Miso Soup

I am obsessed with miso soup...OBSESSED! And the kicker is I've had miso paste in my fridge for a while and always overlooked it. Up until now, I've known how good it is for you but it never appealed to me for some reason. Now that I'm looking for an alternative to oats in the morning, I have turned to miso again. Having soup for breakfast is like having tea, especially when it's cold. It wakes you up slowly, warms and nourishes and even energizes you.

You can put anything you want in miso soup but the usual ingredients are seaweed, tofu and scallions. Miso is an instant broth and no added spices are needed; mix miso paste with filtered, hot water and you get an amazing tasting soup. You want to add the miso at the end when the water is not boiling so you don't mess with the nutrition of the miso. Miso is fermented and supposed to be great for your digestion.

I saw this soup on Instagram and because I want to eat cleaner after the holiday season, I decided to try it. I made this for breakfast this morning before my run and it carried me through a slow but steady 3 mile run. I like soup because it's water based and I always want to chug water before a run. I ate the soup, drank a little green tea and drank a bottle of maple water before I set off on the East River trail. I'm back in NYC and ready to get my training runs under way! I'm going to take each day at a time, not push myself, take things slow and avoid injuries as much as possible. This means yoga, strength training, and slow recovery runs after speed work. I have 11 weeks until the NYC half so it's all good. Another thing I want to work into my routine is meditation. I teach a guided mediation class but I find it hard to make time to meditate at home. 2016 is my meditation/running year!

Miso soup recipe:

2 cups of filtered, fresh water
1-2 cups of mixed greens (spinach, kale)
1 sheet of nori seaweed, broken into small pieces
1 serving of tofu, cut into small cubes
2-3 tbsp of miso paste
2 scallions (optional)
2 tsp of ginger (optional)

Heat the water until a slight boil happens. Lower the heat and add the greens, the cut up seaweed and then the tofu (and the scallions if you have it). Stir. Lower the heat until the soup is hot but not boiling. Add the miso paste and stir until it's dissolved. Stir and taste. Sometimes I add more miso but you don't want the soup too salty. You can add the ginger too if you wish. Make sure the miso paste is dissolved and then turn off the heat and pour the soup into a bowl. Enjoy slowly, savoring each bite. Looooooovely!!!