Build a Power Bowl

When I think about quick and easy meals, I think by far the easiest, quickest and MOST DELICIOUS is what I like to call the Power Bowl.
Possibly also because my favourite crockery to use are bowls.

These are also known as Nourish Bowls, Salad Bowls, Buddha Bowls – or even Leftover Bowls.
Because that last one, most of my secrets are in that name. Hell yes, the Power Bowl is my secret to clearing out the fridge a few days before grocery day.
A great Power Bowl finds a delicious mix of protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates – all within your perfect serving size. You can put these together in five to ten minutes, depending on what you have already in reach, so use the basic building blocks below and create something you love.

You can find more examples on my Instagram with the hashtag #ats10minmeal

Start at the Bottom.

A good Power/Nourish bowl begins at the bottom.
Choose your base wisely – I am a huge fan of basic pumpkin or cubes of roasted kumara or potato. Many others like rice, quinoa, buckwheat or even a cheeky soba noodle.
The carbohydrate portion of your bowl is just as important as the saucy wee top you select.

Go Green.

Slaw, baby spinach, cos lettuce, kale. Go for your favourite or get creative and mix it up.
Your greens layer (or greens corner) is where a lot of the goodness lies. My best combo, my go-to combo, seems to be the spinach and coriander. Mind you as far as I am concerned, coriander is a bloody good substitute for lettuce!

Raw and/or Roasted Vegetables.

A vegetable/fruit combination should make up the majority of your bowl.
IN our house, 80-90% of the week we will have some pre-roasted vegetables hanging around in Tupperware or we will have some that just about to go slightly limp. So I grab them all and quickly heat them or brown them in a little coconut oil or avocado oil.
Favourites here are carrots or yams, maybe some pumpkin or kumara if I have used rice or quinoa above (I half my carbohydrate portion between the two) – but also broccoli, broccolini, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and beetroot. Especially beetroot done on the BBQ!

Raw vegetables also add the texture – like carrot sticks. And so sweet too.
Whilst tomato isn’t a vegetable, you know that right, I’m including them in here because … crunch. Cucumber, cabbage, capsicum, edamame, beans – all those delicious vegetables – the other part of the power of this bowl is adding in all the bits that you like and leaving out what you don’t like! I’m a huge celery fan, Ken on the other hand absolutely hates it. He loves mushrooms, I’m sure they are what feet would taste like.

The Protein Part.

Here’s another benefit of putting together a bowl like this – if you are Vegan or Vegetarian or Pescetarian or Flexitarian … doesn’t matter.
You will know your favourite protein sources and you can pick and choose what you want. Aim for 25% of your bowl to be protein.

I quite enjoy a slow-cooked or a ‘pulled’ something. It also adds a wee bit of sauciness to the bowl.
On the weekends or at breakfast, I slap a fried egg on the top.

Fats are YUM!

And to top it, you can add your fats in so many ways.
Nuts and seeds also give a crunchy top. Extra virgin or avocado oil. Heaven forbid, even smoked salmon if that is your jam.

The Final Act.

A sprinkle of kimchi or sauerkraut. A splash of lemon or lime juice. A sprinkle of paprika or cumin or sumac.

And if you have made it this far and are still stuck for inspiration, here are a few of my current favourite combinations …

Bottom	Black Rice Rice	Quinoa	Pan-Fried Potatoes	Turmeric Sweet Potato
Greens	Cos Lettuce	Rocket	Baby Spinach	Salad Leaves
Roasted	Roasted Corn	Kumara (Sweet Potato)		Roasted tomatoes
Raw	Green Capsicum	Chives, Pomegranate	Cherry Tomatoes, Capsicum, Courgette Noodles	Broccoli florets
Proteins	Chilli Chicken	Shredded Chicken	Fried Egg	Pork
Fats	Zesty Sour Cream	Avocado	Avocado	Tomato Mustard Mayo
The Top	Toasted Pumpkin Seeds	Balsamic Vinegar, Hemp Seeds	Marinated Red Onions	Lime Juice