To know me, is to know that I get weirdly obsessed with things. Currently I am obsessed with two things, first is my new spiralizer (yes you will see lots of recipes made with it very soon) and secondly, any and all meals that can be served in bowls! As you can imagine the cross-over on these two obsessions is quite high so one is perpetuating the other right now.

Today we are just talking about my love of any and all meals served in a bowl. I am not talking about your traditional soup or salads, though I still love both of those, I am talking more about creative, complete and hearty meals with everything you might possibly need or want, all served in one big bowl.

To me, there is something just so comforting and so appealing about a meal in a bowl. Whether it be a Sprouted Quinoa with a Kale Almond Pesto Bowl, a 30-Minute Sweet Potato and Kale Coconut Curry over rice, a Buddha Bowl with Garlic Turmeric Cashew Cream or just a big ‘ol salad with loads of gorgeous bits and bops from your pantry and fridge. Mostly I find these bowl meals to be an opportunity to cram as much seasonal goodness as I can into one dish and to arrange it in a beautiful color coordinated way that turns it into a work of art.

The other bonus of a bowl meal, is the organized and seemingly planned out way to eat up what you have on hand and to make it appear that it was done with great purpose. I have been known to do that a time or two around here.

 

These bowls are not just gorgeous to look at, but they are full of so much amazing flavor and as usual here on TY, these bowls are of course, nutrient dense, to0! Black rice, AKA forbidden rice, is one of my favorite rices. Legend has it that Chinese Black Rice, got the name “Forbidden Rice” because it was so nutritionally beneficial that only the emperors were allowed to eat it.^[1]  A new study actually shows that a spoonful of black rice bran or 10 spoonfuls of cooked black rice contains the same amount of antioxidants as a spoonful of fresh blueberries. Click here for more information. Forbidden rice has a really nice roasted nutty flavor and a really great chew to it and it makes the perfect base for this Spring inspired bowl. Topped with cumin roasted sweet potatoes and a few other naked spring veggies, this bowl is finished off perfectly ith the tangy and flavorful tahini lemon dressing (which by the way is my go to dressing for many things lately, including spiralized cucumbers).

What’s your favorite bowl meal?

[print_this]Forbidden Rice Spring Veggie Bowls – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 4

• 3 cups cooked organic black rice AKA forbidden rice
• 2 to 4 small radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 lb cumin roasted sweet potatoes (recipe below)
• 3 or 4 spring onions, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup steamed peas, fresh or frozen
• Lemon Tahini Dressing (recipe below)
• fresh cilantro

Cumin Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 1 lb small organic sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced to 1/4″ thick*
• 3 tablespoons Terra Delyssa organic olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes

Tahini Lemon Dressing

• 1/2 cup organic tahini
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water

Prepare your rice by first rinsing the rice very well, rubbing it in your hands or you can also letting it soak first for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse. For 3 cups of cooked rice, use 1 cup dried rice to 2 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer, cover and for 30 minutes, or cook according package instructions, if different. I used my Zojirushi Rice Cooker and it was a breeze.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the sweet potatoes, peas and dressing:

To roast the sweet potatoes, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Toss the thinly sliced sweet potatoes with the olive oil and remaining ingredients. Place in a single layer on a baking pan and roast for 20 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Tossing once or twice while they are cooking.

Steam your peas in a small pot in a steam basket, in a steamer, etc.

For the dressing, add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a bowl, jar or bottle and set aside.

Once the rice is cooked, divide it up evenly among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with 1/4 of the roasted sweet potatoes, the radishes, spring onions and the steamed peas. Top each bowl with a drizzle of the Tahini Lemon Dressing and some fresh cilantro. Serve immediately.

[/print_this]

*Note:  you can also dice the sweet potatoes, they will just take longer to cook.

 

Terra Delyssa is a sponsor of Tasty Yummies. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for Tasty Yummies.