This is a really yummy combination of fresh ingredients, inspired by my daughter's two- year stay in Grenada, West Indies. Grenada is know as The Spice Island, so you better learn your spices if you live there or you are missing out! Aside from the fresh food, Grenada truly has the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and the people are so friendly!
My daughter and her husband were on a very tight budget and they quickly realized the best way to save money and eat well was to do a lot of home cooking!
Island life can be a little different than on the mainland! It's nearly impossible to go into a store with a grocery list and find all the ingredients you need for a particular recipe. The most common ingredients we are used to having on our grocery shelves, may be sold out on any given day on the islands.
This young couple also had to become keenly aware of prices, as many imported items we are familiar with are incredibly expensive. Needless to say, they were forced to get creative and inventive with their meal prep which was all good! They ate only fresh food and learned to be incredible cooks, never using a recipe—just letting their taste buds pave the way. Everywhere you turn there are beautiful, edible things hanging from the trees—not really sure what's on this tree, but it's pretty!
As a Health Coach and Fitness trainer I have to note that It has been said by many health professionals that you don't have to count calories if you eat food without labels and they found that to be true! No more added sugars, preservatives and chemicals! They were in the best shape of their lives because their body fuel was cleaner than ever!
One of Shaylee's favorite things to cook was soup! You can be creative and add whatever you love in the amounts you desire! If you learn how to make the base of the soup, over time you will create your own delicious combinations of fresh foods. Shaylee would make batches of foods and bring it to those less fortunate. Her time on the island truly changed her and others.
My girl left home without much cooking experience and when she returned she was a better cook than I. Now I get to reap the benefits of her fresh, healthy home cooked island inspired meals and I am grateful! I am grateful she has seen the profound difference fresh foods make in her health, I am grateful she has learned how to live on a tight budget and realize what the most important gifts in life are, and I'm grateful she had this wonderful experience, on a beautiful island with the incredible, Grenadian people.
Here you go! Shaylee's Pho Soup!
4-6 servings
*Not all the ingredients have specified amounts AND they aren't all necessary! Pick and choose what you want and make it your own! You really can't make a mistake:)
Ingredients:
1-2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 white onion
4 minced garlic cloves
Thumb size ginger, chopped
3 cups spinach
20 medium shrimp
2 liters vegetable broth
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons mirin (liquid cooking seasoning)
Red pepper flakes to taste
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
6 eggs
Use all or pick and choose from the following ingredients:
Rice noodles
Bean sprouts
Sliced carrots
Zucchini noodles
Fresh mushrooms
Jalapeño pepper
Sliced scallions
Chopped cilantro
Sesame seeds
1. Sauté onion, garlic and ginger in oil until fragrant. Add shrimp two minutes before adding spinach. Cook shrimp until pink and spinach until wilted.
2. Heat vegetable broth, soy sauce, miring, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, salt and pepper and simmer about 15 minutes
3. Soft boil eggs (6 minutes until yolks are semi soft)
4. Cook rice noodles according to directions on package
5. Remove noodles and divide into 4-6 bowls
6. Pour broth over noodles
7. Add sautéed mixture (ginger, garlic, onion, spinach and shrimp) to bowls
8. Top with any of the following: bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini noodles, jalapeños, scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds and halved soft boiled eggs
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Susan Jensen is a Certified Health Coach and Fitness Trainer. Helping people live their healthiest life is her mission. She believes that one-one-one health coaching is the most effective way to get results when it comes to creating positive habits that lead to renewed energy, weight loss, better sleep, exercise motivation and so much more! Learn more about Susan HERE
