February 2022 | Cook Now

Easy Power Bowls

This veggie power bowl makes an irresistibly healthy dinner or lunch! Serve roasted and fresh veggies with a whole grain and creamy sauce.

The bowl meal isn’t revolutionary, but dang is it satisfying! There are millions of variations, but we think there’s always room for one more idea. Introducing our easy Veggie Power Bowl! This combination of whole grain, veggies, protein and a sauce makes dinnertime delicious. This one is irresistibly good, pairing quinoa with tender roasted broccoli and cauliflower, crunchy raw veg, and finished off with a creamy pop of tahini sauce. Serve it in a shallow bowl and well, it’s swoon-worthy.

Components in this power bowl

The formula for a great power bowl pairs a few key components to make a filling, healthy meal. When you construct it, you’ll want to think about contrasts in colors, flavors, and textures. You’ll also want to make sure that you have enough protein to keep it filling! This is a vegan protein bowl that goes big on plant-based protein. Here are the components of a great power bowl, then we’ll provide more details on each below:

Whole grain
Veggies, ideally roasted and fresh veggies for contrasts in texture
Protein, vegan, vegetarian, seafood or meat
Sauce

Choosing your whole grain

In this power bowl we chose quinoa as the grain: but you can opt for whatever grain you’d like! Here are a few options:

Quinoa is a versatile whole grain that’s actually a seed, not a grain. It’s gluten-free and relatively quick to cook (about 20 minutes total).
Couscous is actually tiny grains of pasta: we like it because it takes 10 minutes! Use this if you have a need for speed. Keep in mind it’s not gluten-free.
Rice is an easy gluten-free whole grain. Try our Coconut Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice.
Farro is a chewy whole grain that’s similar to barley, but cooks faster. Keep in mind it’s not gluten-free.
Bulgur wheat is even quicker to cook: it takes 10 minutes (also not gluten-free).

For the power bowl veggies

When you think about veggies in a power bowl, it’s all about contrasts in colors, flavors and textures! That’s why we like a combination of roasted veggies and fresh veggies if possible. The hearty, savory vibes of roasted veg against the fresh crunch of fresh can’t be beat. In this power bowl we used a favorite combo of roasted broccoli and cauliflower. Here are a few other ideas in the roasted category:

Protein in a power bowl

This power bowl is vegan, so it relies on a quick and easy plant-based protein: canned chickpeas! It’s our favorite idea for quick and easy vegan protein for a bowl meal. But there are lots of different ways to add protein here, including seafood. Here are a few protein options:

Canned beans like Easy Canned Chickpeas, Easy White Beans, Easy Cannellini Beans or Easy Black Beans
Lentils like Seasoned Brown Lentils, Easy French Lentils or Seasoned Black Lentils Recipe
Tuna like canned tuna or Seared Ahi Tuna
Salmon like canned salmon, Baked Salmon or Seared Salmon
Shrimp like Baked Shrimp or Sauteed Shrimp

Sauces and drizzles

The best part of a power bowl? The sauce! Don’t overlook this aspect: it brings the dominating flavoring to your veggie bowl. Here we used our fan-favorite Tahini Sauce, a blend of lemon and creamy tahini that’s utterly irresistible (we think!). But there are many different options. Here are some favorite veggie bowl sauces:

And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this veggie power bowl and what you choose for your elements. We love this combination, but there are endless variations!

More veggie bowl recipes

There are so many more different veggie bowl meal ideas! Here are some favorite bowl recipes:

Try our quick and easy Quick Hummus Bowls
Opt for a simple Quick Burrito Bowl
Go for a Simple Salmon Bowl or Shrimp Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice
Grab a Easy Rice Bowl or Easy Grain Bowl
Try a Poke Bowl or Vegan Poke Bowl

Quick Burrito Bowl

Quick Hummus Bowls

Poke Bowl Recipe

Easy Rice Bowl

This power bowl recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Veggie Power Bowls

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This veggie power bowl makes an irresistibly healthy dinner or lunch! Serve roasted and fresh veggies with a whole grain and creamy sauce. See above for more ideas for protein adders.

Ingredients

1 recipe Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
1 cup quinoa (or make 1 recipe Lemon Couscous or Coconut Rice)
15-ounce can chickpeas
½ tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 radishes
1/2 kohlrabi, cut into sticks
1 large carrot, shredded
8 cups salad greens
1 recipe Tahini Sauce or Sesame Ginger Dressing

Instructions

Start the Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower.
Make the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa using a fine mesh strainer, then drain it completely. Place it in a saucepan with 1 ¾ cups water and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer where the water is just bubbling for about 15 to 18 minutes, until the water has been completely absorbed. (Check by pulling back the quinoa with a fork to see if water remains.) Turn off the heat and let sit with the lid on to steam for 5 minutes, then fluff the quinoa with a fork.
Meanwhile, prep the veggies: Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and mix them with the olive oil and kosher salt. Slice the radishes, peel and slice the kohlrabi, and shred the carrot.
Make the dressing: stir together the Tahini Sauce or Sesame Ginger Dressing.
To serve, place the greens in a shallow bowl, then top with the quinoa, roasted veggies, fresh veggies, and a drizzle of the sauce.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: Main dish
Method: Roasted
Cuisine: Vegan

Keywords: Power bowl, veggie bowl

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

from A Couple Cooks https://ift.tt/nXS5uwO

0 comments

Mocha Frappe

The Mocha Frappe is a frozen coffee drink that’s so easy to whip up at home! All you need are 4 ingredients, plus ice.

You don’t need to venture out of the house when you’re craving a frappe: try this sweet and frosty homemade Mocha Frappe! It’s as easy as 4 ingredients, ice, and a blender. This one comes out fluffy and chocolaty, with a subtle bitter coffee finish. It’s irresistibly sippable and takes just 2 minutes to blend up. Usually we tend toward more classic coffee drinks…but this one is just too good!

Ingredients in a mocha frappe

A frappé is a frozen coffee drink of blended instant coffee, sugar and water or milk. It was invented in Greece in the 1950’s by Dimitris Vakondios, who worked for coffee company Nescafe. So it’s no surprise the classic frappé was made with Nescafe instant coffee! A similar drink at Starbucks is the Frappuccino: it’s sweeter and creamier and made with espresso.

This mocha frappe recipe takes inspiration from the classic, and adds a twist of chocolate similar to the drink you can find at McDonalds. This one tastes better, in our opinion! It’s sweetened just enough, and it’s chocolaty and frothy. Here’s what you’ll need (or head to the recipe below):

Instant espresso powder
Milk
Sugar
Cocoa powder
Ice

The magic ingredient: instant espresso powder

The important ingredient in a frappe? This mocha frappe uses instant espresso powder. It’s ideal for a frappe because it adds coffee flavor without watering down the drink. We tried a few variations with coffee, but instant espresso powder brought just the right bitter flavor. Espresso powder is key to get that mocha flavor (since a Mocha is made with espresso, not coffee.)

The instant espresso powder we used was Delallo brand, but there are lots of other great brands out there. Side bonus: you can also use it for desserts, like tiramisu! Often chocolate cake recipes call for espresso powder because it brings out the chocolate flavor (like this chocolate zucchini cake).

Toppings for a mocha frappe

It’s not necessary to top a mocha frappe with whipped cream: and we’re not huge sweet coffee drink people, so we typically don’t. But it does make it look so much more festive! Here are a few options for toppings:

Whipped cream: Homemade whipped cream is infinitely better than the store-bought stuff; and easy to make, too
Chocolate sauce: It’s fun and festive with a little drizzle
Chopped or shaved chocolate: Chocolate shavings also look great
Sprinkles: Why not?
Festive straws: It’s all about the presentation! We like these striped paper straws.

Variation: vegan and dairy free

Want to make a vegan or dairy free mocha frappe? It’s easy: just use oat milk instead of dairy milk! Oat milk is our ideal for coffee drinks because of its creamy texture and neutral flavor. We much prefer it to something like almond milk or soy milk. But feel free to use whatever non-dairy milk you prefer.

What to do for the topping? Make Vegan Whipped Cream! It’s easy and comes out perfectly fluffy (you just have to think ahead a few hours).

More coffee drinks

Love making coffee drinks at home? Here are some of our top coffee drinks and espresso drinks to make:

Try a classic Mocha or a Mocha Cappuccino
Opt for a Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Espresso or Iced Americano
Go for a Iced Coffee or Cold Brew Coffee

How to Make a Mocha

Mocha Cappuccino

Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Espresso

Iced Coffee

This mocha frappe recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.