Something called a ‘Buddha Bowl’ is currently trending on Instagram and Pinterest. As an example, here’s what a Buddha Bowl might contain – pickled carrot, creamy spinach, fresh rice, peppery cauliflower florets, zesty peanut sauce and curried chickpeas.
What’s the Buddha Bowl?
A Buddha Bowl is a balanced meal with carbohydrates, proteins, whole grains, raw and cooked vegetables, nuts, seeds and a sauce/dressing served in a bowl.
Packed with health, taste, tang and texture, it involves your senses and makes healthy eating easy and enjoyable – explains Dr Nandita Iyer, nutrition expert and author of the book The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian and the blog Saffrontrail.
No Buddha’s Belly
Don’t let the resemblance of the bowl to the archetypal Buddha belly scare you! The circular shape of the bowl allows few spoons of each category – limiting the portions to keep your belly flat.
Why the Craze?
The health articles suck you into a whirlpool of fear. Ask Mr Google what’s healthy, and in the blink of an eye, a thousand options – from Keto, low carb, high protein, raw food and paleo to eating small meals frequently – compete for your attention.
Diet is a personal choice, but sustaining it depends on balance, moderation and convenience. You need something healthy but yummy. Buddha Bowls are popular because they don’t compromise taste, are highly customisable and provide optimum nutrition.
Nandita explains – This is a healthy trend that is easier to assemble than cooking multiple dishes comprising a thali. Easy cooking makes it popular. People have no time for elaborate meal preparation and this home-cooked balanced meal is a far better option than eating out.
Would you like to try a Buddha Bowl? Possibly yes, but only if it’s hassle-free? A little planning will ensure that. You will need these six things
- Veggies: raw and roasted
- Greens: spinach, any local greens
- Grain: quinoa, brown rice, millet
- Protein: tofu, chickpeas, beans, hummus
- Extras: nuts, seeds, sprouts
- Sauce: tahini dressings, peanut or other sauce, spiced buttermilk/coconut milk, chutney
Weekend Batches
Nandita suggests batch cooking on weekends:
If you cook 2 or 3 portions of brown rice or millets, boil and season chickpeas, make some extra sauce or dressing, then you just need to sauté a few vegetables, make a salad and assemble the Buddha Bowl.
Buddha Bowls are very much a part of Indian culinary history and not a Western trend. Including local, seasonal products and variations like a dash of mango or tomato chutney instead of a sauce enhances the regional flavour.
Varied combinations make it appealing. Replace rice with noodles, pasta or quinoa. Include mushrooms and sprouts. Use tofu and if you don’t eat soy search for chickpea (besan) tofu – suggests Nandita.
Importance of the Colour
Also remember – assembling right is crucial, and colour is an indicator of balance. If brown dominates, it’s heavy on carbs. If too green then you need more carbs. White suggests a lack of micronutrients and no red, orange or yellow indicates deficiency of beta carotene.
This post has originally been written for The Quint. You can read the rest of the post here
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