Garden Veggie Buddha Bowl
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A more nutrient dense, savoury and crunchy spin on a traditional rice bowl.
Author: Crystal - Inspired from Cookspiration
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 T tahini (sesame paste)
- 3 T rice vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 T avocado oil
- 3 T boiling water
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- BOWL BASE
- 2 cups cooked Freekeh
- 1 cup cooked black or green lentils
- 1 T dill (dried) or 3 T fresh chopped dill
- 2 cups thinly sliced baby spinach
- 1 cup thinly sliced bell peppers
- 1 cup grated carrots
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- OPTIONAL ADD INS *avocado, mushrooms, tomato, radish or swap spinach for another leafy green
Instructions
- Whisk the tahini, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and oil together until smooth. Add boiling water to thin out. Season with salt and pepper to taste and reserve.
- Cook the freekeh and lentils according to package directions**. Cooking in vegetable broth will provide more flavour. Toss the hot freekeh and lentils with dill in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and divide among serving bowls.
- Divide spinach, carrots, peppers, pumpkin seeds and any other optional toppings evenly amongst all the bowls.
- Drizzle with tahini dressing and serve!
Notes
**whole freekeh normally cooks in a 1:1 ratio of water/broth to freekeh
**lentils typically cook in a 2-3:1 ratio of water to 1 lentils
**lentils typically cook in a 2-3:1 ratio of water to 1 lentils
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bowl Calories: 340 Fat: 17 g Saturated fat: 2 g Carbohydrates: 33 g Sugar: 4 g Sodium: 220 mg Fiber: 9 g Protein: 15 g Cholesterol: 0 mg
Preparing for Nutrition Month coming up in March, I decided to try a new recipe from Cookspiration. Most of these “power bowls” typically use rice or quinoa as the base. There is nothing wrong with using these staple ingredients, but I wanted to go completely off the grid and use something I had never tried before – FREEKEH!
Freekeh is another “super-grain” that provides a tremendous amount of nutrition. It is another ancient whole-grain version of wheat that is harvested at any early stage called “green wheat”. Traditionally used in the middle east, it is relatively new on the North American market. It is worthwhile trying to find freekeh as it has about 3x the protein and 3x the fibre as brown rice along with a good dose of trace minerals such as iron and magnesium.
Does it taste as good as its’ whole grain counterparts? Absolutely!! Freekeh has a very flavourful, hearty, nutty and chewy texture – in fact I may even prefer it to quinoa. The added bonus is that it’s so incredibly satisfying – a little bit goes a long way!
