Make Your Own Buddha Bowl

Buddha bowls are super fresh, delicious & versatile!  The rice & veggies and dressing can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

This recipe makes 4 meal sized bowls

Ingredients:

Rice and veggies:

• 1 ¼ cups either brown rice, black rice, quinoa (or combo of any)
• 1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame, preferably organic
• 1 ½ cups trimmed and roughly chopped snow or snap peas, or thinly sliced broccoli florets
• 1 to 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce, to taste
• 4 cups chopped red cabbage or spinach or romaine lettuce or kale (ribs removed)
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and thinly sliced into long strips (wait to slice just before serving, see details in step 5)

Suggested Salad Components (use any seasonal):

• Fresh seasonal greens of choice
• Red onion
• Cucumber, thinly sliced
• Carrot grated or julienned
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red cabbage

Essential garnishes:

• Thinly sliced spring onion (about ½ small bunch)
• Lime wedges
• Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
• Pink Himalayan salt or flaky sea salt
• Sesame seeds
• Carrot & ginger dressing

Extra Protein:

Add tempeh, tofu for VEGAN option,  or smoked salmon, chicken, tuna

Instructions:

1. Cook the rice or rice/quinoa combo.
2. ‘Flash’ in hot boiling water the broccoli if using & edamame beans for 30 seconds – rinse under cold water to stop cooking & drain well.
3. Combine the rice and all veggies in a bowl. Season to taste with 1 to 2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce and stir to combine.
4. Divide the rice/veggie mixture and raw veggies into 4 bowls. Arrange cucumber slices along the edge of the bowl.  Drizzle lightly with carrot ginger dressing and top with sliced green onion. Place a lime wedge or 2 in each bowl.
5. When you’re ready to serve, divide the avocado into the bowls. Lightly drizzle sesame oil over the avocado, followed by a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds and flaky sea salt. Serve promptly.
6. If you intend to have leftovers, wait to complete step 4 just before serving (otherwise the avocado will brown too soon). Leftover bowls keep well (avocado excluded) for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

*CARROT GINGER DRESSING NOTE: You’re probably only going to need ½ batch of the dressing for 4 bowls. I recommend making the full batch since blenders require a decent volume of liquid to blend. Just use the leftover dressing on salads within 1 to 2 weeks of making.

Dressing Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (about ⅔ cup)
• 2 tablespoons peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey or if VEGAN brown rice malt syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste

Instructions:

1. In a blender, combine all of the salad dressing ingredients as listed. Bend until completely smooth. Taste, and add additional salt if the dressing doesn’t make your eyes light up. If it’s too sour (it should have some zing to it), blend in a bit more honey.
2. Recipe keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 to 2 weeks.

Notes:

*MAKE IT QUICK: If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the dressing and drizzle tamari and toasted sesame oil lightly over the bowls instead.

MAKE IT VEGAN: Be sure to follow the vegan option while making the carrot-ginger dressing.

MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Be sure to use certified gluten-free tamari, instead of soy sauce. Or, omit the soy sauce altogether and season the rice with salt, to taste.

MAKE IT SOY FREE: Omit the tamari/soy sauce and season the rice with salt, to taste.