I love Buddha Bowls. They are quick, nutritious, satisfying, and easy. I find them calming and easy on my digestion, too.
A typical Buddha Bowl combo includes:
- A whole grain (rice, millet, quinoa, or if you want to splurge, 100% buckwheat noodles, though I find their taste a bit heavy)
- Some form of protein, usually vegetarian (hence the Buddha part) — in this case, lentil dahl, but can be garbanzo beans, tofu or tempeh if you eat soy (make sure it is organic to ensure that it’s non-GMO), or a tahini (sesame seed paste) sauce, or a small amount of meat such as stir-fried chicken or steak.
- Lots of veggies, either steamed or sauteed
Plus:
- A small amount of raw veggies, for example, mung bean sprouts or chopped cilantro
- A small amount of pickled vegetable if it mixes with the meal, for example, sauerkraut or kimchi.
A lentil dahl Buddha bowl seems exotic, but is surprisingly simple. Though it requires that a few different dishes be prepared at once, each is super simple and they all cook at the same time.
This amount of ingredients serves 3 people as the only dish in the meal (or 2 for dinner with a nice portion of lunch leftovers for one person), but can easily be doubled or tripled to accommodate a family.
For the grain:
- Cook 1 cup of long grain brown rice in 2.5 cups of water for 25 minutes, or until done.
For the red lentil dahl:
- Saute 1 small chopped onion in 1 heaping TBS of coconut oil.
- Add 2 tsp curry powder and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup of red lentils and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Add 3 cups of water, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Check and stir periodically to keep from sticking.
- Add 1/2 tsp of salt at the end and stir.
For the veggies:
- Cube 2 sweet potatoes, place in a baking tray, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes
- Cut 1 small head of broccoli into florettes (save the stems for another dish) and add to the sweet potatoes in the over for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Steam 3 cups of washed, chopped kale for 6-8 minutes in a steamer basket.
To serve:
When all the ingredients are done cooking, place 1/2 cup of the cooked rice into a bowl, add a healthy scoop of the red lentils, then layer on the kale, then the roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli. Sprinkle on salt and black pepper to taste and enjoy! Optionally top with a small handful of mung bean sprouts or 1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro.
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