You’re probably pretty familiar with big, hearty grain bowls (also known as harvest bowls, hippie bowls, and glow bowls). I’ve taken to calling these glow bowls because all the nutrients in them make me feel like I’m glowing! I’ve developed a way to roast everything together, so the whole meal is ready in just about 30 minutes.
These bowls get glowing reviews
Just One Roasting Pan: Because there’s no meat involved, everything can be cooked on one pan. This means these bowls are quicker to make and require less cleanup. Protein On Protein: We don’t just stop with adding chickpeas. This bowl is topped with a protein-packed yumm sauce for an extra boost. So Many Nutrients: Rather than standard rice, these bowls use a base of beet couscous and kale. Beets and kale both offer loads of folate, fiber, and potassium.
Everything that goes into glow bowls
Now, remember, the filling ingredients here are pretty customizable. These are what I love in my bowls and can be used as a starting point.
Roasted Veggies: The bulkiness of the bowl comes from sweet potatoes, red onion, and chickpeas. Sweet potatoes are healthy carbs and add vitamin C, while chickpeas add protein and fiber. Feel free to use butternut squash, yellow onion, and cauliflower in place or in addition to these. Seasonings: To spice things up, these veggies are tossed in olive oil, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Smoked paprika gives them that warmth we all crave during the colder months. Couscous: This is pearl couscous, which resembles more of a small pasta and is larger than traditional Israeli couscous. This gets cooked in water. Orzo is a good substitute for this. Beet: To make the gorgeous beet couscous, we, of course, need beets! You just need 1 raw beet; there’s no need to cook it because we will be grating it. Yumm Sauce: This homemade yumm sauce is easy to whip up in a blender and has more protein than store-bought. Kale: Kale adds bulk to glow bowls while also being delicious and nutritious!
Making Them is easy
Because of how simple they are to toss together, I wanted to highlight each component. The Yumm Sauce: Yumm sauce is a tangy, savory, umami-packed sauce common in Asian recipes. I make my own vegan yumm sauce in the blender using chickpeas for a creamy texture and added protein. It only takes 5 minutes to add this cool, saucy component to the bowls. Roasted Veggies: To make these, everything gets tossed in oil and seasonings and then roasted. The key to a great grain bowl is having some warm components and some cold and tons of textures. The roasted vegetables add the warm and bring a lot of flavor. The Couscous: Inspired by my travels in Greece, I knew these bowls needed something to brighten up the warm roasted veggies. The answer? Beet and lemon couscous that’s made by grating raw beet into the cooked couscous! Bringing It All Together: Pairing these ingredients with kale might seem like a bold move. But kale adds crunch, it stores really well, and as a dark leafy green, it is packed with vitamins and minerals to really make you glow.
Best sauce for grain Bowls
And because no bowl is complete without a killer sauce, we wanted to give some additional options beyond the Yumm Sauce. These bowls are delicious with all these and even just a bit of tahini.
Romesco Sauce Flavored Hummus Carrot Top Pesto Lemon Tahini Dressing
For a raw version of these bowls, try our fresh and easy Buddha Bowls!
