When it comes to healthy eating, I find it helpful to have some ground rules. Michael Pollen's food rules are just about right:
-Eat food. (Not processed food-stuff.)
-Mostly plants.
-Not too much.
I would like to add zero-waste to the list (which is quite compatible with the above rules).
In a quest to make my weekly menu planning + grocery list making easier, we have a weekly menu which consists of six meal categories. These categories have some flexibility for seasonal produce, prep time + preferences built in.
This time, we're taking a closer look at the grain bowl. A grain bowl around here consists of a whole grain + vegetables + protein source + flavor.
Obviously this is a very flexible directive which could begin with any type of grain...quinoa, brown rice, wild rice + polenta are some of our favorites. I don't keep all of them stocked, but rotate as desired. Same with the protein source. Our most likely choices are chickpeas, lentils, beans, peas, nuts, seeds + eggs. Seasonal vegetables can steer the direction of the entire enterprise. And the flavor can come from a variety of sources...spices, herbs, citrus, yogurt + cheese often feature. The possibilities are truly endless here, but to name a few:
Tikka Massala (shown above)
broccoli
brown rice (1 cup bulk dry)
2 cans chickpeas
1/2 can coconut milk (full fat)
1/2 lime, squeezed
tomato sauce
spices: (about 1 tsp. each) cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cayenne
cilantro
Cook rice + steam broccoli.
-A spring bowl might consist of quinoa, roasted asparagus, chickpeas, feta, chives, salt, pepper flakes + a squeeze of lemon.
-A summery bowl could include polenta, sun gold tomatoes, onion, cucumber, avocado, spiced pinto beans, cilantro + a squeeze of lime.
-In the fall wild rice, sweet potato, kale, black beans + a drizzle of yogurt, honey, cayenne + cinnamon sauce would be warming + flavorful.
-A bowl of potatoes, carrots + spinach stirred into a sauce of tomato sauce, coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, lime + pepper flakes on a bed of brown rice would be most welcome in the winter months.
This one meal category is so versatile that it really could be what I eat for dinner every night. Since I cook for more than myself, however, I switch it up. I fing that it's really nice to have some sort of system to utilize when I'm making my grocery list. One more category to come!
Love,
Jane
-Eat food. (Not processed food-stuff.)
-Mostly plants.
-Not too much.
I would like to add zero-waste to the list (which is quite compatible with the above rules).
In a quest to make my weekly menu planning + grocery list making easier, we have a weekly menu which consists of six meal categories. These categories have some flexibility for seasonal produce, prep time + preferences built in.
This time, we're taking a closer look at the grain bowl. A grain bowl around here consists of a whole grain + vegetables + protein source + flavor.
Obviously this is a very flexible directive which could begin with any type of grain...quinoa, brown rice, wild rice + polenta are some of our favorites. I don't keep all of them stocked, but rotate as desired. Same with the protein source. Our most likely choices are chickpeas, lentils, beans, peas, nuts, seeds + eggs. Seasonal vegetables can steer the direction of the entire enterprise. And the flavor can come from a variety of sources...spices, herbs, citrus, yogurt + cheese often feature. The possibilities are truly endless here, but to name a few:
Tikka Massala (shown above)
broccoli
brown rice (1 cup bulk dry)
2 cans chickpeas
1/2 can coconut milk (full fat)
1/2 lime, squeezed
tomato sauce
spices: (about 1 tsp. each) cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cayenne
cilantro
Cook rice + steam broccoli.
-A spring bowl might consist of quinoa, roasted asparagus, chickpeas, feta, chives, salt, pepper flakes + a squeeze of lemon.
-A summery bowl could include polenta, sun gold tomatoes, onion, cucumber, avocado, spiced pinto beans, cilantro + a squeeze of lime.
-In the fall wild rice, sweet potato, kale, black beans + a drizzle of yogurt, honey, cayenne + cinnamon sauce would be warming + flavorful.
-A bowl of potatoes, carrots + spinach stirred into a sauce of tomato sauce, coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, lime + pepper flakes on a bed of brown rice would be most welcome in the winter months.
This one meal category is so versatile that it really could be what I eat for dinner every night. Since I cook for more than myself, however, I switch it up. I fing that it's really nice to have some sort of system to utilize when I'm making my grocery list. One more category to come!
Love,
Jane
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