Friday, March 9, 2012

The Bowl

It all started with the Chipotle burrito bowl. When I ate meat, I'd get it with chicken. Now, I get it with grilled veggies. I always top it with guacamole rather than cheese, and add black beans and pico de gallo. With the bowl's base of brown cilantro lime rice, it makes for one delicious dinner.

After reading a bunch of vegan cooking blogs and cookbooks, I discovered that the bowl is a versatile and balanced meal, combining whole grains, protein and veggies. Although I'm not vegan, I often eat vegan when I make a bowl. I've just discovered smoked tofu which is a delicious protein to add to a bowl. But today, I'm skipping the vegan part and embracing dairy in my bowl.

Building the bowl
My lunch bowl today consists of quinoa, kale, peas and cottage cheese. I had a similar bowl yesterday, but added a quarter of an avocado on top. It was delicious, but sadly that was the last of my avocados and I haven't had time to go to the store.

This recipe is my basic bowl, but bear in mind that you can use any grain, such as rice, millet or bulgur, any veggie you have on hand, and any protein, whether it's meat, vegetarian or vegan. I chose kale and peas because they are quick-cooking and I don't want to spend too much time making lunch. Usually I use beans or tofu, but today I used cottage cheese because I had some in my fridge and I love it.

The finished bowl
Quinoa, Kale, Peas and Cottage Cheese Bowl

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups kale, shredded
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup cottage cheese

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam peas and kale either in a steamer or in the microwave.

Once quinoa is done, top with veggies and dollop your cottage cheese on top. Mix well and enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. hi! i absolutely love your blog- its beautifully written.

    it would mean a lot if you could check out my blog- i am searching for a 1000 things to do in a lifetime and then giving them a go for myself.

    1000thingstodoinalifetime.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kate! I'm just seeing your comment now. Thanks for the compliment!

      Love your blog! I look forward to exploring it more :)

      Delete
  2. Hi Cat!~ Thank you for accepting my Friend Request on FB & for being so generous to look over my m.s. We seem to have similar taste in food, and this Bowl looks delicious! My go-to recently has been Brown Rice Salad. I put brown rice and water in a rice cooker ($15 from Target) and let it cook, and then I come back later and combine the rice with different ingredients. The first brown rice salad recipe that I tried had soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey, with minced onion or shallots, and bits of broccoli, sort of Asian inspired. But now I add in all sorts of goodness: brown rice with roasted root veg and a little Italian (dry) seasoning or dressing; brown rice with cilantro, beans, avocado and a little fajita seasoning; brown rice with roasted bits of salmon and ginger and poppyseed dressing (that last combination may not be for everyone! :) I recently went to Costco and found a 5-pound bag of Lundberg's Brown Rice~ so exciting, as the price was so much less than the regular packets! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Michele! No problem, I'm happy to do it!

      Your brown rice salads sounds incredible. I might have to try some of these out! I'm always looking for new ideas, so thanks for sharing!

      Delete