I am a huge fan of bowls. The edible kind. Even before my heart attack, I enjoyed making them. And now that I have gone vegetarian (still crossing over to Vegan)-I am finding that they really are the best way to eat.
Panera Bread introduced some bowls (St Louis Bread Company to some regions) that I really, REALLY liked and are very healthy-containing kale and quinoa and spinach and stuff you wouldn't expect to find in a 'faster food' arena. However tasty they are though, they can be considered pricey-at least for everyday lunch eating or whatever. I found I can make twice the amount for roughly the same cost, so I set out to copy some of their bowls. Also in looking up plant-based recipes, I came across a plethora of bowl recipes. Seems I'm not alone in my love of bowls.
And here's another site with pictures of pretty food bowls: http://notyourstandard.com/superfood-bowl/
Here are 18 vegetarian bowls : Yummy bowls
And even more (incidentally, this website is a FANTASTIC resource for all that is vegetarian/vegan/green...hence it's name, I assume. Hippie liberal website for green healthy stuff
Here's some of my bowls I've made over time:
(Yes, there was a bowl with chicken and cheese in it, as well as an egg, and some shrimp. Those were pre-heart attack but you can simply omit the animal proteins, they still have some sort of bean or grain as well. If not-add them then. )
So. While not all pictured, there are themed bowls, too. A Mexican bowl, which could house some vegetarian chili with some rice and pico de gallo and avocado, or a Greek bowl which could have artichoke hearts, black olives, penne pasta, spinach, a Thai bowl (and pictured here is a pad Thai bowl)-the possibilities for bowls are endless. You can have a complete protein/veggie/grain meal all in one bowl, and you can make extra 'bowls' and freeze them. After awhile, you'll have a freezer full of bowls that can just be popped into the microwave or put into a pot and re-heated.
Did I have recipes for all of these bowls? No. I made them up, for real. I realize not everyone can or wants to do that. But the basic foundation of bowls is pretty simple. What are you in the mood for?
If you are simply vegetarian then you may want to go for more 'comfort' food bowls once in awhile, like a macaroni and cheese bowl with broccoli, or even a goulash bowl made with ground beef substitution. From what I have heard (but haven't tried yet though for you all I will-the fake Italian sausage is really REALLY good. )
A great vegetarian comfort food bowl is the 'country' bowl-mashed potatoes, corn, mushroom gravy and cheese melted on top.
Just figure what you are in the mood for-is it Chinese? Lots of different bowl options there, using rice or noodles, is it more mid eastern or Indian? Curry bowls.
I've veered away from posting many recipes each day because in perusing the internet myself, I have stumbled across a MILLION. There are SO MANY vegetarian and vegan recipes online that I really don't know how to compete. I'd rather link you to them and have this blog become more educational. But I will post any recipe on request.
I find different intriguing recipes that sound great to me each day that are vegan. Or vegetarian but mostly vegan, such as the Sausage and Peppers recipe. Also I've learned of a sure-fire way to absolutely LOVE tofu which involves pan frying it and browning it using maple syrup(!), imparting a salty/sweet thing that pairs well with a number of things. So as I try these new recipes and products, if they turn out any good-I will happily link to where I found it from.
My next post will be taking a few steps back into 'healthy food knowledge 101.' There are a few staple items that everyone should have in their kitchens but may not know why or how to use. Things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax (ground or seeds) acai berries, goji berries, tumeric, nutritional yeast, etc. Some of it is 'trendy' but some of it truly should be spices and staples that you use to enhance the nutritional value but also act as 'agents'. What I mean by that is for example, chia seeds soaked in water create a 'gel' and can be used as a sub for butter and oil in baking recipes, while imparting a great deal of protein and nutrients. Stay tuned!
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