buddha bowl

photo by Lea Kriesberg

I’ve posted about how much I love buddha bowls before, but I need to share this recipe too. Unlike the buddha bowl I posted earlier which used warmer fall ingredients, this one is perfect for summer– it’s light, crisp, packed with nutrition, and you don’t need to turn on your oven in the heat! This peanut sauce is also another great go-to “recipe” to know. It’s perfect for drizzling over cold or warm noodles, salads, tofu, chicken, and rice. It’s also great because it only requires ingredients that you probably have on hand! For only using two ingredients, it’s really rich and flavorful. As for the rest of the bowl, it’s completely customizable. I’m doing my best to eat more seasonally (buying what’s in season means saving money– more on this later) so I used zucchini. Cucumber would also be perfect. I also threw in some carrots and spinach. You could use cabbage, bell pepper, broccoli or any other vegetables you like. I left all the veggies raw instead of roasting or steaming them to keep it quick and easy– all you have to do is chop up all your vegetables and you’re set for the rest of the week. For some protein I quickly pan-fried tofu (using tofu instead of chicken also makes this recipe super fast.) While I prepped all the other components I made some brown rice to make it a balanced meal with protein, healthy complex carbs, and lots of micronutrients. This meal is so easy to throw together when it’s time to eat. Just reheat the rice and tofu in a pan or microwave, add your pre-cut vegetables, and drizzle on that peanut sauce.

Prep time: 40 minutes
Active: 20 minutes
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

brown rice (1 cup dry= around 3 cups cooked)
extra firm tofu ( 1 package)
zucchini (2)
carrot (1 bag)
soy sauce
garlic powder

for the sauce

peanut butter (around 3 tablespoons)
soy sauce/tamari (tamari= gluten free soy sauce substitute) (around 2 tablespoons)

Supplies

small bowl
pan
knife and cutting board

Instructions

Start boiling a pot of water for the brown rice (brown rice takes around 40 minutes to cook.) One cup of dry brown rice makes around three cups cooked, so just make however much you want to eat for the week. I find that three cups of cooked brown rice is enough for me. When the water boils, add the rice and lower the heat so that it is simmering. Lightly cover the pot with a lid and let the rice soften.
Cut the tofu and place it under a kitchen towel. Place something heavy on top like a frying pan or pot to press out any excess moisture. This step will help the tofu get crispy.
While the brown rice is cooking, wash and chop your vegetables.
When the vegetables are prepped and while the rice is cooking, prepare the tofu. Heat canola, avocado, or coconut oil in a pan (or any oil with a high smoke point so that you can get the tofu crispy. Olive oil has a low smoke point so it won’t get as hot, which is not ideal for when you want something to get a little bit fried and crispy.)
When the pan is hot, add the tofu. Drizzle with soy sauce and garlic powder. Cook on each side for around 2-3 minutes or until crispy and brown.
For the sauce, mix together around 3 tablespoons of peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari. Add water to thin it out until it reaches a drizz-able consistency.
When the brown rice is done, assemble the bowl, and you’re done!

photo by Lea Kriesberg

photo by Lea Kriesberg

This is probably my favorite thing to make at school. It’s so easy to make any cooked components ahead of time, it keeps well throughout the week, requires no cooking or even reheating when you’re ready to eat, and most importantly, it tastes good. Recipes like this let you prepare dinner for the week in just an hour. People call this type of meal a “buddha bowl” because make you can serve it in a big round bowl and all of the different parts make for a perfectly balanced meal (protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and micronutrients). Buddha bowls are great because the ingredients do the work for you. The different flavors from roasting the vegetables and the simple dressing come together to make it delicious without any effort. If you’re feeling adventurous you can throw any spices you like on the vegetables before your roast them; even just some salt and pepper does wonders. Try adding avocado, lemon, sesame seeds, or a fried egg for even more fun.

You can modify this to use any vegetables, grain, or protein you like. Roast or chop a pan of vegetables, cook a big pot of brown rice or quinoa, and prepare a source of protein (beans, hardboiled egg, chicken) and store it in the fridge to assemble your bowl whenever you want it.

It’s also great to have your own salad dressing. Premade dressings can have lots of sugar and chemicals. It’s easy to make dressing yourself in minutes with just a few ingredients. This tahini-miso dressing is flavorful and creamy, which makes the bowl even more satisfying (and only requires three ingredients). The “recipe” below is just one example of how to make a buddha bowl.

Prep time: 20 mins

Ready in: 40 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

sweet potato
broccoli
cauliflower
kale
quinoa*
water
purple cabbage
spices (salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin)
olive oil

for the dressing

miso
tahini
water

supplies

sheet pan
knife
small pot
cutting board

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Bring two cups of water to a boil.
Wash, peel, and chop the sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Place the chopped vegetables on the pan.
Generously toss and coat the vegetables with olive oil.
Add salt, pepper, curry powder, and cumin to vegetables.
Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for around 40 minutes. Keep checking on them and flipping them as necessary, as some vegetables take long than others. Once they get a little browned on all sides, take them out. The sweet potatoes need more time than the broccoli and cauliflower.
Add one cup of quinoa to the boiling water and turn the heat to low to bring the quinoa to a simmer (you should see lots of little bubbles). Loosely cover the pot and simmer the quinoa for around 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
Wash and chop cabbage.
Wash and chop kale.
For the dressing, mix equal parts miso and tahini and add around a tablespoon of water at a time until it gets to the consistency you like.
When everything is ready, throw everything in a bowl. Store leftovers in the fridge for the week.

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Notes: One cup of dry quinoa is usually enough for me for 5-7 days of bowls. The ratio I use is always 2 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa.

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

asian buddha bowl + 3 ingredient peanut sauce

easy and healthy buddha bowl