Are you on Instagram? I have to say, it’s my favourite form of social media. What’s better than a constant stream of your favourite people’s photographs? You get a peek inside someone’s life, little snippets of their day. The interaction is fun too. Scrolling through the feed is one of my favourite ways to pass time when I need a little distraction. I mostly like to share recipes that I’m testing, meals, or some behind the scenes blog, book, and photography stuff. There are also some people, scenery, and travel shots, and of course, crazy Sketchie who is by far the fan favourite. Like when I shared a shot of him playing sabotaging our Monopoly game. Just when you least expect it Sketchie pops out of no where and kung fu kitties the dice across the room!
Did I mention that I came downstairs one morning and our entire unfinished Monopoly game was flipped upside down on the floor?
Only a cat…only a cat.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always bother plating my food nicely when I’m not photographing it; sometimes the only thing I care about is how quickly I can sit down to eat. I throw the food on the plate and that is that. Luckily, vegetables tend to look beautiful anyway (unless we’re talking about mushroom pesto…). But it is fun to put more effort into it now and then, especially when I want to impress the people I’m feeding or to get myself out of a food rut. Give me a colourful plate of food and I’m a happy girl.
The Big Vegan Bowl
Yield
2 large bowls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Can’t you just imagine this bowl being served at a vegan restaurant? Well, why not make it in the comfort of your own home? It looks like it would take a long time to prepare, but it only set me back about 25 minutes of prep time. I simply roasted the sweet potato and chickpeas, cooked some quinoa on the stove top, and chopped a few veggies. It’s pretty laid back and you can tend to other things while it’s cooking. Due to the hummus and avocado, there’s no real need for a dressing unless of course you want to throw some on. My Lemon-Tahini dressing would be great on this, but it's great plain too. Next time you are in a lunch or dinner rut, give this a shot! It’s simple vegan food at its finest. Bowl idea inspired by Deliciously Ella.
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1.5 cups)
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 large carrot, peeled & julienned
- purple cabbage or vegetable of choice, shredded
- couple handfuls of greens for the base (optional)
- lots of hummus
- sliced avocado
- hulled hemp seeds.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread out the chopped sweet potato on one sheet. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of oil or so and toss the potatoes until coated. Sprinkle with fine grain sea salt.
- For the roasted chickpeas: Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then place on a large tea towel and pat until completely dry. Discard any skins that fall off. Transfer the chickpeas to the baking sheet and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub them around with your hands until lightly coated. Generously sprinkle with fine grain sea salt and your favourite spices. I like to use garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Toss gently to combine.
- Place both the sweet potato and chickpeas into the preheated oven. Roast for 15 minutes at 400F and then remove both. Flip the sweet potatoes and gently roll around the chickpeas. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, watching closely during the last 5 minutes. When the chickpeas are golden and the sweet potatoes are lightly browned on the bottom and fork tender, they are ready to come out.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa while the roasting is going on. In a fine mesh sieve, rinse the quinoa and then place in a medium pot. Add in 1.5 cups of water and stir. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then reduce the heat to low/medium and cover with lid. Simmer, covered, for about 14-17 minutes (you can check after 13 minutes), until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat and leave the lid on to steam for another 5-10 minutes or longer if needed. Fluff with fork.
- Assemble the bowl: Add a couple handfuls of greens into a large shallow bowl. I had some leftover Best Kale Salad so I used that for my base. When the roasted veggies and chickpeas are done, allow the chickpeas to cool for 5 minutes and then add them on the salad followed by the sliced avocado, hummus, shredded veggies, and hemp seeds. See picture for how I plated it.
- Serve immediately and enjoy! You can use dressing if you'd like, but I don't usually bother. If you have leftover sweet potato and roasted chickpeas, you can place them in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 400F for about 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Looking for a monster salad bowl? Try The Big Chopped Salad.
mmm…I know what I’ll be having for lunch today now. Thanks, Angela!
yumm! Get in my belly now! xx
this is one delicious bowl..quinoa and avocado with chickpeas are always so good together :)
Hi Angela, a quick question about the hemp seeds: I bought some a while ago, and they are in their “shells”, and I can’t find any information on how to use them, i.e., do I need to take them out of the shells ( I read somewhere that the shell is rich in minerals) or do I use them as they are? Thanks for helping:-)
btw, this looks like a really nice recipe, it’s been added to my list! thanks again.
Hi Kiara, Oh I should have mentioned shelled or hulled hemp seeds in my directions – I will add that in. To be honest, I’ve never bought hemp with their shells on. I just did a quick Google and it looks like some people eat them with the shells on and some shell them first. Here is how you can shell them: http://www.ehow.com/how_5942255_shell-hemp-seeds.html
If you want to eat them whole, I would probably soak them in water for a few hours first.
Hope this helps!
Yippeeee! Now I know what my dinner will be tonight :). Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow, this looks delicious! I think I know what I’m having for lunch now..
yum! this looks great! also, a quick question: where did you get your tree branch silverware?? those are so cool!!
Thank you :) They are from West Elm
I noticed the fork right away! So unique and pretty
thank you so much! I just bought one set…for blog photography. hahah
This is so beautiful – I almost don’t want to eat it, but that would be silly. And roasted chickpeas are my favorite. Happy 2014!
Veggies are so pretty. And I love your fork!!
I would devour that!
This salad sounds perfect! And it’s so pretty!
wow what a beautiful and im sure extremely tasty salad!
I love big veg plates. It kind or reminds me of this vegetarian restaurant we have in Ottawa (The Green Door) where I go all the time and get plates. They look a lot like the one in the photo :)
This bowl looks so nourishing and satisfying! I lovvee big bowls of STUFF :) Instagram is most definitely my favorite form of social media for the same reasons. I am browsing my feed constantly and it’s always making me hungry hehe
This looks delicious! We are snowed in right now, but luckily we have all of the ingredients to make that salad (except for the cabbage). I’m going to soak my dried chickpeas now so I can make this for dinner!
This looks perfect for continuing the post-holiday clean meals (after overdosing on cookies and other junk for about 2 weeks straight)!
Oh this is so BEAUTIFUL! My husband requested we eat less meat and more veggies in the new year (surprising since the only veg he ate was broccoli when we met!) so I guarantee this will be on our plates this week. Love the colors!
I love bowls like this, so filling and gorgeous! I agree with you Angela, Instagram is my favorite, a little peek into someone’s life : )
Well, yum, yum, and yum! I often throw things together like this but this one has mega inspiration, avocado, hummus, and sweet potato included.
I love simple, clean food like this. I don’t eat it nearly enough, though!
This is such a perfect meal!!! I always forget to make things like this, so thanks for the reminder. Love!
Yum! Simple, healthy, and filling. Perfect meal!
I love instagram, but I had to unfollow a few people who’s pictures were too “perfect” all the time… I mean, who are they trying to fool? Haha!
Love this! Sometimes (usually after the holidays or vacation) all I want is a giant bowl of nourishing veggies. A bowl like this is an awesome alternative to a salad.
I’ve been a vegetarian for about nine years, but I’m going weekday-vegan this year and I am definitely going to try this asap! I’ve never roasted chickpeas before but they look SO GOOD. Thanks for the inspiration!
This looks delicious!!! I’m going to try and challenge myself for 14 days vegan. Cake work, right? Well let’s see.
I already several times saw such dishes of salads, and I simply expire each time a saliva… It seems, I know that at me will be tomorrow for dinner ;)
All of my favorites in one convenient bowl! I love mixing everything in and getting a little bite of everything. I have to admit, my husband always teases me because when I serve myself, I can’t help but pretty everything up, whether I’m photographing it or not. I think it must be some sort of food perfectionist disorder LOL and I’ve had it since way before I started the vegan food blog. I’ll have to work on loosening up in 2014 ;)
Yum! This is my Meatless Monday recommendation for my patients and clients this week! Thank you for continuing to provide delicious and nutritious recipes to inspire health!
Beautiful! I think your lemon-tahini dressing is a REQUIREMENT on this bowl. Yum!
I’ve taken to adding some kimchi to bowls like this… Another delicious & nutritious way to get the good stuff in.
Happy new year!
My cat also will not let us finish games or puzzles. Vegan bowl looks yummy!
Hi Angela,
This is the first time I have commented on your blog! I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful recipes. I have made the homemade twix bars and also the lentil loaf! Both a hit! :) My boyfriend is a hunter (meat and potato eater) & myself (a vegetarian) and I can barely get him to try any veggie type dishes I make. He has liked both recipes and even helped me make them!
Thank you again!
Big bowls of veggies and lots of colorful plants are the way to go! I love adding roasted sweet potatoes or squash to my salads too. The color, the texture, the pop it gives – mmm, yours look so good! pinned
Looks beautiful & delicious and I just so happen to have the ingredients on hand. YEAH!
Thank you for all that you do!
Pinned!
K-
Will there be leftover quinoa or does it all get slpit btwn 2 bowls? I have no idea what a serving of cooked quinoa is :-)
Mina
Mmm this looks beautiful Ange. You know I’m a huge fan of big bowls of veggies! And thank you for giving me yet another inspirational Instagrammer to follow. I don’t know if it’s just me, but Instagram photos seem to be loading really slowly for me lately. Then I get all stressed out about it.. it’s like Instagram anxiety – a new disorder perhaps? ;) Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Gorgeous! I love doing bowl arrangements also, if the time permits–I got hooked on it after seeing my first ever bibimbap bowl!
Hi Angela! I’ve been reading Oh She Glows for a few years now, and I wanted to stop by and let you know how much I appreciate you and your writing. Today, I happened to get some crappy news and wasn’t feeling so hot about it, but your positivity really helped to cheer me up. So thank you! That is a wicked fork, by the way. :)
Hi Anne, Thanks for your lovely comment. I’m sorry to hear about your crappy news. :( I hope things are on the upswing for you soon! big hugs.
I love making meals like this! So many delicious, nutritious components in one bowl! Plus lots of different textures and flavors! The best!
Yum! I wish I could find something like this at a restaurant! I’m always left ordering a side salad and a baked sweet potato!
i’m DEFINITELY going to make this.
I am trying a no oil vegan diet and because this looks so good, I wonder if I could roast the chickpeas and sweet potato w/o oil, instead brushing them now and then with a little veg broth? Lovely healthy combination of vegetables. Thanks for the inspiration.
This looks beautiful and delicious. Any tips on how to make such pretty avocado slices?
What a beautiful bowl!
I absolutely LOVE your recipes. My hubby just made this for me to try and lift my melancholy spirits, and now–voila!–I’m feeling better. Your food is good therapy!
I’m a big fan of instagram because I get to see what my blogger buddies are doing outside of food. It’s nice to get a fuller perspective on their lives :) This vegan bowl is amazing! Love that it was inspired by instagram, and love all of the delicious healthful ingredients!
I wish some of the restaurants in my area would carry a vegan bowl like this! Is it to much to ask for a big bowl of veggies with some beans and grain!?
haha I always find myself asking the same thing… ;)
Funny you should write about this as I have been a long time follower of Deliciously Ella’s blog and I had this for lunch today. Delicious, really easy idea and can be adapted to personal tastes but still have the same overall effect :-)
If I had a personal chef, she would be required to read your blog every single day. :)
Hi…I’m wondering about the hemp seeds. Do you cook them or prepare them in any way?
Nope, there’s no need :)
This is my ideal meal- a little sample of everything. I’ve never tried roasting chickpeas, but I love the idea!
WOW, this looks SUPERB! I can’t wait to try this! I used to be the biggest salad hater and now I’ve tried a few good recipes I love them! I’m making your Best Shredded Kale Salad for a dinner party tonight, I can’t wait for my friends to try it.
I wish I had Instagram but I’m still dragging around a silly old Blackberry and my contract doesn’t end till May… but when it does, I’m getting a phone with Instagram. It looks like such a fun way to share photos.