Winter Sunshine Rainbow Bowls

Six more weeks of winter. Technically, only four until it’s “spring”, but in Alberta we get snow and cold weather lasting until April. However, today was a fair day with lots of sunshine, and it put me in a good mood. I decided to make sunshiny lunch bowls filled with a rainbow assortment of healthy foods to keep me going all week.

Sometimes called Abundance Bowls, these meals have a grain base combined with legumes, vegetables, and seeds. Mine contains steamed broccoli, quick-pickled red cabbage, roasted red peppers, and lentils, topped with a peanut-sesame-lime dressing. For extra protein, I’ve included quinoa and pumpkin seeds. For the calorie curious, one bowl has 395 calories, 57g carbs, 12g fat, and 19g protein. To make ahead for the week, I prefer to prepare each set of ingredients and only combine the night before.

Winter Sunshine Rainbow Bowls – An original recipe by Agent Minty

Ingredients:

• Grains and Lentil Mix (Recipe Below)
• Red Cabbage Quick Pickle (Recipe Below)
• 2 red peppers, roasted, with skins and seeds removed
• 2 heads of broccoli, stems and florets diced and steamed
• 5 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
• Peanut-sesame-lime Dressing

Instructions:

1. Spoon 1/5 of the grains and lentil mix into each bowl.
2. Arrange on top 1/5 each of the cabbage, sliced roasted peppers, broccoli, and pumpkin seeds.
3. Drizzle dressing on top and enjoy.

Grains and Lentils Mix

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dried quinoa
• 1/4 cup dried red lentils
• 1/2 cup cracked wheat

Instructions:

1. Wash quinoa well and combine with 2 cups of water.
2. Bring to a boil on high and simmer with lid on for 7 minutes.
3. Stir in the lentils, and turn down heat to medium-low for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in cracked wheat and 1/4 more water.
5. Allow to return to a simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off heat.
6. Sit, covered with a lid, for at least 10 minutes.

Red Cabbage Quick Pickle

Ingredients:

• 1/3 red cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients and sit at room temperature at least one hour.

Peanut-sesame-lime Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha (reduce if you dislike spicy things)
• 1/3 cup water

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

I’m going to enjoy this bit of brightness and sunshine in my days all week – I hope you have a good week, too!