vegetable soup with miso
This is a really easy, really warming soup.
It is very low in fat - none added, not even oil.
It is high in vitamins and nutrients.
It contains miso, which is a natural probiotic, and great to include in your diet.
Ingredients:
3 carrots, sliced
1 cup green cabbage, rough chopped
1 medium red or yellow waxy potato, chopped
2/3 tsp vegetable paste (you can use meat paste if you want, too, but I like this brand, either the "No Chicken" or "Seasoned Vegetable": http://www.betterthanbouillon.com/products/product-detail.aspx?productid=24), or more to taste. you can also use broth but it's not as tasty and it's more expensive, and harder to control the sodium level
splash of soy sauce or liquid amino acids
one green onion, sliced
one garlic clove, pressed
salt and pepper, to taste
dried herbs of your choosing. I prefer dill, basil, thyme, rosemary.
about 1/2 tsp of miso paste, any kind
shake of cayenne powder (optional, if you want it spicy)
optional: 1/2 cup (or more) of already cooked rice
optional: chopped fresh italian parsley
Instructions:
put a pot of with a few cups of water on the stove, on medium high (2-4 cups, depending on how brothy you want it, and whether or not youre adding rice. add more water if you use rice)
add the vegetable paste, soy sauce, garlic, and all of the vegetables and herbs/flavors you want. *do not add miso paste; that will be added when the soup is served.
bring to a boil and cook it until the potatoes are cooked to your liking.
if you're adding rice, put it in the soup now and stir it on up
put, in the bowls in which you're serving the soup, about a tablespoon of water with a 1/4 tsp of miso paste. stir and smush it till it's all combined in the bottom of the bowl.
take the soup off the stove, stir it up a little, and ladle it in the serving bowl, making sure to stir up well as to combine the miso mixture in the bottom.
*the probiotic properties of miso are ruined if it is added to boiling/too hot liquid, which is why it is only added to the soup post-cooking. you can add it for taste earlier, but it will kill the probiotics and you won't get those benefits
For more on probiotics, see my post here: http://www.greenlighthealthconsulting.com/single-post/2016/10/11/probiotics-our-neglected-bffs