h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you have a freezer, most american supermarkets have frozen vegetables, either in a baby version, or cut up small. Since the ramen has its own seasoning, you can buy the cheapest house brand versions and boil them up with the water before you add the ramen. This saves you the saute step, and reduces your fat total. If you drop the egg in just before the water boils, you don't need to dirty and rewash your soup bowl, and the varied flavors you get from the different sized and yolk/white proportioned egg bits are tastier, in my opinion. The drawback to this, is that the water can overboil your pan if you are not careful. Overboiling is another reason to add the seasoning packet last, after you have taken the soup from the heat.

Much as Babette added onions to liven alebrot in the movie Babette's Feast, cocktail onions (fresh, or if you can find them, frozen)or a pinch of dried minced onion (cheaply available at a 99cent-type store) can liven up the flavor. For more oriental flavor, there are some things which require an initial investment but which are cheap-per-use are a drop or two of sesame oil, a pinch of five-spice, or a sliver of *fresh* ginger or horseradish.

Cured meats in america are already cooked and highly flavored, so a little can go a long way, and they heat through if you dice them fine. Even Spam is good.