As college students many of us struggle to maintain diets that are nutritious and affordable. This means that the majority of college students tend to consume ramen noodles for many of their meals. While ramen noodles are cheap and tasty, they are high in sodium especially when the flavoring packets are used.

Here are two recipes to try the next time you feel a hankering for some noodles but don’t want the side effects that come with the sodium.

Beef Noodle Soup

1 packet ramen (flavor doesn’t matter)

carrots, cilantro, onion (diced)

garlic and ginger powder

1 can beef broth

thinly sliced beef strips

Prep all veggies before beginning. Due to the nature of ramen noodles, it’s very important to be prepared to finish the dish as soon as you put the noodles in the water. Bring water to boil in a saucepan, then add noodles. Once noodles are cooked, al dente, quickly remove from the heat and cool them in cold water (this will prevent them from continuing to cook and becoming unappealing both to the eye and texturally.) Warm broth (add garlic and ginger powder to taste) to desired heat and place noodles, vegetables and beef strips into it. Eat and enjoy.

(You can also add lime and lemon flavors as well as various Asian sauces if you have them on hand and would like to experiment.)

Ramen Carbonara

1 packet ramen (flavor doesn’t matter)

parsley, chopped

Italian seasoning

bacon pieces (optional)

2 egg yolks

salt, to taste

Bring water to boil in a saucepan, then add noodles. Whisk the egg yolks together until creamy and combine with salt and Italian seasoning. Once noodles are cooked to your preferred texture, remove from hot water and immediately combine them with the yolks in a bowl, stirring constantly until the yolks take on a creamy sauce-like texture. Add bacon pieces, pour onto plate and garnish with parsley then enjoy.

(You can also add mushrooms and chicken bouillon to this recipe for extra texture and tastes.)