This cool, fall weather has me creating vegetable bowls that are both healthy and tasty. (I wish I was soon to be heading to Hawaii where I could learn to make tropical dishes with breadfruit, but that is whole other story. 😉 ) Is anyone else pining for the good old days when we could look forward to a warm winter vacation? I know… it’s a first world, selfish problem.
Back to the topic of Buddha Bowls! Recently I tried out a sauce from the Forks Over Knives website (a fabulous place to learn more about the how-to’s of plant-based living). I modified the recipe to maximize flavour and spice. This Thai Nut Butter Sauce is perfect for these autumn days. Just prepare a variety of roasted vegetables, grains, like brown rice, quinoa or farro, fresh vegetables and greens, nuts or seeds and some sprouts. The results will be an impressive, quick-to-come-together meal that can be fully prepared in advance. Drizzle on this Thai Nut Butter Sauce and you are good to go. My husband says it’s his all time favorite sauce for bowls!
Travelling and Eating
This Thanksgiving we went home to Saskatchewan to visit family for the weekend. My mother-in-law had experienced a long and scary hospital stay and we almost lost her a few weeks back. We felt the need to go see her and spend some time visiting and honoring her while she is still alive. We are grateful to have shared that time, and to have been able to show her how much she means to us.
While in the prairies, we enjoyed staying with my mom on her acreage. It always feels good to me to go back where I grew up and relive all of those childhood memories. Smelling the air (did I mention it was crisp?) seeing those beautiful blue skies and exploring the same old dirt roads and fields I did as a kid, is pretty grounding.
When parents have to change their ways to cook for you…
I’m quite sure when I tell my mom we are coming to visit, a little part of her panics, knowing she will need to adjust her usual cooking habits to accommodate “vegans”. (Man I hate that word.) I always tell her it doesn’t have to be difficult, that she can just go to my blog and find something there to make. She always digs deep and comes up with her own menu though. She is a great cook, just accustomed to the traditional ways of planning a meal around meat. This visit, she made delicious soups and salads, a vegetable and chickpea curry and a vegan carrot cake. (Even though she had to drive 2 hours to find vegan cream cheese. Thanks mom!)
Showing my mom how easy plant-based eating can be:
I stayed a couple of extra days and spent some one-on-one time, which was lovely. For dinner one night, I made the two of us this Thai Nut Butter Bowl, blending the sauce up in her Magic Bullet and using up ingredients she had in her fridge and pantry. She went wild for it! She is even thinking of having “the ladies” in and making this bowl for them one night. That’s a win! Easy, healthy, vegan food shared with friends! As my mom ages, she often comments on the health of her friends and how so many of them have passed away. Fending off the negative consequences of diet on health as one ages… yet another reason plant-based eating is so important!
For our meal, we filled our Buddha bowl with: brown rice, baby potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, fried mushrooms, sliced cucumbers, baby tomatoes, spinach, sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast.
To create your own customized Buddha bowl, think out of the box, or bowl so to speak! Try adding:
- grains: quinoa, rice, farro, millet, buckwheat, bulgur…
- legumes: canned lentils, chickpeas, fava beans, peas, edamame beans, mung beans, mixed beans, kidney beans, air-fried or baked tofu, seitan, tempeh…
- starches: roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squashes, taro, cassava fries (my recipe here) or yams…
- vegetables: need I say more… asparagus, bean sprouts, brussel sprouts, eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, steamed swiss chard, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, onions…
- crunchy toppings: nuts, seeds, hemp hearts, flax seeds, toasted coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds…
If you mix and match your ingredients, you will get a variety of nutrients, textures, colors, temperatures and flavours. You can experiment and find your favorite combinations.
Fun fact… the name Buddha Bowl comes from the buddhas who walked with bowls and received bits of food the community could offer.
Don’t underestimate the power of a veggie bowl as an impressive and filling meal to serve to guests. They can be so colorful and offer some serious texture variations. I served my Green Goddess Dressing over a variety of ingredients this past weekend to friends who are becoming more and more plant-based. They went gaga over it, yet it was so simple. I dressed it up by adding broccoli sprouts and edible Nasturtium flowers to the top. My friend’s hubby liked it so much he had two huge bowls full!
www.thevibrantveggie.com
Ingredients
Instructions
For dessert, in keeping with fall tradition, we had this Pumpkin Cheesecake by Angela Liddon, from the Oh She Glows Cookbook. Delish. Check out my old blog post here.
Oh and if you are a pumpkin and dessert lover, you might want to try this delicious Pumpkin Fudge…
Happy fall!