Asian Carrot and Mushroom Noodle Soup

This soup will heal whatever happens to be ailing you. I should know. I've been trying to battle some form of cold for the last 2 weeks. Ugh! Make it go away. All I want to eat is soup and this one takes the cake.

It's a light and healthy meal that takes chicken noodle soup to a whole new level.

It starts by sautéing fresh ginger, garlic, green onions and red pepper flakes in olive oil (you could take this recipe another step further by using coconut oil instead). Just the scent of this cooking on the stove top is enough to be medicinal. It will clear your head...It will also make your mouth water. You can use as little or as much red pepper flakes as you like. I like my spice so I add somewhere between 1/4 to a 1/2 tsp. If you don't like spice then keep it tame with an 1/8 tsp.

Cilantro is stirred in right at the end to give the soup a burst of fresh light flavour that really brightens things up.

Last but not least, I used whole wheat egg noodles, which is what you see in the photos, but you can use any type of noodle you like. For a gluten free option substitute rice noodles or rice vermicelli. Be sure to add them with the snow peas at the end watch them carefully to avoid noodle mush. Vermicelli noodles will cook through in just a few minutes.

This soup also boasts a whopping 103% of you daily intake of vitamin A and 40% for vitamin C.

Time to feed my cold.

Asian Carrot and Mushroom Noodle Soup Gluten free option | Serves 4

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Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (depending how hot you like it)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 2 cups each no-sodium added chicken broth and water
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp each of low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari if GF) and sesame oil
• 2 oz whole wheat egg noodles (or rice noodles if GF)
• 6 oz /1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed and halved
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat; cook garlic, ginger, onions and red pepper flakes, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms and carrots; cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until moisture from the mushrooms evaporates and deglazes the bottom of the pan.
3. Add chicken broth, water, lemon juice, soy sauce and sesame oil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in noodles and chicken and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add snow peas and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

*Tip* 

• If using rice noodles, add them in when you add the snow peas and monitor the noodles closely for doneness. They should only take a few minutes to cook.

Nutrition Information 

Serving Size: about 1 cup Calories: 206 Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 45mg Sodium: 245mg Carbohydrates: 16.8g Sugar: 3.5g Fiber: 3.2g Protein: 18g Vitamin A: 103% Vitamin C: 40%

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche with Caramelized Onions

Confession #1: I have never made quiche.

Confession #2: I have never eaten quiche.

...until now!

It's not that I never wanted to try quiche. It's just that I always assumed it was one of those things that could never be healthy and still taste good. I never indulged in this savory treat before because of the copious amounts of eggs, butter and heavy cream. Eeek! That's a lot of fat. And besides the fact I'm one of those people that would rather save up their treat calories for a sweet dessert ;)

With a bit of experimentation and researching I was able to create this health-ed up recipe. I'm happy to say that a slice of this quiche will not go straight to your hips...and the smell of it in the oven while cooking is intoxicating!

Okay, okay. So how did I do it?

Well the first step was the crust. At first I was stumped. I'm usually good with making pastry but this isn't  pastry, it's more of a short crust, and anyway it needs to be healthy. Instead of all-purpose flour I used whole grain unrefined red fife flour, which works top notch in pie crusts. I used about 4 tbsp of unsalted butter (that's not very much fat when it comes down to a serving size) and my little secret, a pinch of nutmeg.

After making the pastry I put it in the fridge to set. Well I thought I mucked it up because it wouldn't roll out and it kept falling apart. While muttering a few expletives...ahem...I pieced the dough backed together in the dish and it turned out just fine! I realized this was to be expected with the type of crust it was, without all that fat to hold it together. Don't worry if this happens to you while rolling out the dough. If it splits just pinch the seams back together.

You should end up with it looking something like this:

Also note how I perforated the dough with a fork (or "docked" it). Can you see all the little holes? That's because we're going to be backing this crust before we add the filling. 

Now if you can believe it the filling only uses 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, 1 cup of skim milk, and creamy goat cheese for its lower fat content.

Asparagus, onions, and spinach are sautéd and caramelized in a bit of olive oil for extra flavour.

Fill-er-up and bake!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche with Caramelized Onions

(serves 6)

Print the recipe here!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup of red fife flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp ice cold water

For the filling:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup asparagus, ends removed + chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups of spinach, lightly packed
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• goat cheese

Directions:

1. Begin by combining the flour, salt and nutmeg in a food processor or mixing bowl. Mix the butter into the flour mixture until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. Gradually pour the water in, one tablespoon at a time with the mixer running. The dough should form into a dense ball. Place dough on lightly floured surface, and flour your rolling pin. Roll it out gently until it's about 1/4 inch thick and large enough for you pie pan. Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up while it's cooking. Bake in a 400*F oven for 10 minutes.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and season with a pinch of pepper. Stir and spread out to cook until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and asparagus and cook over medium heat until the asparagus is fork tender. Toss in the spinach and stir until slightly wilted. Remove pan from heat.
3. Whisk together eggs, egg white, milk, chives and nutmeg. Spread the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the prepared crust. Sprinkle goat cheese to taste. Pour egg mixture over top.
4. Bake at 350*F, uncovered until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let quiche rest at room temperature for 10 minutes to settle; then serve.

Healthy, simple, and low in fat.

We enjoyed this for dinner with steamed broccoli on the side. It reheats really well for leftovers too!