End of Summer Buddha Bowl

A Buddha bowl is a great way to incorporate vegetables, whole grains, protein, and a yummy dressing! It is an overstuffed bowl resembling the belly of Buddha, that’s how these bowls get their name! Buddha bowls are your chance to unleash your creativity in the kitchen. You just open your fridge and pantry, take out what you have, and make a filling, Instagram-worthy bowl that is sure to satisfy.

For a successful Buddha bowl:

• Try to incorporate a wide variety of colours in your bowl – not only does this make the bowl visually appealing, it also helps ensure you are including lots of vitamins and minerals.
• Keep it balanced:
• ​Load up on vegetables
• Choose what’s fresh and in season or use frozen
• A source of protein
• These bowls are a great opportunity to explore plant-based proteins such as chickpeas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc.
• Choose whole grains to add stomach-satisfying fibre
• You can explore new options such as brown rice, whole wheat couscous, quinoa, freekeh, etc.
• Finally, find a flavorful, light sauce
• We suggest making your own with spices, yogurt, and pastes such as pesto, sun dried tomato paste to avoid the often excessive fat, sugar, and salt in store bought sauces
• Allow some time to arrange the bowl’s ingredients and make it look beautiful with the sauce and garnish.

Pesto is the main ingredient for this beautiful, filling end-of-summer Buddha bowl. The base is fresh spinach leaves, whole-wheat couscous for the grains, baked chickpeas for protein, many colorful summer vegetables, and finished with a beautifully drizzled pesto yogurt sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 handful of spinach leaves, rinsed
• 1/2 cup cooked whole wheat couscous
• 1-2 cups seasonal vegetables (zucchini, carrots, broccoli, etc.)
• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

For pesto yogurt sauce:

• 1/4 cup of yogurt
• 1/2 tbsp pesto sauce
• 1/4 tbsp lemon juice

For garnish:

• Kalamata olives
• Parmesan cheese

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 370F.
2. Chop vegetables (except spinach) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Drain, rinse, and pat dry chickpeas and add to baking sheet.
4. Season roasting vegetables and chickpeas with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (to taste) and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Place in oven and roast for 20-35 minutes (turn halfway), or until tender.
6. Place uncooked couscous in a small bowl and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
7. Add 3/4 cup boiling water to the couscous and cover bowl with a lid.
8. Let couscous stand for 10 minutes or until couscous has doubled in size. Fluff with a fork.
9. For the sauce, mix all 3 ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt, to taste.
10. Assemble the bowl (place couscous first, then arrange spinach, vegetables, and chickpeas), drizzle with sauce, and garnish with Kalamata olives and Parmesan cheese.
11. Makes 1 serving. Enjoy!