Buddha Bowl

Quinoa are one of my favorite ways to use up any vegetables you have on hand. They are simple and nutritious.

All you need is a grain of your choice for a base (my favorites are quinoa, rice, and couscous) and vegetables to top with. For my "Buddha Bowl" I enjoy my version of a green goddess sauce made out of fresh herbs, but you can use whatever dressing/sauce you'd like!

Here is my go-to recipe, but get creative and use whatever you have! The vegetables are always changing in my bowls, but the recipe is a good place to jump off.

Buddha Bowl

INGREDIENTS

1 cup quinoa

1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 large sweet potato, cubed

3 large carrots, chopped

1 crown of broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets

1 yellow squash, sliced into half-moons

1 bunch of kale, remove stems & roughly chop

FOR THE AVOCADO GREEN GODDESS SAUCE:

1 ripe avocado

1 large garlic clove

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup Italian parsley

1/2 cup green onion tops

2 tbsp fresh dill

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse the quinoa and cook in 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock with a pinch of salt.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. For the chickpeas: In a small bowl, drizzle the chickpeas lightly with olive oil. Add the cumin, chili powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Toss until evenly coated in the spices. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes of until crunchy.

4. While the chickpeas are roasting, in a large bowl toss the sweet potatoes and carrots lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.

5. In the same bowl lightly toss the broccoli and squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the broccoli and squash to the carrots and sweet potatoes that have already roasted for 15 minuntes and return the pan to the oven to roast for another 15 minutes.

6. Next, toss the kale lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper in the same bowl, add the kale to the top of the roasted veggies and allow all the vegetables to roast for 5 more minutes, slightly wilting and charring the kale. Remove from oven.

7. For the Avocado Green Goddess Sauce: Use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients with 1/3 cup of water until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

8. To Serve: Place the quinoa at the bottom of a bowl, top with the roasted veggies and chickpeas, top with the sauce. Enjoy!