A Recipe for Immune Health: Roasted Garlic Miso Soup with Greens

A Recipe for Immune Health

Our immune systems could all use a boost this winter, and cooking with whole, nutrient-rich foods goes a long way to fortify us. But another reason to try this recipe is its warm temperature and flavors, perfect for the cold, temperamental weather, and short days.

Once you’re cozied up with a steaming bowl, don’t forget to read about the history and benefits of miso, the featured ingredient, below.

Ingredients

·       2 heads of garlic

·       2 tablespoons olive oil

·       6 cups water or vegetable broth 

·       3 to 4 tablespoons miso (I use brown rice miso)

·       4 cups kale, chopped

·       pinch of red pepper flakes, garnish

·       squeeze of lemon, optional

·       sliced green onions, optional

·       Himalayan salt to taste

How to Roast Garlic

·       Remove outermost layer of skin from garlic bulbs, leaving innermost layer so that they will stay together.

·       Cut off tops of garlic bulbs.

·       Place bulbs cut side up on a piece of tin foil.

·       Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over each bulb.

·       Close the tin foil by folding up the edges, squeezing them together at the top, and folding over, or bring up the sides and fold over while pinching and folding the ends.

·       Bake for 45 – 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

·       Now your garlic is soft and tender to make miso soup.

How to Make Garlic Miso Soup

·       In a large pot, squeeze garlic bulbs into the pan and mush it a bit with the back of a wooden spoon.

·       Add liquids, turn heat to medium.

·       Add your miso and stir to incorporate the paste.

·       Once miso has dissolved, add in the kale and let it wilt until it’s a deep dark green.

Pro Tip: Don’t let the miso soup come to a boil or you will harm the beneficial bacteria that is good for your gut and immune system. Always gently heat miso or add it at the end of cooking. Feel free to add in other ingredients for a heavier soup, such as a protein of choice, rice, or other vegetables.

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The immune system is complex and needs to be maintained and constantly stimulated. 

To keep your immune system healthy and strong, it is extremely important that you’re consistently nourishing it with daily nutrition choices.

Ingredient highlight: Miso

Miso is a traditional Japanese fermented paste made from either beans or grains, sea salt, and koji (Aspergillus oryzae). It has been consumed for thousands of years, providing both good taste and health benefits to its users. 

Similar to other fermented foods, miso is jam-packed with probiotics, which are types of beneficial bacteria that live in your digestive tract. Studies strongly suggest that certain probiotics can help stimulate the activity of the immune system, which could be beneficial against respiratory infections like the common cold and flu. Miso supplies us with several B vitamins, as well as vitamin E, and zinc, all of which are necessary for a strong immune response to viruses and bacteria. It’s also rich in antioxidants that help protect cells against damage from free radicals, bolstering our immune system.

Miso can be used as a base for broths in soup or simply mixed with warm water in a mug and sipped throughout the day for these same benefits.