yogi bowls: an easy 6 Ayurvedic tastes meal
Yes, I'm an Ayurvedic practitioner, and yes, I believe in eating real food. That doesn't mean that I spend hours in the kitchen each day preparing my meals, and you don't need to either. What's helped me the most with this is my natural evolution away from preparing complicated dishes.
One of my favorite meals currently, is something I call the 'yogi bowl'. There are many takes on yogi bowls, Buddha bowls, or macro bowls, but I keep mine pretty simple. These bowls are combinations of whole foods, and I find are a lovely way to get in the six Ayurvedic tastes, sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent, which Ayurveda suggests should be part of every meal to create balanced nourishment in the body.
the makings of a yogi bowl:
whole grains (rice, quinoa, barley are all great options)
lentils/legumes or beans (I use split, hulled mung beans or red lentils frequently)
vegetables (make it colorful and gently cooked)
greens (these can be raw; I use mixed greens, or make a green chutney for garnish)
healthy fats (avocado, ghee, a healthy dressing)
In my yogi bowl above I've included basmati rice, mung dhal (a legume), sweet potatoes, fermented beets, cilantro-coconut chutney, and avocado. And as a vegetarian meal, using rice + beans, or rice + lentils creates a complete protein.
keep it fresh
I find one of the downfalls of typical culinary dishes to be that once prepared, I am then committed to eating that same dish again and again while it's still fresh, and full of prana. With the yogi bowl I prepare and rotate the components as I go, so I'm able to combine each meal differently to keep me interested. In my fridge I typically have steamed basmati rice, a batch of dhal, sautéd kale or zucchini, steamed sweet potatoes, chutney, a fermented vegetable, avocados, and various other elements that keep me excited to construct my next bowl.
And now it's lunch time, and I've made myself hungry writing to you about these nourishing meals. So, give yogi bowls a go. Be creative, send me a picture, and let me know what you're loving. I'm off to make my yogi bowl lunch.
