finally were able to return to our barracks. Imagine a real foot soldier in that situation where there is no comfortable barracks with a hot water shower available...

Toward the end of our basic we went on a 26 mile hike with full packs, rifles, ammunition etc. Every so often they would call a short rest stop and had us remove our boots and check our feet. Any with a blister on a foot the size of a silver dollar or larger could cut his hike short and ride back to the barracks in the back of a truck. Lots of smaller blisters, but me and most of the others had to walk the whole 26 miles. We were in good shape but that was a long way to walk with weight on your back...

Ft Ord is gone now. It was one of the military posts shut down permanently a number of years ago. It was located close to Monterrey and Carmel so probably the land sold to the highest bidder for big bucks.

 

[amadeus]

Nothing wrong with SPAM. It's made of ham and pork shoulder. Good stuff. Fried up , with a side of Guldens mustard to dip pieces in before munching. Toast goes good with it too, as in sandwich. Add some sauerkraut.

I love it, but minus the sauerkraut. Even during my year in Germany I always hated sauerkraut avoiding it whenever possible. But the dark German beer, I loved it. I got spoiled on it and could hardly tolerate most of the American beer when I first came back to the States.

 

[Raccoon1010]

LOL yes, really good times, huh? When I was going through basic training at Ft Ord, Calif. we had a night training exercise where all set up our tents [shelter halfs, where two men carry the two halves of a two man tent] on a hillside and crawled into our tents for a few hours sleep. We had a cloud burst and that hillside became a raging torrent of run off water flowing through many of the little tents and washing some of them away. We were a wet exhausted bunch anxious for a hot shower when we finally were able to return to our barracks. Imagine a real foot soldier in that situation where there is no comfortable barrack with a hot water shower available...

Toward the end of our basic we went of a 26 miles hike with full packs, rifles, ammunition etc. Every so often they would call a short rest stop and had us remove our boots and check our feet. Any with a blister on a foot the size of a silver dollar or larger could cut his hike short and ride back to the barracks in the back of a truck. Lots of smaller blisters, but me and most of the others had to walk the whole 26 miles. We were in shape but that is a long way to walk with weight on your back...

Ft Ord is gone now. It was one of the military posts shut down permanently a number of years ago. It was located close to Monterrey and Carmel so probably the land sold to the highest bidder for big bucks.

Yeah in basic we had the 25 mile hike up a mountain with full packs. It was in San Diego and when we got up to the spot we had a night fire with automatic weapons and orienteering training with glow in the dark compasses. It was pretty fun, but half of my troop couldn't make the hike loaded down like that. They gave them double exercise for the next week or two. I'm glad I didn't give up, cause I got to rest the next week while they didn't.

Yeah I've heard stories of officers getting shot in Vietnam cause the enlisted didn't want to end up dead from orders. I can't imagine

 

[WaterSong]

I love it, but minus the sauerkraut. Even during my year in Germany I always hated sauerkraut avoiding it whenever possible. But the dark German beer, I loved it. I got spoiled on it and could hardly tolerate most of the American beer when I first came back to the States.

I bet. The purity standards in Germany even then was superior to that of the U.S.
Hubby is full German. He loves dark beer. The yeasty beers are one of his faves. Those aren't for drinking as Americans are use to drinking beer. They're for sipping and enjoying with a long meal, or something of that nature.
Not to be pounded down like happens while watching football.
Last I checked, as far as American beer meeting contemporary purity standards in Germany for import was Samuel Adams.This was some years ago. They were the sole brewery qualified to export to Germany.

There are different kinds of kraut. Some are really pungent, some are more mild. I love sauerkraut with mashed potatoes with real butter, no margarine here. Mix together with pork or beef bratwurst added and topped with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper.
OK, now I'm a craving. lol

 

[amadeus]

I bet. The purity standards in Germany even then was superior to that of the U.S.
Hubby is full German. He loves dark beer. The yeasty beers are one of his faves. Those aren't for drinking as Americans are use to drinking beer. They're for sipping and enjoying with a long meal, or something of that nature.
Not to be pounded down like happens while watching football.
Last I checked, as far as American beer meeting contemporary purity standards in Germany for import was Samuel Adams.This was some years ago. They were the sole brewery qualified to export to Germany.

There are different kinds of kraut. Some are really pungent, some are more mild. I love sauerkraut with mashed potatoes with real butter, no margarine here. Mix together with pork or beef bratwurst added and topped with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper.
OK, now I'm a craving. lol

Yes, I do not recall ever getting drunk on German dark beer. I do however remember ordering an egg breakfast in a restaurant in West Berlin and drinking beer with it.

I have not had a real German beer in many years. But... once in a while when we were able to go out for a nice dinner, I would drink a Samuel Adams. Now, with most places having only limited access we stay home most of the time never going to restaurants at all. Once since last March, I purchased a six pack of Samuel Adams. My wife got something lighter. I limited myself though for I do love good beer flavor of it but I will not drink more than one bottle in a day. I have almost talked myself now into buying another six pack... Got to be careful with that. I may not be a drunk but I could be a glutton with good beer...

 

[WaterSong]

Yes, I do not recall ever getting drunk on German dark beer. I do however remember ordering an egg breakfast in a restaurant in West Berlin and drinking beer with it.

I have not had a real German beer in many years. But... once in a while when we were able to go out for a nice dinner, I would drink a Samuel Adams. Now, with most places having only limited access we stay home most of the time never going to restaurants at all. Once since last March, I purchased a six pack of Samuel Adams. My wife got something lighter. I limited myself though for I do love good beer flavor of it but I will not drink more than one bottle in a day. I have almost talked myself now into buying another six pack... Got to be careful with that. I may not be a drunk but I could be a glutton with good beer...

Yes, dark beer isn't as high in alcohol content as other pale ales, etc...I remember an Elephant Malt from I think Denmark. 7% by volume. Yikes. But delicious.
Edit to add: Yep, I remembered correctly! ;)

I'm impressed with myself lol, its been years since I saw a bottle of this. Denmark

Quality beer is memorable. Get use to that and then drink something less in a domestic and it almost makes you sick.
With the Pandemic lots of opportunity driven people have found a way to meet the stay at home beer shoppers list. ;) Just a thought.
list real german beer brands sold USA at DuckDuckGo