Easy Bowl Food Recipe Inspiration

Are your meals feeling a little uninspired, tired, and lacking in variety? It’s an easy rut to get in to, especially as this season is so busy and there often is barely enough time to throw together a plate. With food allergy, it’s difficult to just run out and grab an easy meal or heat up something microwavable. Often when I’m in a rush, I find myself eating stale muffins over the sink, or a plate of sliced cucumbers and carrots on my way out the door. Not exactly an ideal meal situation.

During the busy Christmas season, I have a few strategies for keeping my meals diverse, nourishing, and vibrant, without full-on meal prepping…

*for all of the suggestions below, please take into account your own food allergies and read all labels to determine what is safe for you, as these recipe inspirations do not include “free from” headers.

• Prepare time-consuming starches ahead of time. I roast off a big tray of potatoes, a pot of brown rice or quinoa, or a pot of farro, bulgar, or barley and keep them in glass containers in the fridge for quick and easy use throughout the week. Taking 45 minutes to steam brown rice, or an hour to chop and roast potatoes, is not ideal when you’re in a rush!

• Keep quick protein sources on hand. Pumpkin or sunflower seeds, quinoa, boiled eggs, shredded chicken, a tin of tuna or salmon, sliced prosciutto or turkey. All of these things can be ready and waiting for when you need them, and contribute some protein to your meal.

• Greens and herbs spice things up. Peppery arugula can be eaten raw, blended into a pesto, or wilted in seconds. Basil, parsley, chives, and cilantro, can each add so much colour and flavor to an otherwise simple dish.

• Dressings - make them yourself. I’m a big advocate for making your own salad dressings so that you can customize the flavors and reduce the amount of additives you consume. They don’t have to be complicated. I’ll go into detail about the dressings on these salads below.

• Find the umami. Capers, sun dried tomatoes, soy sauce or coconut aminos, anchovies, pickles, sauerkraut. They all have that deep, satisfying flavor that quenches your palette. Toss a few pickles or sun dried tomatoes onto your dish to really finish it off.

• A few things thrown together can satisfy your craving. Don’t get too caught up in creating a thematic bowl meal. I focus on getting a starch, a fruit or veggie, a protein, and a dressing into the bowl. Sometimes that dressing is just olive oil and salt. Other times it’s blended up in the food processor.

Avocado Potato Salad Bowl

Halved, roasted potatoes, prepared ahead of time
roasted cauliflower florets, prepared ahead of time
A couple handfuls of fresh baby arugula
Shelled, roasted, salted pumpkin seeds
Dressing: Toss half an avocado, some fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar, basil leaves, baby arugula, salt and pepper into a food processor and pulse until smooth.

I have a mini food processor which is super lightweight and easy to use, and can be tossed in the dishwasher.

Avocado and Egg Potato Salad Bowl

Quartered, roasted baby potatoes, made ahead of time
1 soft boiled egg, also prepared ahead of time
half an avocado, sliced
a good handful of arugula
Dressing: toss a handful of arugula, a couple sun dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, some olive oil, salt and black pepper in a food processor and give it a quick pulse to crush and combine.

Mediterranean Chicken Bowl

Brown rice, prepared ahead of time
Leftover chicken, sliced
Oven roasted cherry tomatoes and zucchini (20 minutes at 420F with a little olive oil and salt)
Capers, mini gherkins, and sun dried tomatoes
Big handful of chopped chives
Dressing: good olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, flaky sea salt and black pepper to taste

Jeweled Pomegranate Salad

Cooked quinoa, prepared ahead of time
the arils from one pomegranate
one bosc pear, peeled, cored, and sliced
Fresh cilantro and chopped chives
Dressing: whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, cider vinegar, black pepper, and flaky sea salt