Thursday, April 30, 2015

Soup for Breakfast

Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Americans traditionally eat eggs or cereal to start the morning. I like both. Bout have you ever tried soup for breakfast? Yes, soup. I know you're probably thinking "are you crazy?" But you'd be surprised how good it feels in the morning to have a hearty, warm bowl of soup.

In fact, in many countries around the world it's tradition to start the day with soup, especially Asian countries such as China, Korea and Vietnam.

Breakfast of homemade miso soup, green tea and Mandarin oranges 
My first venture with soup for breakfast was miso soup. It seemed like an easy soup to make since there were just a few ingredients.

I found miso broth at Whole Foods. Then I added the following to the miso broth - sliced garlic, spinach, ginger, garlic salt, and mushrooms.  Once the broth and vegetables simmered a bit so that the flavors had a chance to meld together, I added cubed silky tofu and a package of rice noodles (purchased at our local supermarket in the Asian aisle). It was that easy.








Miso soup is also easy to experiment with.  For example, try substituting kale instead of spinach or other greens. Or use a combination of greens and different vegetables. Or add more ginger or garlic for a stronger taste. 

In fact, I substituted vegetable potstickers for the rice noodles. It gave the soup a whole different taste. Make your own dumplings or do what I did and buy them already made. The brand I like best is from Whole Foods but you can find potstickers in most all food stores in the frozen aisle. 

In case you still think I'm crazy about having soup for breakfast here's a few articles about the health benefits of miso soup here and here.

Also, check out what people all the around the world eat for breakfast here

If you have an interesting healthy breakfast idea, let us know. 

- Charles