THERE ARE DAYS for long winded recipes babying savoury sauces or the hunker down days to experiment with the date paste sweet treat AND then there are the other 362 days in which we’re building meals and smoothies based on this one equation: WHAT’S IN MY FRIDGE.
Here is a “no recipe” approach to assembling beautiful meals in a bowl.
Set aside some time to shop and prep your food in advance. And if you are reading this, you are well-versed in the Nourished way—one day of the week is “kitchen fun day” – good music, good conversation, and lots of prepping, chopping, steaming, stirring, grilling and roasting.
So when you arrive home exhausted, hungry and ready to eat throughout the week, all your food is waiting to be thrown together into a bowl. You’ll never have to wonder, “what’s for dinner” again.
Here’s a simple guide to building balanced, nourishing and delicious meals in a bowl. Yes, it is my end all, be all:
Think of these bowls like your “little black dress” of meal planning.
Dress it up to your mood. Your bowl is filled with staples like whole grains, protein, healthy fats and tons of veggies. Then you add a few key ‘accessories’ to spice it up. Bowls are that piece you never get sick of.
HERE’S HOW: Make sure bowls are balanced in flavor, texture and nutrition, by choosing one ingredient f(at least) rom each category. And yes the more veggie centric, the better.
HOW TO BUILD A MEAL INTO A BOWL: FRIDGE-TO-FACE IN 6 STEPS
- 1. START WITH A BASE OF LEAFY GREENS: Spinach, kale, shredded Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, Mustard greens, arugula, bok choy, pea shoots
- 2. ADD UNLIMITED RAW, ROASTED, STEAMED OR GRILLED VEGGIES: Carrots, peppers, beets, roasted eggplant, asparagus, Brussels, broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, onion
- 3. TOSS IN A GRAIN OR STARCH: Quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, faro, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, soba (buckwheat) noodles
- 4. INCLUDE PROTEIN: Chickpeas, black beans, lentils, salmon, tuna, grilled chicken, edamame, veggie burgers, hard-boiled eggs
- 5. DON’T FORGET THE HEALTHY FATS: Seeds, nuts, avocado, drizzle of pumpkin, coconut or olive oil.
- 6. TOP IT OFF WITH DRESSINGS + SAUCES: Hummus, lemon/lime squeeze & olive oil, tahini, salsa, pesto, miso ginger sauce, tamari
EXTRA CREDIT FOR SOME NUTRITIONAL BOOSTS: Fresh herbs, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, seaweed