Better Than Store Bought: Homemade Cup of Soup 

It’s autumn up here on Vancouver Island and with the changing seasons comes cooler weather, cozy sweaters and rain. This makes me start craving soups that are full of veggies, noodles and tasty flavors. Yet I work a few part time jobs and don’t always have access to a microwave so it got me thinking about what would be a tasty lunch that would fulfill my craving for a cozy bowl of soup and be quick and easy to make while at work. Then I remembered a recipe, that I have long lost but remembered the gist of, homemade cup of soups. While the similar store bought versions like Mr. Noodle that I grew up with are tasty, they often are lacking in the veggie and are very high in sodium. 

So, knowing that I wanted something with the convenience of just adding hot water, with lots of veggies, protein, and a tasty broth I have been making my own; and here’s the recipe. 

Homemade Cup of Soup

Serving Size:

1

Time:

20 min

Difficulty:

easy

Ingredients

• Soup Base
• 1/8 tsp of “better than Bouillon” stock
• 1/2 tbsp of miso
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• Hot sauce of choice to taste (I like chile oil)
• The Rest
• 1 cup protein of choice (I like puffed tofu, but you can use any protein you like)
• ½ to 1 cup cooked and/or raw veggies (I like to use a mix of what I have on hand, peppers, sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, and green beans are my favorite)
• ½ to 1 cup of greens of choice (I like kale, spinach, or Bok Choy)
• Rice noodles or other instant noodles (find the ones that come in small bundles and take between 2-5 minutes to cook)

Directions

1. In a large jar, I use either an old glass peanut butter jar or 1L mason jar with a wide mouth, add all your soup base ingredients and mix until smooth. 
2. Into the jar add the rest of your ingredients, I like going protein first especially if you’re going to use tofu as it will marinade in the soup base. Then top with your veggies and noodles. I like my noodles to be on top so that I can see when they are done cooking.
3. Stick this in the fridge until you are ready to eat it. 
4. Let the jar come to room temperature before adding in the boiling water, to avoid the glass from breaking or transfer ingredients into a bowl. Cover with boiling water, add a plate on top if using a bowl or replace the lid on top of your jar while you wait  the 2-5 minutes (depending on the noodles that you are using) or until the noodles have softened.
5. Enjoy! 

Note: I normally multiply this recipe for the number of days that I need it for the week, and prep it ahead of time. Store in the fridge for the week and grab them out when I’m heading to work. If you are using animal protein it would be wise to cook and store in a separate container that can be kept in the refrigerator.