Geniuses Use Their Noodles To Invent Healthy Instant Ramen

If you read about instant ramen that's not terrible for you and immediately shouted "TAKE MY MONEY," you are not alone. A Kickstarter for Vite Ramen, the "nutritionally complete instant ramen" has more than quadrupled its $10,000 fundraising goal with a month left to go.

Vite Ramen promises an impressive 27 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 25 percent daily-value dose of many vitamins and minerals. It uses less salt than standard instant ramen—575 milligrams in total, compared to 1560 milligrams in one Top Ramen chicken-flavored package—and is still ready in four minutes. Vite achieves this nutritional feat through the inclusion of a "proprietary Noodtrient™ vitamin spice pouch" and packet of omega-3-rich oils, which you dump onto the noodles—made from wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and quinoa—along with the seasoning packet. The ramen will come in multiple flavors, including chicken, garlic pork, and vegan mushroom.

Who's behind this sorcery? Twin brothers Tom and Tim Zheng, who between them have a culinary degree, Michelin-starred restaurant experience, and degrees in clinical nutrition and managerial economics. (Overachievers, if you ask me!) They're inarguably using their brain power for good here, offering a solution to the quandary of needing hot noodles fast but also not wanting to feel like a dry sponge for 12 hours. "With Tim demolishing shelves of instant ramen and Tom downing meal replacement shakes with equal regularity, we started looking for something that could bridge the gap," the brothers write on their Kickstarter. Voila: The protein of a shake, but you know, made of noodles.

Honestly, the more I read through this Kickstarter, the more I'm rooting for Tom and Tim. They seem like smart dudes who are putting their intelligence to use solving the world's most pressing problem: bad-for-you ramen. Good on them for using their noodles.