Can you tell I love Buddha bowls?! I just love how these bad boys offer so much versatility in terms of amazing flavour combos, not to mention their ability to pack in a wide variety of wholesome ingredients and superfoods into one bowl! I believe these, alongside soups and stews, really are the easiest way to get most of your days' veggies in in one sitting. This rainbow Mediterranean bowl is no exception and it's tasty as hell!
For the falafels in this particular bowl, I used Trader Joe's brand ('cause I always be smugglin' back a cooler full of TJ goods when I visit my cousins in Detroit)! But since you can't get them here in Canada, I've recently tried and fell in love with a fellow Toronto gal's My Little Chickpea falafels, which are fresh, use only clean ingredients and incredibly delicious. I get mine at Metro but I've linked a full list of stores for you below too.
So I used lettuce as my base in this bowl because most days I like to keep my grains to a minimum, as I've been able to link my psoriasis flare ups to grains. But a base of quinoa in this bowl for some added protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, antioxidants - is there anything quinoa can't do?! (maybe you should add some)! With or without, this bowl is a recurring star in our home.
Here's what you need to make the 🌈 bowl. Use as much as you like if there's no quantity listed:
Bed of romaine lettuce chopped
Roasted red peppers chopped (I used jarred. Bonus points for roasting your own!)
Kalamata olives pitted
1 carrot shredded
1-2 tbsp red onion diced
Cucumber diced
1/4 yellow pepper chopped small
2 tbsp pickled beets or purple sauerkraut
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley for garnish
Gluten-free baked falafels
For the dressing, my favourite tahini sauce recipe is from Oh She Glows:
1 large garlic clove
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
3 to 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast, to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Here's what you need to do:
If you're using boxed falafel, bake according to package. If fresh, just warm in the oven.
Arrange your bed of lettuce in a large bowl. Chop all your ingredients and arrange on top of lettuce.
Prepare Oh She Glows Lemon-Tahini Dressing: Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth.
Place falafels on top of ingredients in bowl, garnish with fresh parsley and drizzle with your dressing and voila!
Where to buy My Little Chickpea. Hint, the gluten-free, dairy-free mushroom risotto balls are insanely delicious too!