Put it in a Bowl
I will admit right now, I am a Pinterest-foodie-freak. I love scrolling through Pinterest to get new meal ideas, finding recipes, and altering them to fit my nutritional needs. Yes, also guilty of being a BIG TIME recipe modifier.
Over time, I have noticed a new trend on Pinterest… bowls! Foodies are sticking just about anything in a bowl and making it look colorful and appetizing. So of course, as soon as I noticed this trend, ideas started flooding my brain as to how I could turn this into a health-mine of possibilities.
How I turned pretty food bowls into a nutrient bomb you ask?
Many of you may be familiar with the USDA guidelines and ChooseMyPlate.gov. If you are not familiar with this, I highly recommend checking out their website as it provides many great tools for staying on top of a healthy diet. Pretty much, MyPlate is a tool used to help people visualize what a nutritionally ideal plate should look like for the average adult and child, applying the USDA guidelines.
So here it is. Take MyPlate guidelines, combine it with pretty food bowls, and what do we get?….. MYBOWL (Can I trademark that?)
Now that you have a bit of background on this, lets get down to business. How to build your bowl? I don’t strictly stick to the 5 food groups provided by MyPlate, I like to have fun with it and have a variety of vegetables, grains, fruits proteins and fats.
Start with a base, something to give your bowl some volume and hold all the yummies on top. This is optional, but I like to use leafy greens as they give a lot of volume without too many calories.
Some ideas of nutritious leafy greens include:
Spinach
Kale
Swiss chard
Collard Green
Lettuce
Cabbage.. etc
Then add 1 cup of colorful veggies (these could be raw or cooked):
tomatoes
cucumber
bell peppers
asparagus
zucchini
broccoli
green beans
carrots
onions
celery
Add ½-1 cup of complex carbohydrates (these include grains and starchy vegetables):
Rice
Quinoa
Potatoes
Millet
Farro
Corn
Sweet potatoes
Plantains
Peas
Now include your protein:
Chicken (lean)
Salmon
White fish (lean)
Shell fish (lean)
Eggs
Beef
High-protein vegetarian options:
Lentils
Chickpeas
Beans
Tofu
Tempeh
Black Bean Pasta (21 grams of protein per serving!)
Add some fruit to pack in some extra vitamins (optional):
berries
apples
dried fruit (goji berries, craisins, raisins)
Lastly, some healthy fats (keep these low if you did not choose a lean option for your protein):
avocado
seeds
nuts
olive oil
For bowls a little on the sweeter side...
You base (Carbs and protein):
Carbs:
oatmeal
quinoa
porridge
mashed sweet potato with cinnamon
granola
Protein:
Greek yogurt
Chia pudding
Cinnamon-Maple egg whites
Your fruits (go for what is in season!):
bananas
berries
apples, pears
mango
kiwi
cantaloupe
pineapple
dried fruit
Your healthy fats:
seeds
nuts
nut butter
flax seeds
chia seeds
HAVE FUN WITH IT! The idea behind MyBowl is that it’s all about YOU! What YOU feel like eating, what’s in season, what YOU have in your fridge, and what YOU need nutritionally. Each bowl turns out unique and versatile, and you can be sure that you’re not going to miss out on any micro-nutrients.
