Overall, I find Medifast a fairly easy plan to follow. The most difficult part is the mental discipline – building up the power to say “no” and really think about your eating decisions. But for the most part, the Medifast food is actually pretty damn good. There are a few losers and a few that kind of fall in the middle ground of just being okay. For the Medifast Hacks series, I will be focusing on ways to “hack” some of these foods to make them a little more palatable.
The Medifast Chicken Noodle soup is one of the foods that falls into the middle ground for me. It’s okay, but not too exciting. It’s also a pain-in-the-ass if you prepare it in a bowl that is too small. Here are a few hacks to make the soup a little easier and possibly even delicious.
1: Use a huge bowl.
Medifast soup tends to really increase in size when you heat it up. Medifast Chicken Noodle is the worst so far. The first few times I prepared this, I lost a lot of soup from it boiling over. Choose a bowl that is at least twice the size of the soup itself.
2. Add extra water!
The packet instructions call for 8-oz. but I add at least 10-oz. Adjust this to your taste. Adding extra water makes the soup a lot less thick. To my tastebuds, the additional water makes it more like traditional chicken noodle soup. Experiment until you find the taste you like.
3. Let it soak.
I add water about 30 minutes before actually nuking the soup. This let’s the powder get thoroughly soaked and rehydrated. This could just be psychological on my part, but it really seems to make the soup taste better. I do this with the oatmeal as well.
4. Follow the directions on the packet.
Don’t skip the part about covering it for a few minutes to let it steam. I put a plate on top of the bowl and leave it for at least 5 minutes after cooking.
5. Add Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
Add 1-2 tsp. of Bragg’s liquid aminos. This adds to the saltiness and gives the soup a flavor that reminds me of egg drop soup from a chinese restaurant. I was introduced to Bragg’s Liquid Amino’s a few months before I started Medifast and used it as a healthier alternative to soy sauce. You can read all the details at Bragg.com. I haven’t done that much research on it, but I really like the taste. According to the Medifast Nutrition people, 1 tsp of Bragg’s = 1 of your daily condiment options. So take that into consideration.
6. Other Medifast Chicken Noodle Soup Hacks.
If you don’t like the flavor of soy sauce, try a little garlic or some some vegetarian boullion. Just be conscious of the amount of sodium you add to the soup. Medifast recommends that your sodium intake is less than 2300 mg/day if you are on the standard diet.
I hope these tips add some zest to your Chicken Noodle Soup. Because of inattentive Medifast ordering, I somehow got stuck with several boxes of this food and wasn’t too happy about it. I decided to power through all the foods I wasn’t crazy about and once I incorporated these hacks, I have really started to love this soup. It reminds me of the Lipton Cup-A-Soup we used to eat all the time as kids.
If you have any hacks of your own, please add them in the comments section.
I’ve been adding black or red pepper to the soups. I’m fond of the MF stew.
I haven’t been a stew fan in the past, but the MF stew thickens and has a gravy flavor, IMO.
I haven’t tried the stew yet, but am determined to try all the Medifast foods, so I will add it to my next order. Thanks for the tip!
Instead of water being added to soups, I am adding broth low sodium and it changes the flavor so much, the soups are really, really good.
You're right, the extra water and the steaming time make a big difference. I also add a bit of cracked black pepper and a pinch of fines herbes – tastes almost homemade.
I use curry powder to add to the soup…I really think it improves the flavor!
I add very little water to any soup so that it’s pasty then put in microwave for 20 to 30 second then u have a Cramer that’s great.