Wendyl wants to know: A quick meal without the usual additives

Sun Rice Hokkien Noodles Thai Basil and Chilli Chicken, $4.89 for 320g

Each week, Wendyl Nissen takes a packaged food item and decodes what the label tells you about its contents.

If you have active children or teenagers then you will know how important it is to have quick, easy-to-prepare meals in the house when they are starving. Unfortunately instant noodles are often the go-to snack and we all know that the nutritional value of those is fairly low.

These caught my eye because they had protein, in the form of chicken and some vegetables. And they take just two minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• Wheat flour - This means that there is a lot of flour in the sauce which is fine if you think of it in terms of a white sauce.

Water

• Chicken (15%) - There are good-sized chunks of chicken in here and they taste okay.

• Vegetables (13%) (green capsicum, carrot, garlic) - The vegetables are plentiful in here.

• Soy Sauce (Soybean, wheat flour, salt, water, sugar) - In here for flavouring but will also contribute to the high salt levels.

• Vegetable oils (contains soy) - This tells us there is soybean oil in here as well as other oils which are unnamed.

• Red chilli - This is slightly spicy but not too hot.

• Wheat gluten - This is probably in here as a thickener.

• Basil - Modified tapioca starch (1442)This is similar to cornflour except it has come from tapioca or cassava.

• Sugar - Not too much sugar in here, coming in at 8g per 320g serve - just under 2 teaspoons.

• Modified corn starch (1422) - Like cornflour but it has been treated.

• Fish extract - This would be similar to fish sauce and will be in here for flavouring.

• Oyster extract - I'm not sure if this is actually an extract of oysters or if it refers to oyster sauce which is a common Chinese flavouring.

• Salt - This is a high sodium product with 1920mg per 320g serve. We are advised to consume between 920mg and 2300mg of sodium per day.

• Colour (paprika oleoresins, curcumin) - These are natural colours derived from paprika and turmeric.

• Wheat noodles 50% - These are plain noodles which are in a separate packet. They appear to be pre-cooked.

My recommendations

I think this is a great option as a quick meal. It will deliver 1870kj or 448 calories, 8.6g of fat which is quite low (the packet says it is 97% fat free) and 20.2g of protein. There are no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. It is easy to put together either by microwaving or a quick boil then fry in a wok or frying pan. I think this is a much more preferable option to a bowl of instant noodles which, in my opinion, are noodles floating in a chemical cocktail. You are also making sure that the meal is free of artificial colours or flavours and preservatives.

Highlights

• No artificial colours or flavours.

• No preservatives.

• 20.2g protein, low in fat.

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