This summer has been filled with many enjoyable days and evenings with friends visiting and relaxing outdoors. I always look forward to summer for the hot weather, the comradery of friends and enjoying the amazing food we have growing here in the valley.
Our community veggie farm, where I lead the volunteer group, has had a very productive growing season. We are harvesting close to 1000 pounds of vegetables a week which are donated to numerous local agencies such as the Foodbank, the Salvation Army and the Gospel Mission among many others.
I love to be around vegetables. I know that sounds kind of silly, but it’s true. Maybe it is just my Saskatchewan roots showing through… If you are interested in finding out more about how you can contribute to more people getting their daily intake of veggies, please click here!
After a long day of working at the garden, I often find myself preparing plant strong dishes to share with friends and family. I want so much to showcase through my recipes, all of the amazingly tasty and satisfying dishes that can be created from plants! It is also important to me that the recipes be quick and easy and that when cooking for a large crowd, they allow people to choose their own favorites and build their own meal. Bowls are perfect for this!
I created this Mexican Burrito recipe the other night after scanning recipe books trying to find something yummy with a delicious sauce that wasn’t full of added oils. I landed on the idea of Mexican as it seems to be a hit with my family… Mucho Burrito is a huge go to for us on Skip the Dishes, so I figured why not focus on creating dishes that my family loves!
Included in my last post “Blissful Beet Burger“, is a garlic dill sauce I came up with to drizzle over the burger. My husband fell in love with the sauce and started putting it on everything! We have been using it as a veggie dip, salad dressing and dip for potato fries. This got me thinking I should modify that sauce to give it a Mexican flavour. I switched out the dill for cilantro and added more garlic and a little heat to it. If you hate cilantro, (apparently it legitimately tastes like soap to some people), you could replace it with fresh basil.
I put all of the ingredients into separate bowls so that everyone could choose their own toppings. Because my daughter loves it, I even included air-fried tofu (which went pretty fast I have to say), even though it isn’t your average Mexican burrito bowl fare.
I love bowls for their simplicity. You can prepare everything in advance, get all of the dishes done ahead of time and just pull everything out when you are ready to eat. With this bowl it is all about the sauce, the guacamole and the salsa. (For me anyways!)
Carbohydrates: Man’s best friend
Humans were designed to eat starches (potatoes, rice, grains and corn). I thought I would do a mini education blurb about this since this bowl contains rice, corn and beans. They are what fill us up and satiate us. I implore you to not get caught up in the low carbohydrate craze… (Of course you should do your best to minimize simple carbohydrates like table sugar, but complex carbohydrates like rice, grains, root vegetables and fruit should be maximized in your diet!)
I want to share some wise words from Dr. John McDougall about the key importance of starches in our diets. He has been healing clients for over 40 years as a medical doctor through his starch based diet. This is important work.
Dr. McDougall uses history to demonstrate what diet works best to support the human body. If you look throughout history at the healthiest, leanest cultures, they were the ones that ate the majority of their calories as starch. The Asians ate rice, the Aztec and Mayans ate corn, the Incas ate potatoes and the Egyptians and cultures from the Middle East ate grains and legumes. Dr. McDougall simplifies what we should be eating and why. I’d highly suggest following his teachings. The results as seen in his dietary followers are nothing short of amazing. I am looking forward to listening to his lectures at a plant-based conference near Portland Oregon this fall.
Here is a link to Dr. McDougall’s website where dozens of testimonies are highlighted from people who have cured their diseases and drastically improved their health by following a starch based diet. I have watched a few of the short videos and they are very compelling. There are stories of people losing hundreds of pounds and getting off of drugs that they were told they would have to take for the rest of their lives. This is inspiring to me… It is possible to heal people and not sell you anything! Rice and potatoes folks, they do miracles, they are cheap and don’t require a prescription!
Do you ever feel like you just don’t know who to believe? Between the powders, the shakes, the detoxes and the supplements, it’s hard to know which is the best route to take. Today I was astounded by a couple of conversations I overheard… One was about how we need to eat more sardines and salmon because the fats they contain are good for our brain. The missing component of this conversation is that hexachlorobenzene is a pollutant that is present in both fish. It is highly toxic and may be a potent risk factor for developing diabetes. Link to Dr. Greger’s video here.
The other message I heard was on the radio…”Be a hero and buy a Teen Burger,” all in support of the MS Society. Red meat has been proven not to be healthy for anyone, let alone an MS patient, yet the sale of it is being used as a fundraiser to combat MS. Does that make any sense? As with everything in life, it is all about following the money trail. I challenge you to buck the system and follow the less travelled path... the plant-based one! “A plant based diet is the ONLY diet proven to stop and reverse heart disease and other diseases such as diabetes and cancer.” Dr. Greger. Watch Dr. Greger’s video summary on this topic and why he preaches plant-based living.
Dr. McDougall explains the starch based diet in this two minute video.
Okay, so back to my Mexican Burrito Bowl recipe! It has so many great ingredients…. beans, rice, avocados, greens, peppers, corn, cilantro, tofu, salsa and tortilla chips. The sauce is plant-based, filled with garlic, cilantro, nutritional yeast, cashews and lemon juice. You can add or subtract any ingredients based on your taste. (Within reason… no cheese and sour cream allowed, unless it is plant-based!) Trust me you won’t miss it. This dreamy, creamy garlic and cilantro sauce will satisfy all of your needs.
Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it and make it often for your family. It’s versatile, simple, delicious and is so healthy for your amazing body! Celebrate the awesomeness of plants!
Ingredients
- Mexican Burrito Bowl
- 1 can black beans (I added a bit of garlic spice, steak spice and some Tahine (Mexican spice, optional) to the beans to add some flavour.)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (or other rice of your choice)
- 1 - 350 gram package of medium or firm tofu (optional) cubed (instructions below)
- 1 can of corn or 1 1/2 cup of frozen corn, thawed
- 1 red pepper, or other color, diced
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 cups of fresh greens of your choice; spinach, lettuce, kale
- 2 cups tortilla chips (optional) (look for a brand that is GMO free)
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped (if you dislike cilantro, substitute fresh basil)
- 1 cup or more of freshly made (or store bought) guacamole - even just sliced avocado is great (2 avocados mashed with diced tomato, onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice)
- Extra topping options:
- onions, sliced
- nutritional yeast
- baby tomatoes, sliced
- jalapenos
- tomatillos
- limes, sliced for squeezing
- Garlic Cilantro sauce:
- 1/2 cup water (slightly less)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (If you dislike cilantro, try substituting fresh basil!)
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (or less if you don't like spicy)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (I highly suggest doubling this so you have extra for leftovers or to use as a dip for veggies or as a salad dressing.)
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions.
- Make the Garlic Cilantro sauce. Add all ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare and arrange all ingredients into their own bowl and place in fridge until ready to serve.
- If you are including tofu, slice the tofu block into three lengthwise chunks and wrap pieces in a clean tea towel. Apply pressure to remove some of the liquid from the tofu.
- Dice into square inch chunks and place in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper as well as any other spice you enjoy such as cayenne pepper (not too much), paprika or steak spice. You can add a tablespoon of oil or so if you like. Toss to coat.
- Using either a frying pan or an airfryer, fry until cooked through. (With an airfryer I find this takes approximately 20 minutes, stopping a couple of times to pull out the tray and toss.)
- Once you are ready to eat, set out all ingredients and one medium sized bowl per person. Serve up all ingredients into your bowl and pour on garlic cilantro sauce. Enjoy!
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2 comments
I prepared the Mexican Burrito Bowl for dinner last night. It was full of all the flavours we love. Delicious. I especially enjoyed the garlic cilantro sauce and will be making this oftenas a dressing for many salads and meals.
Thanks so much Ellen for letting me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Please share with your family and friends.
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