Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Detox: Food (hearty miso soup)


Miso is salty and rich and meaty and umami. It's easy to cook with, widely available, and and and! it's got some wonderful health benefits. 


I like to think of miso as being similar to yogurt; it's got live good for you funguses growing among the fermented soy bean deliciousness that aid in digestion (aka probiotics). That's why we never boil the miso, it will kill those little guys! Read more about the health benefits here: ProHealth.


That's why miso and yogurt are on the detox, we don't want to miss out on the probiotics that will help clean our systems. Convinced? Make this soup!


Hearty Miso Soup
inspired by theKitchn
serves 4


8 cups water (or dashi if you are not vegetarian)
1/2 cup miso paste (I use the yellow kind)
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 heads bok choy


Cook the brown rice according to package directions. I do mine in a rice cooker and it works just fine.


Roughly chop the bok choy. In a soup pot, bring the water to a boil. Toss in bok choy and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until bright green. Turn down to low heat. Scoop miso paste into a small bowl and whisk in 1 cup of the hot water. Add the mixture into the soup pot and whisk to combine. 


To serve, scoop some rice into a bowl and ladle soup over the top. Enjoy!


PS: It would be easy to do lots of variations of this soup, add whatever veggies sound good, or slap an egg on top, like they did on theKitchn. Oh oh oh! And don't you dare miss out on this Carrot Miso Soup from Smitten Kitchen. I made it last week and must say it was one of the best soups I've ever had!


PPSS: This soup is featured on Easy Natural Food's Sunday Night Soup Night, check it out!




Throughout the month of January I will be detoxing my life through mind, body, and spirit restoration. My daily detox pursuits include eating fresh and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise. In addition, I'm challenging myself and you all to do just one extra thing per day to detox our lives.


Here's what I've been up to:
(Click to see days 1-4) (Click to see days 5-7) (Click to see day 8) (Click to see days 9-10) (Click to see days 11-14)



Day 15 of 31: So I may have slipped on the detox slide this weekend. As I mentioned before, one of my best friends came to visit (always purifying) and it was pretty difficult not to indulge. Considering that, my only slip ups were a couple cocktails, some pizza, and a musubi. The emotional detoxing that takes place when you are with your best friend is worth a million days with no sugar, so I'm not feeling bad about it. 


Day 16 of 31: Paddle boarded with my friend across Kealakekua Bay, saw some dolphins, and killer coral reefs. No biggie. 


Day 17 of 31: Crashed a resort hot tub to ease my aching muscles after a crazy busy weekend. 


Day 18 of 31: Lunch with my husband on the beach. I was at a teacher training across the street from where he works so we got to take our lunch break together. 




How are you detoxing your life today? Add an extra detox element to your day and share it with us in the comments below or by writing a guest post. Email me: gwenedwards82 [at] gmail.com if you're interested in guest posting about detoxing. 


7 comments:

  1. This miso soup looks so yummy!!!

    It's okay on the slippage. You had a good reason, your friend was in town. As you know, I've slipped. I had mexican food and I think I had a grill cheese before then. I never thought how much I love cheese, so weird. I would think it would be sugar that will be my demise.

    Maa, January is kinda flying by. What's going to happen in February?

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  2. Looks very tasty! I've been having lots of miso soup at work (trying to wean myself away from coffee) but I haven't tried it with rice, what a nice idea :)

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  3. I haven't tried it with rice either. My bf gave me a sushi kit for valentines and as well as that he gave me a few miso packs. He made it for me and put noodles in it as well as spring onions, just what we had on hand, but your idea sounds very lovely and yummy :) I always end up feeling a wee bit healthier after miso soup as well, bonus! :) I haven't tried bok choy before, what kid of taste does it have?

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    1. I'll bet miso would be great with noodles. Bok choy is kind of like cabbage, it has its own unique flavor, a hint of licorice. It's great in stir fry.

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  4. Yummy, we love miso soup! But I didn't realize it is also detoxing...bonus! Must make it again soon :) Thanks for sharing this with Sunday Night Soup Night, look forward to seeing you again soon!

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  5. hey, i'm going to try the 21 day no sugar detox starting next week. i'm trying to come up with a game plan. is miso soup somthing i can eat? it's literally no sugar and miso seems to be a gray area. it's not on either the good or bad list. there's a japanese restaurant down the street from my house that makes it with seaweed and tofu. i'd like to eat it if possible since there isn't much that i can eat!! i'm at work and will be checking back for a response periodically. thanks!!!!

    this is the link to the detox...

    http://www.rosecole.com/wwrhandouts/21%20day%20detox.pdf

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    1. I ate miso while on my no-sugar detox because of the probiotics and live cultures. It's possible they put sugar in it during the fermentation process, but I'm really not sure about that. I would say it's ok to eat miso, but of course, that decision is up to you.

      If you click on the label "detox:life" in the label cloud on the right hand side of this website, it will take you to all the recipes I posted while on my detox. If you have any other questions or anything, please feel free to email me: gwenedwards82 [at] gmail.com. Aloha!

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Aloha Saturdays with Maggy reader! Thank you for your comments, I love hearing your thoughts and feedback.

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