Grain Bowl How-To

Good morning! We’re coming off of three glorious days of spring sunny weather here in Seattle and when I woke up this morning, the clouds and grey were back like a cozy blanket. I don’t mind the clouds and drizzle, in fact I love it a lot of the time, but this morning it makes me feel like crawling back into bed. Yesterday, Eric and I headed out into the yard to do some manual labor involving digging and cement and hanging out with the chickens. In preparation, I threw together a grain bowl for lunch before heading outside.

I don’t know why I don’t make grain bowls more often. They’re also called hippie bowls and here is one option from the Daily Garnish and a nice deconstructed list of options for hippie or ‘buddha’ bowls from Gluten Free for Good. They’re really easy to make (especially if you keep some cooked grains in the fridge to have on hand) and so nutritious. Plus, grain bowls can be completely customized to your particular tastes and if you live with someone who has different taste preferences, you can each prepare your grain bowl just to your liking. The possibilities are really endless. You can use any kind of grain, any kind of vegetables — cooked or raw — and any kind of protein and sauce (or none!). You can go as simple as you like or go all out and pile that bowl high will all kinds of yummy things. Aside from more standard vegetables, you can add nuts and seeds, sea vegetables, dried or fresh fruit, nut butters, sauerkraut, kimchi or other fermented foods, tofu, tempeh, beans or lentils, etc.

Grain Bowl Sample “Recipe”

Serves 1-2

1-1 1/2 cups cooked grain

raw carrot, thinly sliced

raw daikon, thinly sliced

raw cabbage, thinly sliced

raw kale, chopped

cucumber, thinly sliced,

avocado, sliced

green onion, chopped

lemon

salt and pepper

Use a large soup bowl and put the grain in the bottom. Pile a little handful of each of the vegetables on top. Squeeze a generous helping of lemon juice over the top. Add a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. 

Yesterday, I made a big bowl of this and ate about half of it (I used only half an avocado). When I realized there was no way I was going to eat the whole thing in one sitting, I ate up all the avocado, since it doesn’t keep well, covered the bowl with a plate and stuck it in the fridge for later. Later on, when I got hungry, I pulled out the bowl, cut up the other half an avocado on top and ate the rest. A great tasting, healthy and filling meal that fed me all day long.

What kinds of things would you like to eat in a grain bowl? Any favorite combos or fun ideas?