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

Tuesday’s Table – Tabbouleh, Tzatziki, Greek Marinaded Chicken – Opa!

Recently we had a couple over for Friday night dinner, and I wanted to cook something that was fresh and summery, but a meal that could mostly be done ahead of time so I could enjoy the company. I decided upon plates of all of our Greek favorites: tabbouleh with quinoa, tzatziki, Greek marinated chicken and our three minute hummus.

You will definitely put your food processor to use for this meal, but it is easy and all of these items are GREAT leftover! One trick I used was instead of using regular pita bread as a side, I purchased one package of frozen Naan from Trader Joe’s. It only takes one minute to heat up – literally – and is the perfect taste and texture for this dish.

Once you have the tabbouleh and tzatiki completed and the chicken marinating whip up our easy hummus recipe while your food processor is still out. Then dollop hummus onto your Greek plates or use as an appetizer. https://adelinealley.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/3-minute-homemade-hummus/

Tabbouleh with Quinoa (GF)

Two bundles of flat leaf parsley, washed

Carton of cherry tomatoes, chopped

One package of Green onions, chopped

One seeded, chopped cucumber

Juice of one Lemon

Several sprigs of mint, chopped

1/2 c. Olive oil, plus 1 Tbs.

1 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Quinoa, 1 cup dried – cooked according to package

Prepare quinoa.

Put parsley in food processor with 1 Tbs. olive oil. Pulse until finely chopped – this will not take long. Pour into large mixing bowl.

Combine all other ingredients with parsley and quinoa. Done! Place in fridge for several hours to let flavors develop.

  

   

Greek Marinade for Chicken

1 c. Fat Free Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice and zest of one lemon

1/2 Tbs. Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp. Salt

Chicken breasts and thighs (I used one pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and one pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

Combine all ingredients, pour over chicken in ziplock and let marinate in fridge for at least one hour.

Tzatziki

One large, peeled English cucumber

1/2 Tbs. Salt (for salting cucumbers)

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

Juice of one Lemon

Garlic

Dill

Ground black pepper

Put cucumber in food processor, pulse. Put cucumbers in colander with salt on top so they will drain much of their liquid. Let sit 10 minutes.

Combine all other ingredients. Once cucumbers are drained add in and top with additional sprig of dill. Yum! I like this on pretty much everything.

OPA!! Enjoy your Greek feast!