If you have trouble coming up with easy and satisfying meals, feel overwhelmed by meal
prepping and in depth recipes, you will want to keep reading.
In come nourish bowls, grain bowls, fancy salad, whatever you’d like to call them. This concept
seems simple, and that is honestly the beauty of it. The idea is that we’re taking the time to
understand what components make up a generally satisfying and nourishing meal, feeling
comfortable with that information, and then applying freedom to change it and adjust it as we
see fit.
I, and many others, use the “bowl” concept because it really just makes it easy to combine many
components; but remember, this can be applied to a variety of presentations of meals (think
sandwiches, wraps, soups, etc.)
Before we get to what to include in these bowls, it’s important to cover how we can make this
easier on ourselves throughout the week in terms of time and convenience. When we are going
to be creating meals with multiple components, batch cooking is incredibly helpful. Essentially
cooking/chopping/prepping a few types of foods and keeping them separate in containers in the
fridge so that they can turn into a variety of different meals over the next few days. This can look
like making a few extra servings of quinoa or rice, roasting a few vegetables, chopping a few
others, and making a dressing or two.
Ok, now we will look at what goes into these bowls.
I like to break them down into 5 different components: a protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates
(some starchy, some non-starchy), a dressing or sauce, and something extra.
Protein: (pick ~1-2) sustainably raised meats, wild fish, venison, eggs, tofu, tempeh, beans,
lentils
Healthy fats: (pick ~1-3) avocado, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds,
aged cheeses or plant-based cheeses, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, olives
Carbs: (pick at least 1 starchy and at least 2 non-starchy) quinoa, farro, brown rice, jasmine
rice, couscous, sweet potato, carrots, beets, kale, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion,
cucumber, tomato, microgreens
Dressing or sauce: (pick ~1-2) marinades, hummus, pesto, fresh herbs, lemon juice, tahini,
olive or avocado oil, vinegars, mustard, hot sauce, etc.
Something extra: (pick ~1-2) kimchi, sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, flax meal or chia seeds,
croutons, seaweed, pickled red onions
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but a jumping off point. If it helps to start out by
thinking of types of world flavors, or what would work well with a sauce or dressing that you
already have, then start like that.
Pick what sounds good to you and what sounds good together, make a few components ahead
of time, and then when it comes to actually having it for a meal, all we have to do is throw a few
things together.
Remember, you can always trade out a grain like quinoa for something like sourdough bread, a
sprouted tortilla, or pasta. Based on that carbohydrate, figure out what sounds good with it that
checks off all of the other components.
It is truly one of my favorite ways to cook, especially on a weeknight. It leaves me feeling
satisfied, as well as more confident in the kitchen with each attempt. You’re essentially creating
your own recipes each and every time. Happy cooking!
