Miso Ginger Kale Soup
I am often asked, “How do you stay raw in the winter”. The simple answer is I don’t. I don’t worry about being 100% raw at any time of the year. In the summer I will go for weeks without eating any cooked food but not because I have set expectations that I have to be 100% raw. It’s because I enjoy the bounty of what nature has provided. In the winter, I usually stay high raw until dinner time. Even in the winter, too much cooked food weighs me down. But once I am ready to relax for the evening, I have no problem making a wonderful plant based (vegan) whole food (just what it says, no processed junk) meal. This Ginger Kale Miso soup is one of my favorite transitional winter dinners. Let me tell you why.
Kale is a nutritional power house. I love it and I eat a lot of it. But did you know that if you cook kale, the vitamin K increases by a huge amount? At the same time, you decrease the amount of vitamin C and probably destroy some phytonutrients and enzymes in the process. Its a bit the same with most cooked veggies. Some nutrients become more bio-available while others dramatically decrease. What’s the answer? For me, I love throwing cooked and raw in a dish together! That way I get the best of both worlds. It’s an easy solution.
This soup is loaded with goodies. Miso is a fermented soy paste that is packed with nutrients such as antioxidants, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber and protein. I suggest that you use a very high quality, organic (non-gmo) miso paste. If you don’t want to eat soy, you can find miso made from other things such as brown rice. A great article on miso can be found here: Miso.
I cook some of the kale and carrots and save out the rest to throw in after the soup has been removed from the heat. That way you get the cooked kale along with the fresh kale! Make sure you wait to add the miso until after the cooling period as you don’t want to destroy the wonderful health benefits.
I hope you love this soup as much as I do. It is a staple in my house in the winter and with the additional ginger, is a great way to chase off the cold and satisfy that need for a warm meal on a cold night.
Miso Ginger Kale Soup
Serves 4
Soup
- 6 cups water
- 1 medium bunch kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite size pieces, divided
- 1 cup sliced carrots, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 cup yellow miso
- 1 medium leek, sliced fine (white part only)
- fresh ground pepper
- Place water, half the kale, half the carrots, and the ginger in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the miso, remaining kale, carrots and the leeks. Make sure you stir well enough so the miso is completely dissolved.
sandra wrote on March 3, 2014
and where did you get those fabulous bowls!?
sandra wrote on March 3, 2014
yummy – this looks so good and is a welcome addition to my ever growing soup recipe collection
Bethany wrote on January 22, 2014
I hear ya, I could not get through the Winter without Miso soup! That recipe looks delicious, I am going to try it this week.
-Bethany
Melanie wrote on January 16, 2014
Wow, this food looks amazing! I saw your home page and the title “Rawmazing”, and that explained it. Your pictures of food are beautiful. Where did you learn to take pictures like this?
I’m 18 and just started my own food blog and it’s been a fun challenge.
Dearna @tohercore wrote on January 16, 2014
Ohhh, this soup looks divine! 🙂 I just stumbled upon your blog after seeing Julia’s post on Facebook, and Im so happy I did, there are so many beautiful recipes on here 🙂
Sarah Nelson wrote on January 15, 2014
Geez Sylvia..take a moment for some perspective and re-read Carol’s comment..it does not seem like she attacked your comment or was twisting what you said..she simply said ‘trying to attach labels to someone based on food choices isn’t a good idea’ That does not mean she was specifically referring to you or implying that is what you were doing..seemed like a well reasoned harmless response to you that you took far too literally and personally
Shannon Murray wrote on January 14, 2014
I am so excited to try this! And I have all the ingredients at home, too! Thank you Susan for offering yummy deliciousness both cooked and raw! I can always count on you to help me have healthy and delectable eating habits!
Grubarazzi wrote on January 14, 2014
This sounds like my kind of soup! Yum yum yum.