How to Create a Nourish Bowl

A nourish bowl is literally one of my favourite go-to lunches or super-quick, easy dinners! Not only are they insanely healthy, if made correctly you can have a pretty filling, tasty meal on your hands. For me, I like to have a base of predominate vegetables, this helps to get in your essential micronutrients and pair this with a source of protein for cell repair and structure, some complex carbohydrates and a generous portion of healthy fats for the skin, hair and hormonal support; and you’re in for a winning combo! Incorporating these macronutrient groups such as protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats makes sure you achieve the full spectrum of what your body needs to thrive day today. You can honestly just get creative and see what works for you and what you like utilising what you have in your fridge. For me, I like to prep bigger portions of chopped veggies or cook up a large batch of sweet potato or quinoa that can stay in the fridge to be used easily when you want to whip together a quick meal.

The trick to staying and eating healthy is finding great basic recipes that you love and don’t feel like a chore/ boring to eat, and then making those recipes often at mealtimes to healthy create the habits. Eventually, your body begins to crave what you feed it so it’s important for you to create these healthy habits of opting for nourishing food.

I’ve put together a type of ‘DIY build a nourish bowl’ list for you to get started and creative with recipe ideas, I will also give a few of my favourite ones for you to try!

1. The base of mixed greens

• Spinach

• Kale (massage with a healthy fat for better digestion)

• Cos lettuce

• Iceberg lettuce

2. Add in vegetables:

• Carrot

• Broccoli

• Cauliflower/cauliflower rice

• Purple cabbage

• Zucchini/ zucchini noodles

• Broccolini

• Brussel sprouts

• Capsicum

• Corn

• Peas

• Beetroot

3. Slow energy releasing carbohydrates:

• Sweet potato

• Brown rice

• Rye toast/ paleo toast/ GF toast ( I really like this one, i like to put avocado or tahini on my toast and eat it with the salad.

• Quinoa

• Buckwheat

• Barley

• Seeded whole food wraps.

4. Protein:

• Tofu; try baking or marinating your tofu.

• Tempeh

• Chickpeas; Baked/ pan-fried chickpeas are the best! YUM

• Lentils

• Edamame

• Hemp seeds

• Eggs (Free range)

• Black beans

5. Healthy Fats: Usually I put a good 1-2 tbsp of healthy fats with my meals. This helps to prevent a blood sugar level spike and crash that you sometimes get after eating and keeps your energy-sustaining throughout the day. Healthy fats are also super amazing at beating cravings as well as boosting the number of nutrients your body can absorb such as vitamins A, E, D, K as they are fat-soluble.

• Pumpkin seeds

• Sunflower seeds

• Almonds/ cashews

• Brazil nuts

• Avocado/ olive/ hemp seed oil

• Hemp seeds

• Flax seeds

• Tahini

• Peanut butter

6. Extras for taste and health benefits:

• Herbs

• Spices

• Nutritional yeast flakes ( a vegan alternative to a cheesy flavour like parmesan cheese!)

• Himalayan pink salt; Himalayan salt is a much healthier salt alternative as it is filled with minerals.

• Pepper

• Kimchi/ sauerkraut; good for your gut!

• Tamari

• Nori flakes

• Mustard seeds/ sauce.

Some combinations I love:

Chickpea style buddha bowl: any greens, carrot, broccoli, roasted sweet potato, roasted chickpeas topped with hemp seeds and avocado. (Shown below)

Asian style sushi bowl: any greens, brown rice, grated carrot, cucumber, beetroot, edamame/tofu/fish/egg, nori flakes, tamari, kimchi.

Mexican burrito bowl: Greens, sweet potato/brown rice/ quinoa, corn, red onion, parsley/coriander/basil, tomato, mixed herb spices, chickpeas/mixed beans/black beans.

Roasted vegetable bowl: Any greens (I especially like kale), roasted: carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, capsicum, broccoli, red onion. Pair with roasted chickpeas/tofu/tempeh, hemp seeds/pumpkin seeds, seeded mustard tahini dressing.

I encourage you all to get creative mixing and matching the above categories to find flavour combinations you love! Honestly, the possibilities are endless and these meals are so good for you. I try and keep variety in my diet by mixing up the vegetables and nourish bowls I have a day to day.

Remember to pre-prepare and make extras when you are doing the cooking so that later on when you’re hungry you’ll be more likely to eat something healthy that is already prepared instead of a convenient but unhealthy snack…

I encourage you to shop locally and plastic-free for all the I’ve foods stated! Try your local bulk food store for grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, BYO jars or paper bags. Fruit and vegetables are best eaten seasonally– this allows you to eat more nutrient-dense, vine-ripened foods tuning your body in with the natural cycles of the earth. Eating what’s in season and locally sourced helps decrease your carbon footprint as your food has not had to travel the world in a fossil fuelled vessel (winning!) and your food is much fresher and healthier.  If you want to take your shopping to the next level try purchasing organic foods as they don’t use the nasty chemicals and pesticides that runoff and damage our waterways. Not to mention how these chemicals and pesticides affect our insides… that’s for another story, however.