Hi! How are you all doing? I hope you are all well. Have you heard of nourish bowls or Buddha bowls? Whatever you want to call it, there are many options when it comes to what you put in it. Basically it is a bowl where you put some kind of grain, maybe beans, assorted veggies, and usually some type of sauce. It can take on whatever flavor(Mexican, Asian, Greek, Italian, etc.) you choose which may determine the ingredients you put in.
I am going to share a recipe that I threw together for one of my lunches. I didn’t have any grains cooked, so I cooked up some quinoa with a Mexican flair. I had some assorted beans already cooked in the frig. I took out some frozen corn a couple of hours before I needed to use it, added diced tomatoes, green onions, bell peppers, red cabbage, mixed greens, and tortilla chips(I had some broken ones that I saved to put in some kind of salad. I made an avocado dressing to drizzle over it. It was delicious if I do say so myself.
For the Mexican quinoa - 1 1/2 cups toasted quinoa, 1 cup of tomato juice or sauce, 1 3/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning, 2-3 cloves of garlic or 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and cilantro(optional). After toasting the quinoa, add tomato juice or sauce, water, taco seasoning, and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer 20-25 minutes. Fluff with a fork. You can also add some chopped cilantro.
For the avocado dressing - 1 ripe avocado, 1/2 cup plant-based milk, unsweetened, juice of 1 lime, 1 clove garlic minced, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Put in blender or food processor, blend and enjoy on top of your bowl.
Other things you could have added to it: pan fried or oven baked tofu, radishes, black olives, jicama, and sweet potatoes. These kind of bowls are great to prep many of the ingredients in the beginning of the week. Have some grains, beans, potatoes, cooked that you can add to your bowl. Chop up some veggies and have a couple of sauces to choose from.
Here are a few blogs that have more ideas for making nourish bowls:
https://sharonpalmer.com/20-plant-based bowls-under-500-calories/
https://sharonpalmer.com/40-plant-powered-bowls-of joy-recipe-roundup/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/wellness-nourish-bowl-vegan/
https://www.wellandgood.com/nourish-bowl-recipes/
Nourish bowls are very tasty and can be adapted to the ingredients you have on hand. Do you have a favorite that you like to make?
~Marion
Did you know?
“The first wealth is health.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson