Recipe: Mediterranean Grain Bowls

With the weather finally starting to warm up, you may find yourself gravitating towards different food items (seasonal items), cooking methods (using the oven vs not), and sensory details (cold vs hot, crunchy vs creamy, etc). That’s kind of the awesome thing about being in tune with your wants and needs around food - when this happens you don’t have to rely on a predetermined food plan to tell you what to eat, but you can decide!

Here is a meal idea that encompasses a lot of the above characteristics. Not to mention, this can be a very flexible “recipe” and thrown together in whatever capacity sounds most appealing to you or based on what you have available.

Easy Mediterranean Bowls:

Protein ideas - Rotisserie chicken + hummus have been my go-tos to make this super simple, but anything you enjoy and can easily throw together is fine. Some other ideas include shrimp, beef, falafel, lamb, chickpeas, tofu, or kababs.

Starch ideas - Microwavable rice makes adding a carbohydrate to the meal very easy. Any frozen or microwavable grain that you enjoy such as quinoa, bulgur, farro, couscous, tabbouleh, or even pasta can work. Or keep the starch separate and have a yummy piece of naan or pita bread on the side (great addition for dipping into any leftover sauce/juices from the bowl!).

Vegetable ideas - greens of any kind, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, peppers, any roasted leftover veggies you have on hand... The options are truly endless!

Fat ideas - Salad dressing (I’ve used both an oil-based or creamier Greek dressing depending on your preference), cheese, olives, pesto, tahini, avocado, hummus… again endless possibilities. I have been favoring a mix of Greek dressing, hummus, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese.

Some additional flavor/fun ideas - Tzatziki (a great way to use up or incorporate more yogurt

into your intake in a savory way); baba ganoush; fresh mint, dill, parsley or lemon juice to top off the bowl. You can also get fancier with the veggies as above and add in some pickled red onion, sun dried tomatoes, banana peppers, or roasted red peppers.

Play around with the combinations and see which versions are most filling and satisfying to you. You can toy around with the base being more vegetable-based or grain based, again depending on your preference and what is most satiating. Whether it is a green or a grain salad/bowl, you want to ensure you are adding in enough differing food groups as well as “fun” or flavor factors to make it a substantial and enjoyable meal.