Spicy Vegetable Miso Soup with Rice Noodles

I got to check something off of my bucket list a couple of weekends ago...

Running a half-marathon!

Well, running a FULL marathon is what's really on my bucket list, but, hey, I'm one step closer to completing that one. I ran it with my friend, Caroline, who has always also wanted to run one. We both decided to do it together just two weeks before the race and only went on two runs to train! It was definitely an amazing and spontaneous experience...

Besides the pain, of course. Here's how my day went on February 11, 2017:

-Woke up at 4:30 AM

-Ate breakfast

-Stretched

-Took a FREEZING shower to wake me up

-Drank a whole lot of water

-Prayed that I would be able to finish the half marathon

-Set off our house alarm by accident

-Left to load the bus shuttling us to the start

-Stood in line for 45 minutes to use the Porta-Potty (I know, gross!!)

-Raced over to the starting line of the race

-Ran 13.4 miles (the course was .3 miles too long:| )

-Went home

-Took a shower

-Fell asleep for 3 hours

-Woke up

-Made this soup

-Fell back asleep

Training for the race

The morning of the race

At the starting line

Finished!!!

The best part about running A LOT: getting to sleep A LOT. Honestly, I should run a half marathon every day just to get myself to sleep longer. Just kidding... I'd rather not.

Anyways, the worst part about running 13.4 miles after not training enough is

1) the blisters, black toenails, and painful feet for weeks after

and 2) the stomach pain...

I could barely eat the rest of the day because of how tossed and turned my stomach felt. I was in incredible pain for pretty much the whole day, and the next day I still felt weak (probably from not eating enough due to my stomach pain).

But, the achievement of getting to say that I've run a half was definitely worth the pain. Also, this soup was created because of my pain, so all in all, it turned out for the best.

Basically, the only thing I could stomach was something warm and nurturing and most of all, liquidy. I couldn't even think about chewing anything.

Now, you may be wondering how I ate this without chewing the noodles or vegetables, but I actually recreated this soup the next day because I was still craving it so much.

The day of the race it was just miso soup broth, no vegetables or noodles, but I felt like it would be that much more delicious if I made kind of a spin on miso ramen!

This soup is not only so delicious, it's also extremely healing and beneficial for your body. It's packed with antioxidants and inflammatory foods like loads of garlic, black pepper, ginger, and miso paste. You can have a lot of fun with it too, like adding seaweed, tofu, or different vegetables. I stuck with kale, mukimame, and carrots, but I've also made it with seaweed like traditional miso soup.

My favorite part of it is the spice from the black pepper, ginger, and garlic. I call it "healing" because it heats the back of your throat as you eat it and really makes a sore throat feel 10,000x better. It also settled my stomach a whole lot.

Final opinion on it: It's so tasty, so healthy, and so, so comforting...

Spicy Vegetable Miso Soup + Rice Noodles

Serves 2 large bowls

• 4-6 oz. rice noodles

• 6 cups water

• 1/2 cup white miso paste

• 2 large cloves garlic- minced

• 1 tbs. coconut oil

• 1 tbs. grated fresh ginger + 1 in. chunk fresh ginger

• 2 tbs. dried minced onion

• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 red chile pepper- roughly chopped WITH seeds

• 2 cups lightly packed roughly chopped kale OR 1 cup packed kale + 2 sheets nori

• 1/4 cup tamari OR soy sauce OR liquid aminos

• 2 medium/large carrots- peeled into ribbons

• 2/3 cup shelled edamame (mukimame)

• 1 tbs. black pepper (more to taste)

• 1/2 tsp. salt

In a medium sized pot, sautée the garlic and chile peppers in coconut oil until fragrant. Add water, miso paste, and soy sauce and whisk until completely dissolved. Strain to get rid of garlic and pepper pieces. Pour liquid back into the pot and add ginger and black pepper. Add all vegetables and rice noodles in. Simmer until rice noodles are completely cooked. Add more water mixed with miso paste and soy sauce (in ratio below) if too much liquid has been absorbed for your liking---

1/2 cup water : 2 tbs. miso paste : 1 tbs. soy sauce

Pull out ginger chunk and season with more pepper if wanted for your liking. Add 1 tsp. honey/agave/coconut nectar/granulated sugar of your choice OR 1-2 tbs. fresh orange juice and stir. 

Top with green onions and more black pepper.