Asians drink soup for breakfast (Japanese miso soup and Thai pho, for example). Americans looking for something quick, hot, nutritious and comforting should consider the option.

All you need to make a bowl of miso soup is hot water and a spoonful of miso paste, available in many supermarkets as well as in Asian food stores.

You can add nutritious vegetables to your miso soup, as shown in the video, or have it plain, as it’s served at Japanese restaurants. The soup can be made in advance and microwaved in a minute, which is especially convenient if you want your soup with veggies.

Beyond a quick cup of soup before you dash out, you can carry a thermos, thermal mug or a portable coffee mug full of soup as you leave. Your soup supply can also be part of a low-calorie, healthful lunch, snack or dinner.

Here are more ways to use the miso paste.

Find more of our favorite soups in our Soup Section.

Want a more conventional breakfast? Check out our Cereals, Pancakes & Waffles Section.

When pulling together hors d’oeuvres for cocktails, it’s easy to reach for baguette slices or crackers and pile on a topping.

But here’s an alternative that doesn’t get soggy, has better nutrition and fewer carbs: the cucumber. You can place sliced meat and cheese, a shrimp with dill sauce, or other favorite directly atop a slice of cucumber instead of the bread or cracker. You can even make bite-size “cucumber sandwiches” using two slices of cucumber and a filling.

Or, you can “stuff” the cucumber for a more impressive presentation:

STUFFED CUCUMBER HORS D’OEUVRES

1. Peel and cut cucumbers into half-inch circles and carefully scoop out a well with a melon baller or other device.

2. Optionally, you can use a small cookie cutter to make scalloped/floral shapes, as in the photo (do this before you scoop out the well).

3. Then, fill the well with anything you like. Some of our favorites:

 
BLUE CHEESE SPREAD RECIPE

The better quality the blue cheese and cream cheese, the better this tastes. We use organic cream cheese (less gumminess, more flavor) and Gorgonzola or Roquefort (check out our favorite blue cheeses).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE: In a medium bowl, mash softened cream cheese until softened. Mash in blue cheese.

2. TASTE: Blue cheese is typically salty, but adjust with salt and pepper if needed. You can make this up to a week in advance. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

3. ASSEMBLE. Top cucumber slices with cheese spread. Since this is a thick mixture, you don’t need to create wells; but you can certainly do so if you like the aesthetic.

4. GARNISH: Top with a thin slice of fig and/or a toasted nut.

Find more of our favorite hors d’oeuvre recipes.

We saw this healthful lunch or dinner plate in the book, Healthy in a Hurry: Simple, Wholesome Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, by Karen Ansel and Charity Ferreira. We repurposed the idea as a snack or first course.

The authors suggest a healthful meal of two small tortillas topped with salsa and chicken, and a side of nutritious beans.

We especially like this idea to use up leftover chicken, grilled seafood or tofu.

Once you have your protein, make or buy fresh mango salsa (you can substitute peach salsa, but mango provides more complex flavor).

Then, just cook the tortillas, assemble and serve. If you’d like to turn this into a salad course, replace the beans in the photo with dressed greens.

Serving size for a snack, first course or salad course: 1 tortilla. The mango salsa recipe makes 1-1/2 cups, enough salsa for 8 tortillas.

FIRST COURSE OR SALAD COURSE TORTILLA RECIPE

Ingredients

 
MANGO SALSA RECIPE

Mango Salsa Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE SALSA. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and blend.

2. COOK TORTILLAS. Heat a dry cast iron skillet or other small, heavy pan over medium high heat. Add 1/6 teaspoon (half of the 1/8 teaspoon measure) olive oil to the center of the pan. Place the tortilla in the pan and swish it around so that the oil evenly coats the pan. Cook the tortilla for 5 seconds, flip and cook the other side for 5 seconds.

Assembly

1. Place the tortilla in the center of on a luncheon-size plate; if including a green salad, use a dinner plate and place the tortilla on one side of the plate.

2. Top with 2 tablespoons of drained salsa; top salsa with the protein and garnish. Add optional green salad and serve.
  
CORN TORTILLAS VS. FLOUR TORTILLAS

Corn is a whole grain, so corn tortillas are more nutritious—and more flavorful—than those made from refined white flour.

If you enjoy snacking on tortilla chips, making your own corn tortilla bowls is a better option: Chips can have quite a bit of added salt.

Want to make healthy, meals? Pick up a copy of Healthy In A Hurry. Photo courtesy Weldon Owen.

We really enjoy a “tortilla salad”—like the ones served in restaurants in jumbo tortilla bowls. Add lettuce or other greens and a protein, and you have an appealing light lunch or dinner. Eat as much of the tortilla as you like—it’s better for you than most bread.

To make your own, get a set of these nonstick tortilla bowl molds.

Michaele Musel, chef of Double R Ranch Co., producers of aged beef, suggests this option for those who grill without an open fire.

“There’s an easy way to replicate the smokiness of coal and wood, using a gas grill and smoked sea salt,” says Chef Musel.

Smoked sea salt is available at specialty food stores or online. Get a box for yourself, and a second box or jar as an inexpensive gift for someone who likes to cook. (Put smoked salt on your “stocking stuffer” list.)

Different artisan salt companies make smoked sea salt. Perhaps the most beautiful is the smoked version of Maldon sea salt, harvested from the Atlantic Ocean off the southeast coast of England in Essex.

Maldon salt has unique pyramid-shaped flakes which are visually arresting when used as a finishing salt. Here’s more about Maldon salt in our Artisan Salt Glossary.

USES FOR SMOKED SALT

Use smoked salt on deviled eggs, fish/seafood (yummy on salmon), grilled and roasted meats, pasta, roast chicken and other foods. We even use a pinch on an egg salad or tuna sandwich. It just might get some people to eat more veggies. You can evoke the flavor of bacon in soups and stews by adding this “vegan” smokiness.

Choose Your Style. In addition to flakes, smoked salt is also available in fine and coarse grain sizes. For the most flexibility, get the flakes or coarse grain, which can be used as decorative salts. If you need a finer grain, crush or grind the salt.

Make Sure It’s Natural. Before you buy a smoked salt, make sure that it is naturally smoked. A natural salt is slow-smoked in cold smokers over a wood fire, which infuses the salt crystals with delicious, smokey flavor. Companies that take a shortcut use liquid smoke flavoring that can create a bitter taste.

Taste Before Using. While any smoked salt can be used when a hint of smoke is desired, taste it first to judge the smokiness. Some brands are smoked much more heavily than others.

GET SMOKY FLAVOR FROM A GAS GRILL

Here are chef’s Musel’s tips for achieving a smoky flavor from a gas grill. The chef likes to grill a tri-tip, part of the sirloin.

1. PREPARE GRILL. Prepare a gas grill for indirect cooking according to manufacturer’s directions for medium heat.

2. SEASON MEAT. Season the tri-tip roast or other cut with smoked sea salt and pepper. Place the roast on a cooking grid over direct heat. Grill, uncovered, for two minutes on each side.

3. INDIRECT HEAT. Move tri-tip to indirect heat. Grill, covered, one hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the internal temperature at center of thickest part of the roast reaches 135°F for medium rare; 150°F for medium doneness.

Photo courtesy Double R Ranch.

4. TENT MEAT. Transfer the roast to a carving board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Temperature will continue to rise about 10°F to reach 145°F for medium rare; 160°F for medium doneness.

5. CARVE & SERVE. Carve the roast across the grain and serve on French bread with salsa or other condiments. Chef Musel likes to serve this dish with slow cooked pinquito beans and a green salad.

A peppery green that delights lovers of spicy food, in the U.S. arugula is usually relegated to perking up a green salad. You can substitute it for lettuce on a sandwich* or for basil, parsley or watercress as a garnish or a recipe ingredient.

No matter how you use it, arugula is a nutritional powerhouse, delivering high levels of potassium and vitamins A and C. It makes more of a punch, flavor-wise, than most other leafy greens, which lends itself nicely to a variety of dishes.

Expand your vista and try these other ways to enjoy arugula:

PASTA. Add arugula pesto or sautéed arugula to pasta with a garnish of green olives. Or, make an uncooked sauce of fresh tomatoes and a chiffonade of arugula.

*We especially like fresh arugula instead of bland lettuce on egg salad, chicken salad and tuna salad sandwiches, and melted into a grilled cheese sandwich. Here’s recipe for Colby-Jack Panini With Honey Glazed Ham & Lemony Arugula.

PESTO. Make pesto with arugula instead of basil. You can use the pesto as a crostini topping, pasta sauce or sandwich spread—straight or mixed with mayonnaise or fat-free Greek yogurt. More about pesto.

PIZZA. Vary the classic Margherita pizza by switching out the fresh basil for arugula.

QUICHE & CHEESE TARTS. Arugula goes well with cheese, ham, and pears. Here they all combine in this Cheese, Arugula, Prosciutto & Pear Tart recipe.

RICE. Mix arugula pesto into cooked rice or other grains. Or try this recipe for Basmati Rice Salad With Prosciutto, Arugula & Fresh Orange.

SALAD. Beyond a mixed green salad, add some of these ingredients to an arugula salad: blue cheese, chickpeas, feta, goat cheese, grilled mushrooms, pears, pecans, watermelon (with or without one of the cheeses), strawberries. We like a balsamic vinaigrette: The round sweetness of balsamic vinegar is a nice counterpoint to the spice of the greens. Add arugula to a Caprese salad, with or without the basil. For something sophisticated, try this recipe for Scallop & Bacon Salad With Arugula.

SAUTÉED. Like sautéed spinach, sautéed arugula is a delicious side. In a frying pan, heat a chopped garlic clove and a tablespoon of olive oil for 45 seconds. Add the arugula and stir for about a minute, until the leaves wilt.

SOUP. Spice up broccoli, cucumber, spinach, watercress or zucchini soup by mixing in some arugula. You can also use a chiffonade of raw arugula as a garnish for almost any soup.

If you have a favorite use for arugula, please let us know!

Find more of our favorite vegetable recipes.