a food wonk.

a guide to food and cooking with ease

dinner

simple sweet potato bowl

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

Everybody deserves to know that you can cook a sweet potato in the microwave. This “recipe” requires a little bit of preparation and just 5 minutes. Cook a big pot of any grain (whole grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa) at the beginning of the week, add a can of beans, and cook your sweet potato in the microwave. If you wanted to pay a little more you can also find frozen brown rice which can also be microwaved. Keep the rice and beans in the fridge for the week and you’re set with a filling and healthy meal. Beans are a great source of protein and the brown rice and sweet potato are both sources of healthy, slow-releasing carbs that will keep you full and satisfied for longer. It’s also so easy to get in some greens by letting them steam with the rice. You can throw in any vegetable you want such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or spinach.

If you want to take this simple meal to the next level, spread some nut butter on the sweet potato (trust me on this one), add avocado, or throw in some spices with the rice (I like cumin, smoked paprika, and chili powder).

Prep: 20 mins

Ready in: 5 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

  • brown rice (2 cups)
  • water (1 cup)
  • can of black beans, rinsed
  • sweet potato
  • broccoli

Supplies:

  • fork
  • small pot
  • can opener
  1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot.
  2. Add one cup of brown rice and bring the heat down to low to simmer the rice (you should see lots of small bubbles) for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.* In the last 10 minutes of cooking, put the broccoli in the pot and keep the lid closed so the steam can cook it.
  3. Poke holes all around the sweet potato and microwave it for 5 minutes.
  4. When the rice is cooked, mix in the can of black beans after rinsing the beans.
  5. Slice open the potato and add the rice and beans to a bowl. Save the leftovers for the week.

Notes: Cooking time will depend on what kind of rice you use. Regular brown rice can take around 40 minutes to cook, but I used instant brown rice which takes less time.

 

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

easy and healthy buddha bowl

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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
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Bring two cups of water to a boil.
  3. Wash, peel, and chop the sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower.
  4. Place the chopped vegetables on the pan.
  5. Generously toss and coat the vegetables with olive oil.
  6. Add salt, pepper, curry powder, and cumin to vegetables.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Wash and chop cabbage.
  10. Wash and chop kale.
  11. 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.
  12. 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