Power bowls are trendy. I love being trendy, so here is my version of a power bowl, and a few tips on how to make your own without a recipe.
This version of a power bowl is one of my favorite go-to meals when we have just about nothing in the house, or I don’t feel like cooking. It is perfectly healthy so you can feel virtuous eating it, then maybe finish with ice cream so you don’t get too high and mighty.
This is a perfect mix and match without a recipe recipe. Just use whatever you have around. I love quinoa in this, especially when cooked in mushroom broth, but any grain will do. Same for the greens. Whatever you have hanging around that you like in a salad will be good here. Beans are nice for a touch more texture and protein, but are optional. Any vegetable combination is good for the sauteed vegetables. I love the tahini dressing just because it adds hints of bitterness and acid to the finished product, but hey, if you have some dressing hanging out, just use it. Really, just throw whatever you have in a bowl or on a plate, top it with yummy dressing, call it a bowl and feel super trendy.
Quinoa Black Bean Bowl with Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
Tahini Dressing – Or dressing of choice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- water to thin
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt to taste
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice to taste
- fresh herbs, minced (optional)
Other Ingredients
- 2-4 cups fresh spinach or salad greens
- 1-2 cups cooked quinoa – or other cooked whole grain
- 1/2-1 cup cup cooked black beans – other beans or protein
- 1-2 cups vegetables. I like a mixture of fresh and sauteed vegetables (In the bowl pictured I used onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, scallions, and sundried tomatoes)
- 2 TBL nuts or seeds of your choice (optional)
Instructions
- Make the tahini dressing by whisking the tahini and water together until it has reached your desired consistency. Start with a few teaspoons of water, whisk, and add more until it is how you like it.
- Stir in the garlic, salt, lemon juice, and herbs if you are using them.
- Divide the rest of the ingredients on two plates. I like to start with spinach, add quinoa, then beans, and finish with veggies.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top and you have a super healthy, quick meal.
Discussion:
What is important for successful power bowl?
- Various layers of flavor
- Different textures
- Mix of fresh and cooked ingredients
- Protein
How Does It All Work?
The Flavor
- The vegetables and how you choose to cook them will be the base of your flavor profile. You could use fresh, cooked, or a mixture.
- I love to have something from all five tastes in my bowls. For this bowl used carrots for sweetness, salt on the sauteed vegetables and cooked beans, umami with mushrooms and by cooking my grains in mushroom broth, bitter in the tahini and acid in the lemon in the tahini dressing.
- The dressing you choose will add a ton of flavor to your finished dish. Make sure it is something you like. It can be as simple as a little oil and salt, or go ahead and make the tahini dressing. Use up a bottle from your fridge. It’s your meal, eat what you like.
Texture
- Every ingredient that you add will have it’s own texture (I hope!).
- Use a mixture of chewy (grains), crunchy (fresh vegetables, nut or seeds), soft (beans), and just right (cooked vegetables).
- When choosing what to add think of how the textures will balance each other. You don’t want everything to be crunchy or you’ll get sick of chewing. You don’t want it all to be soft because that would be gross. Just a bit of each is nice.
Mix of fresh and cooked ingrediewnts
- You could easily use only raw or only cooked ingredients here, I just like to cook my grains and I like some fresh veggies to mix it up.
- How you cook things does affect the nutritional value. Having a mixture brings a nice balance to your plate.
- Proteins are usually cooked and for a real power bowl you need some protein.
Protein
- Add some, it’s good for you.
- I like beans. I like the texture and the taste. Canned or cooked at home will work. I often make this meal to use up odds and ends and use whatever type I have ready.
- If you don’t like beans use something else. Tofu, Seitan, Tempeh, Nuts, Seeds, Fish, Meat. Whatever you like will be perfect.
Happy Food Ninja 
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