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"Finally, How to Get Healthy Meals on the Table, In No Time"

In this program you will get:

  • Time-saving cooking tips
  • Simple ways to add variety to your meals
  • Ideas on getting your family involved
  • Pantry essentials list
  • Quick, healthy recipes
  • 60 minute audio & complete transcript

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Amy Lippmann: Holistic Health Counselor, Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach

                                                       November 30, 2007

 

Food Focus: Miso

Most people have eaten miso soup at Japanese restaurants but have never made it themselves. I used to be intimidated by the idea of making miso soup from scratch, but it’s actually one of the simplest soups you can make. 

Miso is a fermented soybean paste, although some misos are made from rice, barley, or wheat. Miso is made by adding a yeast mold (known as "koji") to soybeans and other ingredients and allowing them to ferment. 

The color, taste, texture, and degree of saltiness depend upon the exact ingredients used and the duration of the fermentation process. As darker color misos are stronger and more pungent in flavor, they are generally better suited for heavy foods. Lighter colored misos are more delicate and are oftentimes more appropriate for soup, dressings and light sauces.

   

You can find miso in the refrigerated section of health food stores, near the tofu and tempeh. Miso should be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container where it can keep for up to one year. 

 

Basic Miso Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh water  Handful of sliced mushrooms 

2 scallions chopped  

1 inch wakame, rinsed  

4 teaspoons miso, diluted in ¼ cup water  

  

Cooking Instructions:
Bring water up to boil. Add mushrooms and wakame. Continue cooking 1 minute. Turn off flame. Add diluted miso. Garnish with scallion.   

Notes:

  • Miso should never be added to boiling water, as it will fill the beneficial enzymes and bacteria developed during the fermentation process.
  • You can vary the vegetables.  Try using celery, onion, and thin matchstick carrots.  Use more or less miso for desired taste.  
  • You can find wakame (a type of sea vegetable) in sealed plastic packages in the Japanese food section of the health food store.  



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