Build a colorful, balanced nourish bowl with your choice of ingredients!
Nourish bowls, also known as macro bowls or Buddha bowls, are essentially balanced meals in a bowl. They are easily assembled with your preferred food choices from each food group, providing a well-balanced, nutrient-dense lunch or dinner. One of the great things about nourish bowls is their versatility—they can accommodate all diet preferences and requirements, such as gluten-free, vegetarian, dairy-free, and more.
They are fantastic for speedy meal prepping. You can use no-cook ingredients like pre-cooked rice, canned beans, rotisserie chicken, raw veggies, and pre-made dressing to build a bowl in just 10 minutes. If you have a bit more time, quick-cooking ingredients like frozen veggies, frozen protein, and microwavable whole grains can help you create bowls in 30 minutes or less.
There are endless variations to fit your needs and lifestyle. While there's no strict recipe, themed nourish bowls are a fun way to explore different flavors. For instance, I love using Mediterranean-inspired ingredients, like shawarma-seasoned chicken for protein, quinoa for grain, pickled radish and spinach for veggies, and hummus dressing.
To get started, simply select a grain, protein, 1-2 colorful vegetables, and a dressing. See details below!
Steps To Prep A Nourish Bowl For One
Step 1: Pick a theme.
Selecting a theme can make meal planning easier by narrowing down the endless nourish bowl variations you find online. It allows you to enjoy your favorite foods in a creative way and opens up opportunities to explore new flavors. Here are a couple of theme ideas to get you started:
Ethnic theme: Pick an ethnic theme like Mediterranean, Mexican, or Asian- inspired nourish bowls.
Current favorite food: Select a theme based on your current favorite foods like egg rolls or burritos. For example, if you love burritos, you can create a burrito-inspired nourish bowl with ingredients like brown rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole.
Random Ideas: Vegetarian, seafood, BBQ and my favorite clean your fridge bowl where you have the opportunity to use up your leftovers.
Step 2: Fill 1/4 of your bowl with a grain base.
Incorporating hearty grains into your nourish bowl not only boosts fiber intake, which supports satiety and bowel health, but also provides essential nutrients like B vitamins. These vitamins play a vital role in maintaining energy levels and brain function. Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, and whole wheat pasta are excellent choices for your nourish bowl.
Adding these grains ensures a nutrient-dense and balanced meal, helping you stay energized and nourished throughout the day.
Step 3: Fill another 1/4 of your bowl with protein.
Including protein in your nourish bowl is vital since it's an essential macronutrient that supports fullness. Options like scrambled eggs, grilled chicken, baked salmon, and lean ground beef or turkey are excellent choices. For a plant-based nourish bowl, consider proteins like canned beans, lentils, tofu, and tempeh. You can also mix these plant-based sources with animal proteins for a balanced, protein-packed meal.
Step 4: Select 1-2 vegetables to your bowl
Add a vibrant touch to your nourish bowl with a mix of fresh, frozen, or pre-packaged vegetables. You can include raw veggies as well as roasted, grilled, steamed, or sautéed options. Some colorful choices are purple cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, leafy greens, green beans, and mushrooms.
Incorporating a variety of vegetables not only enhances the visual appeal of your bowl but also boosts its nutritional value, providing a range of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Step 5: Lastly, drizzle over your choice of dressing, dip, or sauce that compliments your bowl
Dressings can pack on flavor and add healthy fats to your nourish bowl with options like olive oil-based vinaigrettes or seed-based dressings. To increase protein, try Greek yogurt-based dressings or sauces like Tzatziki. Other delicious choices include hummus,, salsa, guacamole, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and soy sauce-based dressings. These additions not only enhance taste but also boost the nutritional value of your bowl.
Hungry for more information ? Check out my previous posts below!
Let's connect! Share photos of your colorful nourish bowl creations on Instagram with the hashtag #doseofnutrition - I'd love to see!
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