This recipe has become a weekly staple in our household. The beauty of this dish is you can mix and match the basic ingredients: swap the spinach for kale, add some avocado, or sautéed mushrooms, swap the quinoa for wild rice, the tofu for a hard boiled egg… the possibilities are endless! This version happens to be vegan and gluten-free. The dressing contains nutritional yeast, which provides a wonderful savoury flavour and is often used as a cheese replacement in vegan recipes. Look for fortified nutritional yeast, as it supplies the much needed vitamin B12, which is naturally found only in animal-based foods, and can be more challenging to get enough of on a vegan diet.

These are the basic building blocks you need to assemble your power bowl… or plate:

Vegetables (1/2 your plate)
- Roasted: Sweet potatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, beets, brussels sprouts (toss with a few tsp of oil, salt and pepper, or Mrs Dash, and roast at 400 F for 15-20 minutes)
- Fresh: Spinach, kale, avocado, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes
Protein (1/4 your plate)
- Baked tofu, edamame, hard boiled egg, nuts, seeds, baked salmon, feta cheese
Whole Grains (1/4 your plate)
- Quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, teff, barley
Flavour
- A dressing made with healthy fat, such as olive oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, or avocado oil. Try my miso-tahini dressing.

Miso Tahini Power Bowl

Makes 3-4 servings
Prep time: 30-45 minutes
Total time: ~ 45-60 minutes

Ingredients

Baked tofu (cut into planks, toss in oil, and bake at 400 F for 10-15 minutes)
1 Sweet potato, roasted
1 Red bell pepper, roasted
2 cups Edamame, cooked
2-3 cups Quinoa, cooked
1 bunch of Spinach (or kale)
1 cup Pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)

Miso Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

4 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp grape seed oil (or canola oil)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp miso paste (a fermented food, supplying good bacteria to keep our gut happy)
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp tamari
¼ cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on low until smooth. This recipe makes about 1 mason jar full. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. This dressing is delicious on any salad.

Build Your Bowl

Once you vegetables are roasted, tofu is baked, grain is cooked, fresh vegetables are diced or shredded, and tahini dressing is made, you are ready to roll. There is no set way to assemble your bowl – just stick to this portion guide and you can’t go wrong:
- 1/2 plate = vegetables
- 1/4 plate = protein
- 1/4 plate = whole grains
Drizzle with a few 2-3 tbsp of tahini dressing and sprinkle with a handful of pumpkin seeds and enjoy!
This recipe makes delicious leftovers, so don’t be afraid to make extras and pack your lunches into individual containers as you clean up 🙂