It’s been a while, but I’m back! Life has a funny way of hitting you with a lot of things at once. Much in my life has changed over the last few months. I’ve had family members pass away. I’ve moved. I’m also restarting my personal chef business! Change is a beautiful thing when you don’t fight it.
Oh, I’m also officially 100% plant-based now.
Yeaaahhh, I didn’t see that coming.
I explain this a little in the Who Is Monique section of my website. I discuss the fact that I was NEVER into healthy eating when I started culinary school and became a chef. I was just as surprised as anyone else when I started eating the Daytime Vegan way consistently. When I think about it, it was so easy for me because this lifestyle allows your tastebuds to adjust so you really start craving plant foods. You don’t have to force it, like many people trying to eat healthy do. Once I adopted Daytime Vegan lifestyle I was satisfied. I told myself I NEVER wanted to be 100% vegan. I loved seafood and was happy only eating a small amount of seafood for dinner.
Welp.
Now I don’t even crave seafood anymore! So I woke up one day and said “That’s it”. No more animal products for me. I love that everything happened naturally for me. That’s what I always tell people who ask me advice for sticking to a healthy lifestyle. DON’T DO IT COLD TURKEY! Gradually make small changes over time. Listen to your body. This is why the Daytime Vegan lifestyle is so awesome. It helps you gradually adjust to change. I see so many people wake up one day and say they’re going to be vegan, or gluten free, or paleo. They throw all of their food out and immediately start their new lifestyle. Most of these people always fall off the wagon and go back to the unhealthy S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). One of the reasons for this is because they shocked their body! They pretty much forced this lifestyle on their body, instead of giving it time to adjust, so eventually their cravings kicked into high gear! Their body said “Screw this!” and took over again.
My friends, take your time when making major changes in your life. There’s a good chance that making slow, gradual, changes at your own pace will yield more long-term results in whatever it is your doing (exercise, eating healthy, being more productive at work, etc…).
This Spicy Soup with Bok Choy, Chili, Scallion, & Garlic is perfect for those of us experiencing the cold winter right now. It’s super fast to make and tastes sooooo good. Give it a try.
Health Benefits
Spicy Noodle Soup with Bok Choy, Chili, & Garlic: Beta carotene levels in bok choy are high enough for the veggie to be highly recommended by the Macular Degeneration Association. In fact, a single cup of bok choy contains the entire RDA of beta carotene, which has been shown to prevent night blindness and possibly reduce the risk of cataract and macular degeneration. The Harvard School of Public Health released the findings of an interesting study, asserting that high dairy intake can increase the risk of prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer. The study suggested that better forms of calcium should come from collards and bok choy.
***NOTE: This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. All information contained in this blog is the opinion of Monique and is not to be interpreted as medical advice.
- 2 cups cooked Pho Noodles/White Rice Noodles
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspon sambal
- ½ teaspoon fried chili paste
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- salt to taste
- 1 cup bok choy roughly chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup green onions chopped
- Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. If there are no instructions, I usually boil about 4 - 5 cups of water, add the noodles, and cook for 6 – 7 minutes. DON'T DRAIN THE WATER!!
- Place the rest of the ingredients in your large soup bowl. Once the noodles are cooked use tongs to place them in your bowl. Add some of the cooking water to the bowl. I usually add about 1 – 1 ½ cups of the noodle water. If you'd like you can heat up a cup of vegetable broth instead, but I feel like the soup already has enough flavor so water is fine for me.
- Stir everything around, taste for salt, and enjoy!
- I wanted to make this soup the way they eat it in Vietnam or Thailand. I noticed in these countries that they don't boil the greens for their soup. They place fresh, raw, greens in the bowl and pour hot broth over it. I love to eat soup this way, but if you don't then feel free to boil the bok choy in some water to soften it up.
Sometimes the rice noodles are called Rice Sticks. Sometimes you won't be able to understand any of the language on the package, so just look for fat, white, rectangular shaped noodles. I purchase my rice noodles from authentic Asian stores. The only ingredients should be Rice and Water. I would not buy any rice noodles with more than those two ingredients.
I purchase my Fried Chili Paste from Asian grocery stores as well. They usually have a ton to choose from. Sometimes I will ask an employee which one they think I should try, or I just pick a random one. You can omit this ingredient if you can't find it.
Thanks for sharing your recipes! The smoothie especially looks delish and so healthy! Nikki x
http://www.twentysomethingmuddle.com
Thank you!
Your soup looks delicious, perfect for this cold and rainy weather. 🙂 Soup makes me happy.
Yes, this is perfect for the winter!
Ooo this does look tasty! I certainly give them each a try. I love garlic, so I imagine I’d like the dish.
Yes, it’s great! Thank you
That noodle soup looks like exactly what I need right now! Temperatures are below freezing here and that soup looks mighty warm <3
Below freezing?!? Oh no! This soup will definitely warm you up!
This looks so yummy! I love spicy foods and will have to try it out!
Thanks, you’ll love it!
I love the cucumber mint strawberry smoothie! Gonna give it a try soon! <3
xoxo
Radhika
Expressing Life
Thank you!
I honestly can’t imagine being vegan, I am not an imaginative cook so I would be eating vegetables all the time haha you have some lovely recipes here, you are making it look easy.
lol, I understand! A lot of people feel like you do, which is why I offer the Daytime Vegan lifestyle! Thanks for visiting.
What a great resource you will be if someone is looking into being a vegan. I like the smoothie and can make this fairly easy as i have all of these ingredients on hand!
Thank you so much! I hope you try the smoothie!
It’s cool that you’re vegan but open minded enough to promote a healthy alternative lifestyle for non-vegans that lets us eat a little meat. These recipes sound delicious.
Thank you! I’m glad you like the Daytime Vegan lifestyle.
The soup and smoothie look delicious. I have to give this recipe a try.
Thanks, you’ll love them!!
Wow these both look amazing! I love smoothies and I also love finding healthy food options. I am not a vegan, but I do like trying out vegan meals. Thanks for sharing, I will have to try these out some time.
Lennae xxx
http://www.lennaesworld.com
Thank you! Let me know how you like the meals!
I could so go for this. My hubby is a bit stubborn but he would come around trying this.
lol, men are usually the stubborn ones when it comes to trying new food! My husband was the same way. Thanks for visiting.
That noodle soup looks healthy and delicious! I feel like having it right now! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!
I eat this at least 3 times a week! I think you’d love it. Thank you!
You make eating healthy look so easy and so delicious!! That smoothie especially. I’ve never tried with the rind.
Thank you! I do try to make many of the recipes easy for you all. I add a lemon slice to all my smoothies. It makes them taste sooo much better!
Congrats Monique on becoming totally Vegan! I completely agree when you say you have to take things slow. My friend gave up meat overnight only to get back to it a month later. I am a vegetarian and giving up diary isn’t easy for me. Let’s see!!!
And welcome back to blogging! Best wishes on your Chef business! Have a wonderful life ahead!
Thank you so much for the kind words!! Dairy is the HARDEST thing to give up so I completely understand. I’m happy to be back blogging and I hope you have a great 2017!! 🙂
I’m not into prepping my food but I told myself this 2017, I should try to make one, two or more for myself. Let me try this. It looks like I’m gonna love it!
Prepping my food saves me sooo much time during the week! I think you’ll love these recipes too. Thank you!! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It looks healthy and delicious. Gonna give it a try.
Thanks
The spicy noodle soup looks really tasty and healthy. The smoothie also looks really tasty too.
Thanks
I loved both the recipes. Nice to see your amazing pics again…Bok Choy is a tasty veggie.
Thank you! Nice to be back.
The smoothie is so easy to prepare! Gonna try making it. And I like that you have switched to all-plant food.
Thank you!
Amazing about that tidbit of information about the richness of bokchoy for beta carotene. I like this vegetable but not in very spicy dishes though. The smoothie of cucumber and mint, I have tasted but to mix strawberry — very interesting.
I think the strawberries add a nice sweetness! You could definitely make this soup without the sambal and chili paste so it’s not spicy!! Thank you 🙂
Everything looks so perfect once again! The Smoothie and the Noodles are pure love!! If I can make a suggestion, your photos might look better if it was less faded but they’re still very beautiful! 😀
Thank you! I actually prefer the faded look. It’s my personal photography style. Thanks for the comment.
I want a bowl. This is perfect for this chilly weather up north.
Thank you! It’s perfect for cold weather.
The Spicy Noodle soup looks like something I can eat everyday! I love bok choy and chilli so the meal definitely work for me~
I’m not sure about you, but the smoothie bottle look like a frozen bottle (because it’s transparent) on the picture~
lol, I can see how it looks frozen! I think it is because of the bottle I used. Thank you.
Vegetarian is really nice.. This smoothies looks really great and I’m gonna love it!
thanks
I love the noodles. Even though It is spicy, I still love to taste it. I am not sure if I can stand a whole week without meat at all. It seems my body also need a meat or else I might get weak.
Thanks! You could make the soup not spicy as well. I understand what you’re saying. Everyone’s body is different.