Happy Wellness Wednesday!  Have you noticed the attention bowls have been getting lately?! Smoothie bowls, protein bowls, power bowls, vege bowls etc. Today we are focusing on this new food trend.  Specifically on powerbowls.  It is appearing on the menus in many restaurants and leaves you scratching your head.  What is this you ask?  Our definition of a powerbowl is generally a mix of the following nutrient-dense ingredients which supports your skin from the inside out.  Think of it as the kitchen sink of deliciousness.

Mix and Match at least one from each of these sections:

Greens

• Raw, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, arugula, parsley, iceburg and romaine lettuce.

Flavorfully Cooked Vegetables

• Flavorful cooked vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, squash, broccoli, etc., that have been roasted or sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and herbs.  "Cooking your vegetables will release the antioxidants, phytochemicals like lycopene, and specific vitamins for the body to digest", according to a 2007 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. As Rui Hai Liu, a professor of food science at Cornell University put it in 2009, “the heat from cooking breaks down a plants’ thick cell walls and aids the body’s uptake of some nutrients that are bound to those cell walls.”

Vibrant raw veggies

• Such as carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, fennel, olives, celery root etc.

Protein

• Vegetarian friendly protein in the form of beans (crunchy roasted chickpeas are my favorite), hummus, tahini, lentils, seeds, nutritional yeast, quinoa, organic eggs, etc. Or if you don’t have any dietary restrictions you can add whatever meat you prefer (chicken or tuna).

Carbs

• Carbohydrates from beans, lentils, peas, sweet potatoes, quinoa and whole grains such as barley, bulgar, etc.   

Fats

• Healthy fats in the form of avocado, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and a healthy dressing, such as my favorite made from my grandmothers’ recipe which is, olive oil, and fresh lemon juice and whole grain mustard.

Today's Wellness Wednesday Powerbowl

Ingredients

• Carrots

• Red pepper

• Orange pepper

• Cauliflower

• Broccoli

• Onion

• Asparagus

• Quinoa

• Grandma’s salad dressing

Instructions

Wash the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer rubbing the quinoa to remove the fine outer layer known as the saponin coating (which is very bitter).   Place in a pot with cold water and cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 12 minutes.  Like pasta or rice you want to slightly undercook it because it will continue to cook after you turn the heat off.  Fluff with a fork.

For the vegetables.  Sautee three cloves of garlic in avocado oil, when fragrant add all the vegetables and cook for five minutes.  Add salt, pepper, a pinch of tumeric (this is a great spice for inflammation reduction), cayenne pepper and a touch of curry powder.

While the vegetables are cooking make the dressing

Grandma’s salad dressing:

• Juice of one lemon

• 1 tablespoon of djion or whole grain mustard

• 1/3 cup of olice oil (we love ours from Olives En Folie)

• Salt and pepper

Place vegetables in salad bowl, add quinoa and drizzle salad dressing over the bowl.  We love to use chopsticks for these powerbowls as it makes the meal last longer!  

Enjoy