Superfood Miso Soup

I love making soup in the winter. I've recently discovered how easy it is to make a big bowl of soup on a Sunday afternoon and eat it all week long for lunch at work. This particular recipe is my take on miso soup and it couldn't be any easier or any more delicious. I load it with tofu, shitake mushrooms, carrots, seaweed and soba noodles for a healthy and hearty meal.

My secret ingredient is Trader Joe's Miso ginger broth which I recently discovered. It's so flavorful and very low in calories. It makes the perfect base for this soup, and I highly recommend it. If you for some reason do not live near a Trader Joe's, you can use vegetarian broth with a tablespoon or two of miso paste.

For veggies in this soup I used carrots and shitake mushrooms, but you could really use anything you like. For the tofu I would recommend using extra firm so it doesn't crumble in your soup.

Miso is an incredible superfood. To check out its health benefits click here.

Ingredients:

1 package of extra firm tofu

16 oz. shitake mushrooms- sliced

1 cup chopped carrots

2 cartons of ginger miso broth

8 oz. soba noodles- cooked to package instructions and set aside

1 tbsp. liquid aminos or soy sauce

4 sheets of nori seaweed- torn (I like the Emerald Cove brand from Whole Foods)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

1) Wrap tofu in several paper towels to drain excess water. Let sit in paper towels for about 10 minutes. 

2) Add 1/2 tbsp. olive oil to a dutch oven over medium high heat.

3) Unwrap tofu and cut lengthwise into planks and then again in half. (Should get 8 pieces)

4) Add to dutch oven and cook about 3 minutes one each side or until golden brown. Remove from dutch oven and set aside.

5) Add remaining olive oil to dutch oven and add carrots and mushrooms. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add liquid aminos and cook another minute. 

6) Add broth to dutch oven along with tofu and seaweed. Bring to a boil and then return heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.

7) To serve place a handful of noodles in a bowl and add soup. Enjoy!