Bowls 101

“What’s for dinner?”

Three words known to strike fear into every mom across the land. Yes. What IS for dinner? Aye, aye, aye sometimes it’s so hard to come up with an answer to this question! But don’t worry, I’m gonna help you answer this question and give you the basics to an easy, quick, fun and flexible meal!

My answer is THE BOWL. Yep. Move along plates with your multiple sides and meats. It’s summer and that means you should be enjoying your time, not cooking away your day in the kitchen. The bowl approach to meals combines veggies, grains and proteins in a fun way that creates a meal in one simple container. And it’s so flexible you can use these for multiple meals throughout the day (in fact Marshall had a bowl this morning for breakfast). They’re simple and contain no frustration or drama (in the kitchen or at the table). 

Bowls can be so simple. There really aren’t any rules to them. I do believe to make a bowl great and keep everybody satisfied you need layers to your bowls and that’s what I’m going to walk you through here. My bowl layers are as follows:

1. BASE LAYER - I use everything from noodles to grains to greens in this layer. One of our favorite bowls is a quinoa bowl (I alternate between tri-color and plain quinoa. Both are ready in 20 minutes and by that time my other ingredients are ready to roll.). We have that once a week usually. We also do noodle bowls a LOT (twice last week) with Ramen noodles (which are ready in 3 minutes). Sometimes I use greens as a base as well. For breakfast my base layer is yogurt (which is what Marshall had today.) By switching up the base layer you can make the bowl seem completely new and original. Even having the same dressing on your bowl can seem new if you have a different base layer. 
2. VEGGIE OR FRUIT LAYER - So this is where you hide all the nutritious stuff. I sauté some of my veggies, like onions, bell peppers, potatoes, Swiss chard, broccoli and spinach, which I dice and serve others raw for more of a crunch, like celery and carrots. This layer gives you color, crunch, flavor and nutrients. I use a LOT of veggies in our bowls because, let’s face it, very few of us get enough fruits and veggies in our diets. And for a breakfast bowl this layer is full of fresh fruits and berries. 
3. PROTEIN LAYER - I use any leftover meat I have on hand. It doesn’t take a lot - last week I did a noodle bowl with leftover chicken and a quinoa bowl with a leftover steak I sliced thin and spread on each bowl. If you want to keep your bowl vegetarian or begs friendly, black beans, tofu, tempeh or edemame are good options. I try not to fix meat from the raw state here. I just use leftover chicken, beef or pork. Or I leave the protein out and just add more veggies. 
4. DRESSING LAYER - Well we all knew this was coming, right? I mean you can’t just serve up a bowl without a sauce. Use whatever you like that’s handy. I tend to make a lot of our sauces because they’re easy and it’s so much cheaper to make your own versus buying bottles and bottles at the grocery store (plus it saves on some preservatives and calories). My go-to sauce for a noodle bowl is: 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/8 cup sesame oil. Shake it up and pour it on. You can just use that or add a little bit of ginger and garlic to it. Sometimes I do a burrito bowl and use 3/4 cup homemade salsa and 1/4 cup ranch dressing. I have a barbecue chicken bowl in the summer with greens as a base, grilled (leftover) corn and add a dressing of 3/4 cup barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup ranch. But whether you make your own or use a store bought dressing, it’ll keep your meal bright and give it a pop. 
5. CRUNCH/TOPPING LAYER - I use sesame seeds, croutons made from stale bread, crunchy garlic and almost anything else I can get my hands on. For breakfast bowls I use granola. Noodles bowls get crunchy garlic, sesame seeds and fresh cilantro. Burrito bowls get cheese and fried tortilla strips. Bowls with a green base get croutons. I also keep pickled red onions, carrots and radishes on hand for a crunch and pop of flavor (not pickled together but pickled none-the-less). Bean sprouts and nuts are also yummy. 

However you make your bowls they are great, flexible, nutritious and quick. Which is great in the summer when everybody’s running around. And presentation is the key. If you have picky eaters (and who doesn’t), put your offerings on a big charcuterie tray and let everybody fill their own bowl. That seems to increase the fun here and it makes kids more interested in what they’re eating (and usually helps them eat more veggies, too). 

I hope you try some bowls this summer. Whatever you call them - Buddha bowls, quinoa bowls, noodle bowls, Poke bowls, burrito bowls, steakhouse bowls - I hope you tag us and let us join this journey through food with you! They’re fun! Show us what you make on Instagram or Facebook. 

I can’t wait to see what you do!

Aliceson