I'm a souperhero!

If I could choose one food category to eat for the rest of my life it would probably be soups! I'm not kidding, there is something so wonderful and nostalgic that happens when you take that first spoonful of a soup. A good soup has an array of flavors and textures and nourishes you, both body and soul. You can eat soup when you are old, young, sick, healthy, and yes, even Vegan! Thankfully, most of my favorite soups don't require meat or cheese, not that I haven't enjoyed my fair share of chicken noodle and wonton, but I can still have miso and mushroom barley and broccoli and chili and white bean and minestrone and tortilla and even vegetable wonton! I love soup!!! Ok, now that you understand that, there is nothing like not having to chew your food when you are sick, I mean who has the energy for that anyways? I went to Qdoba yesterday for lunch and had a bowl of their Mexican gumbo (totally Vegan!) with rice, pinto beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, and tortilla strips. The soft rice, guacamole and beans, with the spicy broth and crunch of the tortillas was a fantastic combination! I also made a more nourishing soup yesterday that could fit in with anyone's souperhero, ahem, I mean superhero diet. Here it is:

Ingredients:
4-5 cups water
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic, optional
1 tsp minced ginger
2 good pinches wakame flakes
1-2 cups chopped bok choy (or cabbage or spinach or whatever sounds good!)
8 sliced shitake mushrooms
1 Tbsp brown miso
1Tbsp white miso
3 sliced scallions
3 oz udon noodles, optional

Directions:
Cook udon noodles according to package directions, set aside. Bring water to a boil in large soup pot. Add wakame, onion, garlic, and ginger. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, add bok choy, then mushrooms, stir. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove about a cup of soup broth to a large measuring cup, add miso and stir with a fork until dissolved. Add mixture back into pot, and heat through making sure it doesn't boil. Stir in scallions and noodles, if desired.

This soup can heal you! I'm serious, my cold from hell came on just Thursday night and when I woke up today I actually felt way better! It just HAS to be the soup...and the rest, hydrating, zinc, and vitamin c :) Seriously people, don't mess around when you are sick! Or when you aren't sick too for that matter."Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live" -Jim Rohn (and now me)