Buddha Bowl...Yummest of the Yum!

Hi Guys!
So I promised you that I would post the recipe for the Buddha Bowl on here and so here we go.

Zoe's Yummy Buddha Bowl

A “Buddha Bowl,” as defined by urban dictionary, is, “a bowl which is packed so full that it has a rounded ‘belly’ appearance on the top much like the belly of a buddha.”

Ingredients

VEGETABLES

• 2 Tbsp olive, melted coconut, or grape seed oil
• 1/2 red onion, cut in to small pieces
• Sweet potatoes, cut in to pieces and roasted
• green and red peppers diced
• coriander
• 1/4 tsp each salt + pepper
• Red Cabbage sliced
• Broccoli
• Pepitas
• Grated carrot    

CHICKPEAS

• 1 15-ounce (425 g) chickpeas, drained, rinsed + patted dry
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder

TUMERIC AND TAHINI DRESSING

• ¼ cup tahini
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange sweet potatoes on a bare baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of oil, making sure the flesh of the sweet potatoes are well coated and placed skin side down on the sheet.
2. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven flip sweet potatoes and add broccoli. Drizzle broccoli with a bit of oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper.
3. Bake for another 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven. Set aside.
4. While vegetables are roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and toss with seasonings.
5. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil and chickpeas and sauté, stirring frequently. If they’re browning too quickly, turn down heat. If there isn’t much browning going on, increase heat. I found 10 minutes total at slightly over medium heat was perfect.
6. Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
7. Prepare sauce by adding all ingredients together until a pourable sauce is formed. Set aside.
8. To serve: Slice sweet potatoes into bite size pieces. Divide vegetables between 3 serving bowls and top with chickpeas, all of the remaing vegetables and pepitas + tahini sauce. Serve over soba noodles.
9. Best when fresh, though leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge.

So seriously it was the yummiest thing that I have eaten in a long time and so healthy too!

I have a new house mate and he is from Germany and I have been trying to impress him with my culinary skills!! I made this for him during the first few weeks that he was staying at my house and I think he thought I was an amazing cook!!

It just sucks that I never seem to have enough cash to spend on fresh veggies and healthy food all of the time and I tend to resort to my bad eating habits of really cheap pasta and tomato sauce (and not any veggies :( - I know very sad right!) But I am now on a task to make sure that I get out every Saturday to the markets near my house and buy lots of fresh produce so I can eat healthy each week.

I will be checking out Footscray markets in the next few weeks and there are a few little ones in the area, so I will also let you know which ones are best.

I really need to venture in to the city to Queen Vic Markets one weekend to see if the prices there are still ok, or if they have increased over the years.

Anyways, I hope you all had a safe Easter and peace out until next time.

Peace, love and cats xoxo Zoe

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