Buddha Bowl

While I love cooking, I typically don’t want to spend my whole day doing it.  I think that’s why so many people have gotten into meal prepping:  cook on Sunday and eat for the whole week.  I love the concept, especially when you have a busy week ahead of you, but I don’t want to eat the same thing every day!  Enter the Buddha Bowl.  

The recipe here is portioned for one serving, but you definitely don’t want to do all of this cooking for just one meal.  Lately, I’ve been cooking lots of quinoa, lentils, and vegetables and storing them away to build whatever kind of lunch I want that day.  Indian spiced lentils with spinach, caramelized onions, and sweet potato?  Quinoa with taco seasoning and grilled chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and black beans?  The combinations are endless and perfectly accommodating to any and all leftovers that are hanging around the fridge.  Just make sure to add protein (both lentils and quinoa have tons of this!), lots of veggies, and any seasonings you want.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Buddha Bowl

-1/2 sweet potato

-1 c cooked quinoa

-1/4 of an avocado

-2 c kale, chopped

-1/2 tsp coconut oil

-1/4 of a roasted chicken breast

-1/4 c roasted chickpeas*

-sliced red onion

-cilantro

-salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes to taste

Roast your sweet potato at 400º for about 50 minutes to an hour or until it’s very soft.  (You can make this and the chickpeas at the same time)  Next add the kale and coconut oil to a pan with a little salt and pepper and cook until wilted.  Finally just add everything to a bowl and season to taste.

*For the roasted chickpeas, drain, rinse, and pat dry 1 can of chickpeas.  Then put them on a baking sheet with 1 tsp of coconut oil and a few dashes of cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Bake them at 400º for 40 to 50 minutes, shaking every 15 minutes or so.  You want them to get very crunchy–usually a couple of mine burn while this is happening, but they taste great too!  These are one of my all time favorite snacks, so I usually make a couple of cans at a time.

Advertisement

Coconut Macaroon Easter Nests

I’m going to my in laws for Easter and wanted to make a festive and easy treat to take for the weekend. Julia and I brainstormed for a bit and decided upon coconut macroons. These were quick, easy, and inexpensive plus gluten and dairy free to boot! (If you need completely dairy free just substitute the chocolate eggs for jelly beans)

♥Hippity Hoppity Easter’s On It’s Way♥

 

Coconut Macaroon Nests

-4 c sweetened shredded coconut

-4 egg whites

-1/2 c sugar

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp almond extract

-parchment or non-stick spray

-Cadbury mini eggs for decoration

Preheat your oven to 350º and toast the coconut on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes or until very slightly golden. Let the coconut cool while you prepare your egg whites.  Whisk them for 1-2 minutes or until frothy; then add the sugar and vanilla and almond extracts and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 more minutes.

Place parchment or cooking spray (we used coconut oil spray) on your baking sheet and then spoon the coconut mixture on using about 2 tablespoons per nest.  Don’t worry too much about the shape of them now–we’ll take care of that later!  Bake them for 8 minutes and then remove from the oven.  At this point, use a spoon or your fingers to first form the clumps into little circles and then press in an indention for the nests.  Return it to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the coconut is nicely toasted.  Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before decorating with the chocolate eggs.  Enjoy!

      

   

Four Faves

-Buddha Bowls:  These happy bowls full of hearty grains, protein, and veggies are insanely good for you and taste amazing.  I like to make mine with quinoa, lentils, roasted vegetables, and crunchy chickpeas, but they can really be made with anything you have in your fridge.  Recipe to come!

-DIY Reading Lists:  I am a shameless fan of chick lit.  I mean, who doesn’t love Bridget Jones’s Diary?  But this year, I decided to step up my reading game and create my own reading list.  You can obviously pick any books you like or check out guides like this or this to help you get started with creating a well rounded list.  I’m 3 books in and loving it.

 

-Siggi’s Yogurt:  Yummm this yogurt is seriously delicious!  Just a few things about it:  high protein, low sugar, real fruit and sweeteners, and milk that’s only from grass-fed cows.  But most importantly it tastes awesome!

-Flowering Branches:  Spring is only 10 days away, and I can’t wait!  So to get in the mood a little early, we’re starting to decorate with beautiful flowering branches.  You get big impact from just a few branches, and they give a little twist to a normal bouquet.  Check out forsythia, quince, almond, and cherry blossoms.  Find them at florists, Trader Joe’s, and your neighbors’s yards  😉