Like pasta and rice, noodles belong in the grains group. You can use noodles in soups and stir-fries, entrees and side dishes -- almost any recipe in which you'd use pasta or rice. Depending on their ingredients and preparation, noodles have different nutritional profiles.
Ingredients
A variety of ingredients can go into a package of dry noodles. Some noodles are made from wheat, others from rice. Some contain eggs, while others do not. Manufacturers sometimes enrich noodles by adding vitamins and minerals to them.
Calories, Fat and Cholesterol
Most noodles contain roughly 200 calories per 2-oz. serving, with rice noodles containing somewhat fewer calories than noodles made from wheat. Egg noodles made from wheat have more fat and cholesterol per serving than do rice noodles or wheat noodles made with egg whites only. Light n' Fluffy wide egg noodles, for instance, contain 23 percent of your recommended daily value of cholesterol and 4 percent of your total daily value of fat in each serving.
Carbohydrates, Fiber and Protein
Noodles provide around 40 g of carbohydrate per serving -- about 13 percent of your recommended daily value of carbohydrate. They provide some dietary fiber, with rice noodles providing less than noodles made from wheat. While noodles made from eggs or egg whites contain 8 g of protein per serving, standard rice noodles contain only 3 g of protein.
Vitamins and Minerals
Enriched wheat noodles made with eggs or egg whites provide notable amounts of iron, thiamine, folic acid, riboflavin and niacin. Unenriched rice noodles do not. Noodles provide no vitamin A, vitamin C or calcium and are low in sodium, with 0 percent or 1 percent of your recommended daily value per 2-oz. serving.
Ramen
Ramen noodles -- noodles that have been fried, then dried and packaged with flavorings -- have a different nutritional profile. Compared with plain noodles, ramen noodles are significantly higher in fat, including saturated fat. They also pack far more sodium, with around 70 percent of your daily value in a two-serving package.
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