Lunch Time at the Office Product Review: Maruchan Yakisoba

As of last week I've lost over 47 lbs since April. Part of my strategy to help me stick to the Weight Watchers points target is to not get lunch out more than once out of the 5 days a week I come in to the office. The old me tried to brown bag it a lot too in order to save money, but eventually I would get tired of eating the same old things or not have time to make a lunch before I went into work. But since I've been having so much success I've really decided to stick hard and fast to my 1 day a week rule. One of the things I've found that has made it easy is Maruchan's Yakisoba.

You may already be familiar with Maruchan from their line of cheap package ramen and "Instant Lunch", but the Yakisoba line is a little newer and much more tasty. Sure it's definitely not the traditional real yakisoba noodles you'll find in a good Japanese noodle shop, but the bottom line for me is that I can grab it quickly before I head out the door, it's ready in 4 minutes, the prep is easy, it's tasty, and it is only 14 WW points for a container.  It comes in multiple flavors, but my favorite is the teriyaki beef and the shrimp is a close second. It comes in brightly packaged container that acts like it's trying to trick you into thinking it is something cool you'd buy at an Asian grocery, but truthfully I'd need some cartoon cats and robots to be more convinced. Each package is noodles that comes with a flavor packet and a packet of dried veggies (and sometimes protein). Just at the veggies to the noodles and cover with a cup of water and nuke for 4 minutes. After a couple of cool down minutes where the temperature decreases from surface of the sun/hot pocket levels you can add the flavoring and mix. This results in tender noodles with a little broth.  The tang and sweetness of the teriyaki flavoring is superb to competing products that use liquid sauces. The only drawback is the noodles. If you don't add enough water they can be undercooked and crunchy, and also dried noodles just don't taste as good as the fresh ones that come in competing products. The best part however is the price. Maruchan Yakisoba packages run anywhere from 79 cents to $1.09 a piece. This is less than half the price of similar brands like Simply Asia or Annie Chun's.

Writer's Note: I've decided to change my rating system on product reviews since the blog relaunch. From now on instead of a 1-10 grade I will simply label products either Must Buy, Give It a Try, or Pass It By.


Rating: Must Buy