Miso Noodle Soup (serves 1)

Miso noodle soup is quick to make and extremely healthy.  This makes it possible to make it just for yourself whilst your family eats their regular meal, or the recipe can be increased to offer the entire family a healthy alternative. By introducing it as a replacement for your usual meals, you can lose weight the healthy way.

Ingredients

·      400ml boiling water

·      1 nest (50g) egg noodles (choose noodles that cook in between 3-5 minutes).

·      ½ medium carrot, peeled and cut into batons

·      ¼ chilli, finely chopped (optional)

·      1 thumbnail size piece of ginger, finely chopped

·      1 tablespoon Miso paste

·      1 teaspoon fish sauce

·      1 teaspoon soy sauce

·      2 spring onions, thinly sliced

·      1 tablespoon sea salad

Directions

1.     Add the boiling water to a saucepan on the hob at medium heat and return to the boil.

2.     Add noodles, carrot, ginger and chilli and boil for 4 minutes (or however long the particular brand of noodles take).

3.     Take off the heat and whisk in miso paste (it is important that the water is not boiling at this stage, as this would kill the good bacteria).

4.     Add seaweed, spring onion, soy sauce and fish sauce. Allow to stand for one minute.

5.     Taste and if necessary season with more soy sauce.

Health Benefits

·        Miso Paste: is recommended as a B12 source for vegans. It is very high in sodium and also has high levels of the minerals zinc, manganese, and copper. In addition, a single tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein for just 25 calories. It also provides vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin K, tryptophan, choline, dietary fiber, linoleic acid and lecithin. Miso strengthens your immune system. It is high in antioxidents and linoleic acid, therefore preventing signs of ageing and helping to maintain good skin.

·      Ginger: is a good source of potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese and vitamin B6. Ginger helps to boost the immune system as well helping the body to digest fatty foods and break down proteins.

·      Chillies: contain a chemical called Capsaicin, which is responsible for the heat. Capsaicin increases the metabolic rate, which aids in the fat burning process. Eating chillies can raise your metabolic rate by up to 23% for about 3 hours. Eating chillies lower your cholesterol and reduce the amount of fibrin in the blood, which thus lowers the blood's tendency to clot. Eating chillies can help significantly control insulin levels after eating a meal.

·      Seaweed: is one of the most complete mineral sources available; it contains calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vanadium and zinc. Seaweed is high in carotenoids, flavonoids and alkaloid antioxidants. Sea vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin K, the B-vitamin folate, the B-vitamins riboflavin, pantothenic acid. They also contain measurable amounts of vitamins C and E. Seaweed is high in vitamins, antioxidants and minerals and therefore helps with weight loss, anti-ageing and clearing your system of toxins.

Healthy Hummus

I have been asked to develop some recipes for www.healthysay.ie. So there will be a few healthy recipes up over the next month.

Hummus can be eaten with crudités as a healthy snack or light lunch, or as a filling for baked potatoes with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, or with tabouleh as a filling for pita breads. Many hummus recipes use large quantities of olive oil and tahini, although these are healthy for you – due to their high calorie content – they are better eaten in moderation. This recipe manages to remain light and smooth by adding natural yoghurt as a replacement for these high calorie ingredients.

Ingredients

·      1 tin organic chickpeas, drained

·      1 tablespoon light tahini paste

·      ½ small clove garlic (be careful with the amount that you add, as raw garlic can overpower the other flavours)

·      ½-1 lemon, juiced (depending on size)

·      1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

·      3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

·      1 level teaspoon Maldon sea salt

·      a few grinds of cracked black pepper

Directions

1.           Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and blend with a hand blender, or alternatively put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend.   
2.           For an addition to this basic hummus recipe you can add one of the following ingredients before blending: ground cumin, harissa paste, chilli, olives, or coriander leaves.

Health Benefits

·      Chickpeas: contain a wealth of phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants and as anti-inflammatory nutrients. Chickpeas are high in molybdenum, manganese, folate, protein, dietary fiber, copper, phosphorus and iron. The fiber in chickpeas is mostly insoluble; therefore it remains intact until it reaches the large intestine, which allows it to provide support for our digestive tract.

·      Tahini: contains B Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15. B Vitamins promote healthy cell growth and division, including that of red blood cells. They also increase your metabolism, enhance the immune and nervous system and help to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone. Tahini is also high in calcium and is far easier for our body to digest than milk. Tahini is a good source of essential fatty acids and vitamin E, which therefore help maintain healthy skin and prevent signs of ageing. It is also a good source of protein.

·      Natural yoghurt: is rich in potassium, calcium, protein, zinc and B vitamins, including B-12.  Yoghurt strengthens and stabilizes the immune system and the good bacteria present kills the bad bacteria in your body. In transforming milk to yoghurt, lactose is converted to lactic acid, which helps in the digestion of lactose, thus allowing our body to absorb the calcium present in diary products.

·      Extra virgin olive oil: is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants (it has a particularly high and wide-ranging polyphenols content) and Vitamin E. It helps to reduce cholesterol, increases metabolism and has positive effect on anti-ageing and healthy skin.