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!

Quinoa for Breakfast

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day. Well, apart from lunch and dinner. And snacks. Perhaps it's easier to just say I love all meals, but I'm a firm believer in breakfast.

Usually I make oatmeal on the stove top, using almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla or whatever else I find that looks good. I've used canned pumpkin, cocoa, peppermint extract and even Baileys in my oatmeal. Since I eat it almost every day I need to mix it up sometimes to stop it being boring.

The thought of using a grain other than oats for my breakfast has crossed my mind more than once. There are plenty of grains out there you can sub for oats, like millet, amaranth or quinoa. Since I recently went on a quinoa shopping spree (it was on sale!) I decided to experiment with breakfast quinoa to see if it was something worthy of making again. It was.

It looks a little weird because I used tricolor quinoa, but let me tell you, it was delicious and filling -- exactly what I'm looking for in a breakfast food. You could mix it with anything; I used chia seeds, ground flax, bananas, coconut and raisins. Because the chia and flax absorb liquid I added about another 1/4 cup of milk to the quinoa to stop it drying out. I'm trying to eat less sugar so I didn't use sweetener but it would be delicious with a touch of honey or maple syrup. Once you have the basic recipe down, you can mix and match with whatever toppings you want -- that's the beauty of the breakfast grain!

Breakfast Quinoa


1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients well in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. Add toppings and more milk if you like, and enjoy!