Miso Soup

Miso is a fermented soy product with many health benefits. Miso is a rich source of healthy phytochemcials. Try this recipe for delicious Miso Soup. It's filling and low in calories. 

One caution: Miso is high in sodium. If you are on a low-sodium diet, skip this soup.

Miso is a soy bean paste that is used in Japanese cooking. Miso contains many healthy nutrients. New studies tell us that eating soy foods appears to reduce the risk of getting many cancers, including breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer. Research suggests that even the risk of lung cancer may be reduced by eating more soy foods. Try this tasty recipe to add miso to your diet.

Ingredients

• 6 cups water (do not use vegetable broth in place of water; if you use broth, the soup will be too salty)
• One 4-inch strip of dried kombu (kombu is a type of seaweed, sometimes called kelp; kombu can be found in health food and/or Asian grocery stores; kombu can be purchased dried, in little packages; any seaweed variety can be substituted for kombu if you cannot find kombu)
• ½ daikon radish, peeled and grated (about ¾ cup grated daikon radish)
• 1 cup shredded white or green cabbage
• 1/3 cup miso 
• 1 cup drained firm tofu, cut into small cubes (instead of trying to measure a "square" block of tofu into a cup, just use the package weight to estimate roughly 8 to 10 ounces, then cut it into cubes)
• ½ cup chopped scallions (scallions are long, thin, white and green onions; use the full, green and white length of the scallion, except the little roots at one end)

Instructions

• Bring water and kombu to a boil; simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove kombu from the broth and discard kombu.
• Add daikon and cabbage to broth and simmer approximately 3 to 4 minutes (until cabbage just wilts).
• Remove approximately ¾ cup of broth to another container and add miso to this broth.
• Carefully stir the broth and miso into a smooth, thin paste.
• Add miso-broth paste back into soup and stir.
• Add tofu cubes to soup; stir carefully to combine.
• Bring soup to a simmer.
• Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with scallions before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving:  45 calories; 6 grams of carbohydrates; 3 grams of protein; 1 gram of fat; 1 gram of fiber