Spiralized Miso Soup

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

One of the questions I’m often asked is how many hours per week I spend working on the blog. The answer is approximately 10, depending on how much work I’m doing for other sites and whether there are additional special projects happening such as e-books or coaching programs. The follow-up question to that answer is usually “How do you find the time to do all that and work a full-time job too?” That answer is… well, it depends.

shiitake mushrooms

Over the years, I’ve found the best way for me to maintain the blog is to batch and create routines. My always-on tasks (meaning the ones that happen every week, often in batches) include creating recipes, making and testing them, photography, editing, creating and testing workouts, writing posts, creating social content and responding to comments and emails. Then there’s extras like writing for other sites, catching up on blogs of my fellow blogger friends, and taking in other sources of inspiration. That could be from Pinterest, Youtube videos, and podcasts which I listen to almost daily. (You’ll find some of my faves here.)

purple daikon, watermelon radish and baby bok choy - eat spin run repeat

Even though it doesn’t have a deadline like my other projects, I’m a firm believer that finding external inspiration, whether in the food blogging space or somewhere entirely different, is super important and needs to be prioritized. This past weekend, I added another source of inspiration to my little treasure chest. Friends, I subscribed to Netflix.

As I’ve talked about before, I don’t have TV and don’t even think about this as being a missing part of my life. There aren’t any shows that I see myself getting super into and binge watching, and to be honest I’ve never felt like I was missing anything by being a non-Netflixer. Podcasts are my jam because I can do things like cook recipes and edit photos while listening, all without having to have my eyes on a screen. However, recently a few of my co-workers were talking about a new documentary, Minimalism. It was enough to pique my interest, so I signed up for a free trial.

watermelon radish

Miminalism is a story about the two guys behind The Minimalists, a blog I’ve been reading more frequently these days since one of my 2017 goals is to live for more experiences and fewer things. The cameras follow them across the US while they spread the message about how and why they became minimalists, and their story is nothing short of inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to talk in more detail about this whole topic the future. In the meantime, I 100% recommend giving it a watch if the concept of lightening up and simplifying life interests you.

baby bok choy - eat spin run repeat

I love learning, so after Minimalism ended, I found myself queuing up a few more documentaries. In the process, I learned something about myself: I’m a documentary junkie. There are the types of folks who could watch Gilmore Girls, Stranger Things and House of Cards for days, and I’m not one. But line up a bunch of documentaries about feats of athletic performance and self development, and you’ve got my attention!

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

This past weekend I watched:

  • Minimalism – see above. Inspiring, motivating, simple and needed by society today.
  • Happy – all about positive psychology. So interesting and thought provoking.
  • Fittest on Earth – all about the 2015 Crossfit Games. Unbelievable, mindblowing, motivating and totally crazy, all at the same time.
  • Tony Robbins’ ‘I Am Not Your Guru – moving and definitely one that pulls at your heart.

You might be thinking that’s a lot of Netflix to be watching in one weekend, or in other words, hardly a minimalist approach to content consumption! And I’d agree. I was totally into all four, but as usual, because I can’t sit still, I watched while multitasking…. and making today’s recipe for you!

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

While my spiralizer gets most action during the warmer months in the form of raw salads, it’s also perfect for noodle-y soups. This Spiralized Miso Soup is made with daikon radish, an Asian radish you can find at most grocery stores. I happened to come across a purple version while I was at Whole Foods recently, but the flavour was just the same as the white one so don’t feel you need to hunt down both kinds. It just makes it look pretty!

purple daikon and watermelon radish

spiralized purple daikon - eat spin run repeat

As far as a source of protein goes, traditional miso soup often comes with small bits of tofu inside. I’ve left that as optional in the recipe instructions below, and if tofu’s not your bag, a white fish such as cod would also be a great high-protein addition. You’d simply chop it into small chunks, add it to the pot in place of the tofu, and tack about 5 minutes on to the cooking time to ensure that the fish gets fully cooked.

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

One more note: The key with miso soup is not to let the broth boil once the miso has been whisked in. This is because high temperatures will damage beneficial probiotics in the miso, and you want to get every little bit of nutrition this fabulous condiment has to offer! Slow and steady wins the race on this one, and I think you’ll be delighted with the result when you sit down to enjoy it. ?

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Spiralized Miso Soup

by Angela Simpson

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients (2 servings)

  • 5 cups water, divided
  • 3″ piece of kombu or kelp seaweed
  • 3 tbsp white miso
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 62g shiitake mushrooms
  • 3 cups spiralized daikon radish
  • 1 baby bok choy
  • 1 tbsp low sodium tamari
  • optional: 150g firm tofu, chopped into small cubes
  • sliced watermelon radish, cilantro and thinly sliced red chillies, optional, to garnish

Instructions

In a medium-sized pot, boil 4 cups of water and the seaweed for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables as indicated above.

Remove the seaweed from the pot. Add the remaining 1 cup of (cold) water and lower the heat to medium-low and wait for it to stop boiling.

Whisk in the miso until it dissolves in the water, about 1 minute.

Add the ginger and shiitake mushrooms, as well as the tofu, if using. Cook for 5 more minutes, partially covered on medium-low heat. (Note: you don’t want the water to boil as this will damage the beneficial probiotics in the miso.)

Add the spiralized daikon, bok choy and tamari, along with a little bit of extra chopped seaweed if you like. Continue simmering with the lid on for 3 more minutes, or until the bok choy has wilted.

Divide the soup into 2 bowls. Garnish with sliced watermelon radish, cilantro and red chillies if desired.

Click here to print the recipe.

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

[Tweet “Cozy up with this veggie-packed Spiralized Miso Soup #recipe”]

Spiralized Miso Soup - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Now I’d love to hear from you. Tell me, are you a documentary junkie too? Any Netflix ones I absolutely must see?

3 thoughts on “Spiralized Miso Soup

  1. What a beautiful dish! It is funny because I was just thinking about making miso soup this week. 🙂

    I love netflix – it plays a huge role in my recovery as an athlete. But the best investment I have made is the Android Box because I can watch anything, anytime which is both awesome and dangerous.

    1. What is this new fancy piece of technology you speak of!?! LOL. PS one of my fave memories from our old place was watching the Lance documentary and painting our nails. I’m sure carrots and salsa were involved at some point…. 🙂 Miss you!

Leave a Reply to Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.