Meatless Monday Meals, or ANY MEAL throughout the week for that matter, seriously never looked better or easier! Here’s the thing with nourish bowls – everyone freaking drools over them wondering ‘but where and how can I get my hands on one of these?’. The secret, ain’t no secret, because it’s simply in the prep, have a few ingredients on hand, look at your bowl as a canvas, then create your art from there.
If you want these in your life, then think with ease. Steam or blanch a few ingredients, cook a grain / pseudograin and protein component (should you wish), have raw foods to balance the meal (avo, snow peas, low starch greens and herbs etc) then keep in your fridge the likes of nourishing add-ons.
By add ons we not talking traditional sugar laden condiments and sauces (oyster sauce, sweet chilli etc)to slop on and seal the deal. They’re add ons you have in your life to improve your health.
You’ll find these in our fridge to amp up the meal…and buddha bowl… status:
- pickles – hand made, can do this simply with the likes of vinegar / apple cider vinegar/ herbs and spices and some of the left over veggies on hand – cucumber, onion, apples, grapes all great options. This week was cucumber – comment below if you’d like the recipe? FYI you don’t need sugar for these, lots of the bottled ones you buy in a supermarket have a stack of sugar.
- kraut or kimchi – similar to pickles but a slower process to produce and thus increases enzymes and probiotics in the mix – we typically have one of each as kraut is sour and kimchi spicy – variety is the spice of life!
- nuts and seeds – raw or toasted, hemp seeds feature here to up the amino acids in the meal. Been loving spicing up our nuts recently with turmeric, cinnamon and chilli in the oven. Also great is some dukkah on hand – easy to put together. For easy asian combos, gomaiso is a winner, so grounding, salty and delicious. Plenty of recipes out there for these!
- sauce condiments – miso, wasabi, tamari, chilli oil, olives, pesto – have some of these blends on hand. Make a batch freeze some, fridge some and then they’re never too far away
- nut butters – and tahini – not too much needs explaning here! Plenty you can do with peanut butter to go for satay type flavours, tahini great on its own or mixed with olive oil and lemon juice too!
- dairy – should you wish! Bold flavours such as goat cheese, danish feta and haloumi are never too far away. Light flavours such as ricotta and protein rich cottage cheese or quark also goodies.
GREEN BUDDHA BOWL
SERVES 1
GF : DF : SF : V
50g green tea soba or buckwheat soba noodles
2 small heads bok choy
3 stems kale, leaves stripped and roughly torn
70g snow peas, trimmed
1/4 avocado,sliced
2 tablespoons pickled cucumber / kraut / kimchi
Small handful coriander leaves
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
Opt: wasabi
Soba dressing:
1.5 tbsp lime juice (about 1/2 small time
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon finely sliced coriander stems (saved from above leaves)
Bring a small pot of water to the boil and cook soba according to instructions on packet. Whilst cooking, make the dressing for the soba by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl. Once sobs is cooked rinse with cold water, drain and then toss with dressing. Blanch bok choy and kale in a bowl of boiling water and refresh under cold Arrange kale on the base of your nourish bowl and top with dressed soba noodles, blanched bok choy, snow peas, avocado, pickled cucumber, a sprinkle of hemp seeds if handy and fresh coriander leaves. If you wish to pump up the punch add some wasabi to taste.
