Garbanzo Buddha Bowl

When people use the words “Buddha bowl” to describe deep-rimmed dishes overflowing with vibrant meatless food, I’m half excited and half irritated. Excited because it’s going to be a fabulous taste explosion. Irritated because I’m expecting them to start saying namaste to everything. It means hello/goodbye and not a word more! But that’s a different rant for a different day. Bottom line – I love a good garbanzo Buddha bowl.

A garbanzo Buddha bowl is so easy to make. Any Buddha bowl is for that matter. They’re healthy and an amazing array of fresh flavors coming together for one spectacular meal. They tend to be large, hearty, yet light, and healthy. I don’t tend to eat much vegan fare but when it comes to a good bowl, I’m sold. Meat or no meat, cheese or no cheese. With their growing popularity I’ve even seen a number of these bowls offered with meat, which is a nice option. The thing I love about making these is that when I have a variety of people visiting I can make the base bowl and then just throw on a meat or fish on top for those that want it, and everyone’s happy with the food.

Now, the real question is what exactly is a Buddha bowl and why do they call it that. I’ve read blog after blog and there are a lot of theories that culminate to: It’s a bowl with whole grains, plant proteins, and vegetables, this is the ideal vegan one-bowl dish. So, Buddha bowls are vegan, except that now, you can find them with cheese and even meat depending on where you go. So it’s a general formula than a hard-and-fast recipe. As to why it’s called that, I believe, like people in the mindful space will tell you, even with food it’s about balance and harmony, which is a thought pervasive throughout Buddhism…and then it became corporatized, and now it’s culturally appropriated as a spiritual term is taken out of context. Much like yoga..oh boy two rants in one post.

My thoughts aside about yoga, namaste, and cultural appropriation these bowls are fantastic!

Seriously, it means hello! Many places in the country it means hello and good-bye. That’s it! I struggle to keep my brass knuckles in my purse when I run into people that try to tell me about their spiritual journey with their yogi. Yogi being their yoga instructor and how they’ve just learnt to say namaste to things. To the point where their insta posts have the #namaste. Theoretically, sure, you can say hello and goodbye to things. But the chances of their yoga teacher being a yogi? Or them having the concept that it’s no different than hi, aloha, hola, etc.? About as likely as I am to sprout feathers and fly south for the winter.

A couple more lunch ideas:

Garbanzo Buddha Bowl

Course: Main CoursesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

55

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown rice, cooked

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked

• Salt, to taste

• Black Pepper, to taste

• Cayenne pepper, to taste

• Cilantro Vinaigrette, to taste

• 8 florets of Romanesco broccoli

• 1 cup red radish, sliced

• 1 1/2 cup tomatoes, sliced

• 1 1/2 cup cucumbers, julienne or sliced

• 1 cup carrots, julienne or sliced

• 4 cups spinach

• 2 avocados, sliced

Directions

• Boil:
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the rice, approximately 20 minutes. Once cooked drain and set aside to cool.
• Saute:
• In a small pan heat olive oil over medium heat.
  
• Add in the garbanzo beans.
• Add in salt, black pepper, and cayenne to taste.
  
• Cook for 4 minutes on medium heat.
• Remove and set aside to cool.
• Add:
• In 4 meal sized bowls: Add the rice as your base layer .
• Mix in 1 tsp (per bowl) of cilantro vinaigrette over the rice to add a little flavor.
• Arrange the veggies and beans in the bowl as you wish or as my photo above.
• Add avocado just before serving to avoid browning.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve: Serve immediately with cilantro vinaigrette.

Notes

• *You can change any quantities of veggies or dressing to taste or availability.

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