Healthy Vegetable Miso Soup

My kitchen pantry was pretty bare when I made this soup, but sometimes when you throw together whatever you have you end up being pleasantly surprised. The ingredients in this soup are some of my basic kitchen staples, which you may not have on hand. I highly recommend that you add miso paste and the grain mix from Trader Joe's to your kitchen staples. Miso paste is is full of vitamins, minerals, and protein.  It has also been linked to preventing breast cancer in some studies. There are many different types of miso, so explore your options. I prefer Barley miso and that is what I used here. Another great thing to have in your kitchen is a mix of grains. I usually grab a bag of Harvest grains from Trader Joe's. I can't remember what it is called but I took a picture of what it looks like before it is cooked. It is really healthy and great for soups. I use it in a lot of soups. I also keep a variety of frozen vegetables in the winter.

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

4 tbs minced garlic (Yes, I use a lot of garlic)
3 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 tbs barley miso paste
1 1/2 cups of harvest grain mix
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup frozen black eyed peas
2 cups frozen broccoli
1 cup frozen green beans
1 can mushrooms


Directions: In a  large stock pot on medium low heat add your oil and garlic. Saute' till golden stir often so it does not burn. Add your water and vegetable broth cubes. Raise the heat to get the water to boil in order to dissolve the cubes. Once dissolved add your miso pasted and mix well, then add the grains, spices, and frozen black eyed peas.

Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for approximately 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Once the grains and peas are cooked thoroughly add all vegetables. If the most of the water absorbed add more so that there is some broth to the soup. Let cook another 15 minutes. Serve hot.