The Buddha bowl is the enlightened meal of the 21st century. Whether you are getting ready to tackle a challenging day, recharging your energy before going back to work or preparing to rest after a busy and productive day, a Buddha bowl is always a great choice for a healthy, filling meal.
Buddha bowl: a healthy pleasure
Buddha bowls are the latest trend in healthy/clean eating. Not only are they the ultimate Instagram and Pinterest foodies’ dream; they are also very good for your body and soul. The great thing about Buddha bowls is that they are very customizable, allowing you to add, remove or replace ingredients at your heart’s content, which should be the ultimate goal of eating.
Why is it called “buddha bowl”?
You may not know a lot about aligning chakras, but you probably do know that balancing colors in your food is always a good thing. A Buddha bowl, which is supposed to resemble Buddha’s belly, refers to the empty bowl he used to carry with him every day, and the people he met along the way would share whatever food they could in it. Other than striving to achieve balance in your health, the Buddha bowl has nothing to do with Buddhism.
Also known as Hippie, Sunshine and Macro bowls, Buddha bowls combine whole grains, raw or roasted veggies, protein and are usually topped with a delicious dressing and seeds. Even though Buddha bowls are usually associated with vegan and clean eating, adding meat or fish as a protein is also acceptable.
Best ingredients for a DIY Buddha bowl
Eating healthy is all about finding balance in the ingredients you choose to incorporate in your daily diet. One of the great things about Buddha bowls is that there are numerous ways you can combine your favorite unprocessed ingredients to make a bowl tailored to your particular taste preferences.
Green Tea with vegetable soup
Particularly helpful to balance your immune system during flu season, green tea with vegetable soup or broth is delicious and can help accelerate recovery. Shitake mushrooms, ginger roots, lemons, garlic and turmeric are just some of the few ingredients you can combine to make a delicious broth or even blend into a smoothie, which will have you feeling better in no time!
Whole Grains
25% of your Buddha bowl should be composed of whole grains. Brown or wild rice, polenta, quinoa, couscous, farro and rolled oats do a whole lot to give you a tasty meal and a full belly with less calories, and also aid in reducing diverticulosis and constipation.
Proteins
In a Buddha bowl, a 15% of lean protein is recommended and although meat and fish substitutes are allowed, there are other tasty and healthier options such as beans, chickpeas and whole soy. Protein is [perhaps] the most important nutrient that will help you shake off that Buddha belly fat and make you feel satisfied at the same time. Not only does it boost your metabolism; it also helps reduce your appetite and alters various hormones that control weight.
Sweet vegetables
Have a sweet tooth? Your Buddha bowl can definitely deliver; you can also sweeten your meal by adding a generous serving (at least 35%) of tasty sweet potatoes, carrots, cooked yams, beets, onions and corn. Not only are these low calorie vegetables; they are also stuffed with healthy antioxidants rather than sugar, which [in turn] help you get rid of less healthy ingredients in your plate.
Other ingredients
To boost your Buddha bowl with more flavor, you can add an abundant amount of seeds, nuts and sprouts as tasty toppings. You can also create delicious sauces with ingredients such as peanut butter, garlic, honey, olive and sesame oils, lime juice and soy sauce.
Best moment to eat your Buddha bowl
Determining a best moment to eat a Buddha bowl is like choosing the best time to balance your life, which should be all the time! Buddha bowls make great meals during any time of the day.
Breakfast
Adding some avocado and eggs to your whole grain base will definitely give you the morning boost you need to tackle your challenging day! As if that weren’t enough, you can also create Buddha bowls made out of fruits, such as hand-picked berries, bananas and chia seeds bathed in almond milk.
Lunch
After a tedious morning of replying emails, returning phone calls and never ending meetings, there is no better (and healthier) pick-me-up than a good bowl of protein and sweet and healthy vegetables to give you the boost you need to get through the rest of the day.
Dinner
Coming back home after a productive yet exhausting day at work definitely deserves a reward, so why not treat yourself to a delicious and filling bowl of vegetable broth to warm up your bones and prepare you for a calm good night’s sleep!
Buddha bowls benefits
Buddha bowls are filling, healthy and fun meals that pack most of the nutrients your body needs. Preparing Buddha bowls can be a relaxing activity with a very rewarding payoff: you get a delicious and balanced meal that will enrich your day, body and soul, overall health and your Instagram/Pinterest feed. The more colorful, the better (and tastier)!
If you’ve enjoyed this articles, you should read Healthy smoothies to start the day with energy
