About the Recipe
When it comes to fueling for long runs and recovery, do you have any go-to plant-based meals? Here is one of mine. It’s a Buddha Bowl or Power Bowl. I tend to use the same plant-based proteins and veggies often, but I love that these bowls are versatile. You can really substitute any plant-based proteins, grains, greens, or veggies of your choice.
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
3-4 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 package of tofu, drained and pressed
Avocado or olive oil
Spices to taste (garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper)
For chickpeas and tofu (optional): cornstarch or arrowroot starch (for GF), nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan cheese
Preparation
Step 1
The first step is to decide on what you will use for you plant-based proteins, grains, greens, and veggies. Here are some ideas:
Plant-based proteins: chickpeas or any other beans, tofu, tempeh
Grains: quinoa (I love quinoa since it also contains protein!), barley, rice, couscous
Greens: Kale, spinach, collard greens, green or red leaf lettuce
Veggies: sweet potatoes or regular potatoes (starchy), asparagus, beets, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
Step 2
Once you choose a plant-based protein, grain, greens, and veggies, you will want to shop for them (I enjoy buying local and getting veggies that are in season at my local Farmer’s Market). Then prepare as suggested below.
For your plant-based protein, you’ll want to bake or pan fry. For chickpeas, I like to add my oil and seasonings then bake in the oven. But for my tofu, I found I like pan-frying it more to get it crispier. I still add my seasonings and pan-fry on medium-high heat in avocado oil turning each tofu square over to get each side crispy.
Chickpeas and Tofu
1. After draining chickpeas and draining/pressing tofu out, add to a medium sized bowl separately.
2. Add oil, arrowroot starch, spices, nutritional yeast, and parmesan cheese then toss.
3. Spread out on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil (they will stick to the pan, so helps with easy clean up).
4. Bake in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-30 minutes or until chickpeas are crunchy.
*Tofu can also be pan-fried
For your choice of grain, you can simmer in a pot of water on the stove or use a pressure or rice cooker. Hint: For every 1 cup of quinoa or rice, use 2 cups of water. Below is cooked quinoa (less than 1 cup uncooked).
Rice or Quinoa
1. Cook according to package directions.
For your greens, you can choose to cook or not. Sometimes, I bake my kale, but sometimes I just add it to my bowls raw too. The picture below is raw kale.
Kale
1. Add kale to baking sheet.
2. Add oil and spices to taste.
3. Bake in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes (no longer than 15 minutes or will burn/crisp too much)
For your veggies, you’ll want to cook them. I enjoy roasting my veggies best, but you can sauté, roast, grill, or bake your veggies. Below are roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus.
Sweet potatoes
1. Wash/rinse/chop sweet potatoes.
2. Add to baking sheet.
3. Add oil and spices to taste.
4. Bake in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 minutes.
After everything is cooked and cooled, store in airtight containers and assemble as needed.
OR you may want to assemble your bowls to have them ready to go the next day!! Start with your greens, add your grain, plant-based protein, then veggies! And enjoy!