HOMEMADE PHO BROTH, PEOPLE.  HOMEMADE PHO.

If you’ve never had pho before, let me describe it to you.  It’s as if the most flavorful broth imaginable, made out with a cinnamon roll.  I know that sounds weird!  But the warming spices added to this broth make everything better.  

 

Here’s how I did it:

HOMEMADE VEGAN PHO BROTH

• Fill a stock pot with 4 cups veggie broth, and 4 cups water.
• Add any scraps of veggies that you keep throughout the week ~ anything goes with this.  The tops and tails of celery, ends of onions, even those long broccoli stalks you paid for, but never use.  Add whatever you have.  Just make sure you add onions and garlic for sure.
• Add the following warming and delicious spices:  2 cinnamon sticks, 2-3 whole cloves, 2 whole star anise pods, a 4-inch chunk of fresh ginger, and some soy sauce or coconut aminos (coconut aminos are allowed on Whole 30 ~ soy sauce isn’t).
• You know the drill:  bring to a boil, then let simmer on the stove, lid on, until your house smells DIVINE.  Seriously, this pot of liquid gold could simmer all day and just get better and better.

 

I never realized it would be that easy.  And cheap!  I basically got rid of a bunch of leftover scraps and made several batches of broth for the freezer.

By the way, if you’re not vegan, you can always add bone broth to this, to boost it up!

Here’s what I added to my Pho, which I had for breakfast, by the way:

That’s cauliflower rice, fresh cilantro and chopped spinach, tons of toasted and black sesame seeds, avocado, lime juice, green onions, kimchi, Sambal (that amazing red chili sauce that I’m addicted to), julienned carrots, and bean sprouts.  But you could add anything!  Tofu, obviously, or a piece of meat, some shrimp, an over-easy egg on top, even pineapple if you’re feeling the need for sweet!

The trick is to have these healthy items cut up and ready in your fridge in a large container of some sort.  Like this one for my Greek salad!

Then you can make your dresssing and put it all together so quickly.  Or you can heat up that PHO broth, and load on the goodness without having to chop anything.

None of those added things have been cooked, by the way.  I just load up my bowl and pour the boiling PHO over it all.  DIVINE!!!

I wonder if I could ever tire of this type of eating?  Or how great I feel when I eat it!