Now that the weather is finally getting a little colder, today I’m feeling the urge to cook up a pot of healing and nourishing miso soup. But no matter the time of year, anytime I am feeling under the weather, or slightly run down, I find that eating miso soup really helps to rejuvenate my energy and my immune system. Miso is an amazing healing food, known to be an effective therapeutic aid in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, certain cancers, and hypertension, especially if taken regularly. Miso soup consumption is linked with up to a 50% reduced risk of breast cancer according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Miso paste is a fermented soy food containing probiotics, which can aid in healthy digestion. This healing miso soup recipe has a high vitamin and mineral content, and is recommended as a regular part of a healthy diet. The mushrooms, ginger, and seaweed add extra therapeutic qualities to the broth. And it’s super yummy too!

what you will need:

1 onion, chopped
1 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp organic cooking oil, canola or olive
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups leafy greens, washed and chopped (I like bok choy, tot soi, collards, kale, or green cabbage
1 large handful of shitake mushrooms (about 1 cup), thinly sliced
2 tbsp tamari
8oz firm tofu, cubed (about 1/2 a package)
1 strip of dried wakame seaweed (optional adds minerals to your broth)
1/4 cup chopped scallions (optional)
2 qts water
1 Tbps miso paste per serving, to taste (you will need about 1/2 cup for the whole pot)

To begin, coat your pot with the cooking oil and turn heat on to medium high. Add the onions and ginger, and saute for about 3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add in the sliced mushrooms and tamari, and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the remaining veggies, tofu, and strip of wakame seaweed. Stir together and let cook for another minute, then add the water and bring to a low boil. Let your soup simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes, until all the veggies are tender. Turn off heat. Now it’s time to dissolve the miso paste into the broth- be sure not to boil your miso paste! It has live probiotics and in order to preserve the therapeutic quality of the miso you will want to dissolve the paste into the warm broth before serving, but after the cooking is all done. You can either add the dissolved paste into each serving, 1 tbsp per serving, or into the whole pot if you are eating it all at one sitting, 1/2 cup for the whole pot. To make sure the paste dissolves evenly, scoop out about 1 cup of broth into a bowl, and whisk the paste into the broth, then add back into the soup. Garnish with chopped scallions if desired, and serve it up. Makes about 8 large servings.