Even though it’s the dead of winter and all I want to do is crawl under the blankets with some hot cocoa and a chocolate bar, I’ve been making an extra effort to increase my veggie intake. The more veggies I eat, the more chocolate I can have, after all. It’s simple math. Some days it’s easy to forget how great I feel when I’m fueling my body with a rainbow of plants; they keep me sane during the cold, dreary days of winter. Food has this amazing power to influence my mood (much like exercise) and I often tell myself that feeling better is only a meal (or workout) away. It really is true! So keep this in mind if you are feeling the effects of a long winter like I am. Healthy eating begins with the very next meal…
I go through vegetable phases all the time. Right, now I’m hooked on cauliflower (enough to turn it into creamy alfredo which you seem to be enjoying a lot!), cabbage (via sauerkraut…lol), and sweet potatoes. Always sweet potatoes. This tasty lunch is something I threw together recently and I loved the combo so much I decided to share with you. The main event is an energizing black bean and sweet potato quinoa salad. The only thing I missed was a sliced avocado (I opened it up and it was all bruised…sigh), so if you have some around definitely throw it in.
In addition to the salad, I added roasted sweet potato rounds (because you can never have too much sweet potato on a cold winter day), roasted cauliflower, hemp hearts. and a big ‘ol scoop of hummus for good measure. Since I already had the salad made in advance, all I had to do was throw the veggies into the oven to roast while I tended to other things. It came together quite fast! Three cheers for leftovers.
This isn’t so much an exact recipe I’m sharing today, but more of a show and tell to hopefully inspire you to create your own. I lightly adapted one of my favourite quinoa salads from last year (see link below), and then added in other things to create a filling and feel-good lunch bowl! Oh by the way, as my sister discovered last weekend, this quinoa salad is also fantastic in a wrap with hummus and other veggies. A very good idea, I’d say!
For the bowl:
– Black Bean & Quinoa Salad (I made it with roasted sweet potato instead of carrots – loved this variation so much!)
– 1-2 cups chopped roasted cauliflower
– 1 sweet potato, sliced into rounds and roasted
– hummus, as needed to get your daily quota (the salad is so good mixed with some hummus, FYI)
– hemp hearts, for garnish (adds more protein and healthy fats…and let’s not forget edible confetti)
~~~
So there you have it. A mood-booster-in-a-bowl.
Is it spring yet?
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{ 109 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmmm, looks great! I’m always looking for lunch ideas.
that looks phenomenal, I love all of the colors!
This looks amazing! I wish I could have it right now. I think these ingredients are gunna have to be on the list for my next store run!
I LOVE throwing everything in one bowl and so true you can never have enough sweet taters :) I made this “One Bowl Wonder” with cauliflower last year and loved it
I could do with this right now (and speaking of blankets, I’m sitting under one at work because it’s sooo cold and even 2 cups of tea hasn’t managed to warm me up yet!) Gorgeous photos Ange!
Oh I feel ya Ange! I’m sitting about 4 inches away from the jumbo space heater. My leg might burn off, but oddly enough the rest of my body is still cold? lol. Stay warm!!
Yum – just the sort of inspiration I’m looking for!
I LOVE adding roasted veggies to salads and using hummus as a dressing. Beautiful photos — per the usual. :)
Angela,
This is so inspiring! Just when the blahs of the winter vortex are getting to us, Angela to the rescue!
I love your math ;)
Eating roasted veggies and waiting for it to get warmer sounds like a treat to me! I love your math! More veggies does equal more chocolate any day… :)
Mmm, that looks so good!! Oh yeah and “The more veggies I eat, the more chocolate I can have, after all. It’s simple math.” I like your math skills! ;-)
I also boost my mood with exercise and yummy, healthy food! I’m in love with your banana chocolate chip muffin tops right now… So good!
This looks amazing! Nothing beats a hodgepodge of foods in a bowl + a spoon.
Angela, girl, I used to follow your blog faithfully, but then fell out of the blog world (I sent you several emails asking for help to overcome my ED)
Now I am back and I am so proud of your growth <3 I hope one day to have 1/5 the success you have had.
cm.
Welcome back Caitlyn! I am so happy to hear from you again. xo
I’m a recent convert to sweet potatoes. I think I finally got over the years of forced Thanksgiving consumption. Just added some roasted little cubes to a creamy risotto the other night and it was delicious–balanced out the saltiness of the risotto nicely! Your rounds of them are so pretty here!
Thanks for this idea! I love cold roasted sweet potatoes, and as I, too, have been trying to drastically increase my veggie intake, this is a great inspiration. As always, thank you for sharing!
I was just contemplating what to have for lunch today. Problem solved! As for the weather…sigh. Currently with are having a blizzard, enough of a blizzard to cancel school, which they NEVER do here. But never mind that, it is -41 F wind chill. Sigh. Stay warm, indeed! Sigh.
This looks so good! I have been obsessed lately with adding roasted sweet potatoes to salads. It just adds so much flavor and good bulk to the mix! :)
Mmmm there is just something about sweet potatoes hey? I used all mine up in African sweet potato soup (with peanut butter!) but this is going on the list for the next bag! Looking forward to your cookbook, I have it on preorder!
Isn’t it funny- before becoming vegetarian/health conscious, I thought the only thing to eat for lunch was a sandwich with cold cuts and a processed granola bar and cheezits. It amazing how many tasty things you can make with a bunch of plants :)
That looks so good! I like the sweet potato variation of the quinoa and bean bowl. I hear you about the weather, Canada is sooo cold right now!
Please, can we avoid perpetuating the image of Canada being populated by polar bears & Inuit? I live on the west coast & have been weeding my flower beds in a sweat shirt all day. My heartfelt sympathies for those of you freezing to death (been there, done that, over it), but not *all* of Canada is in a deep freeze. Weather aside, this recipe is going to be tomorrow’s lunch. Fabulous!
This looks amazing! Do you always make your own hummus or do you ever use store bought? If so, what brand do you buy? I have always loved hummus at middle eastern restaurants but as a new vegan I feel like I should incorporate it more into my daily meals but I hate being stuck with hummus breath! Any tips for that too? :)
I love making my own, but I go through it waaaay too quickly to keep up! hah. The brand I buy the most is Sunflower Kitchen (it’s made locally).
i love this idea. there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of warm veggies. simple fact.
I often (ok, probably too often…there’s a good chance I might drive everyone but my husband insane with this habit) quote lines from Austin Powers movies, and my immediate response to seeing this bowl of delicious veggies was a hearty “Get in mah belly!” a la Fat Bastard. It looks and sounds amazing, and all those warm veggies are just what the doctor ordered amidst the latest polar vortex nonsense.
This one is on the “to make list” for sure. I too am on a cauliflower kick right now, what is that about, I used to hate it. On a side note, I made your enchiladas last night (for the whole fam, hubby and two kids, 8 and 11) we all devoured them. Even hubby agreed (sometimes he’s a hard sell), that avocado cream totaly made it. It tasted so sinful, yet it was not. Thanks again Angela you food genius you. Stay warm!
That black bean, quinoa & sweet potato salad looks great. Hard to go wrong with any of this! Big bowls of veggies are the way to go :)
Pinned it! That looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
-Bethany
positivethinkingpositiveliving.blogspot.com
Love this. I’m so ready for spring, too!
I loveee the more veggies=more chocolate theory : ) I was wondering, what are the hemp hearts like? I haven’t seen them but want to try them out!
Your Feel Good Lunch Bowl looks great! I’m always looking for new recipes with hemp hearts and I love all of the ingredients you chose.
Thank you for all that you do!
Pinned!
K-
I adored your big vegan bowl recipe so much I can’t wait to try this! :DD
I wanted to dive right into your bowl after seeing the first picture of it. I love loading up on a big bowl of veggies – sweet potatoes are my favorite winter addition! I like to hit up a salad bar (like Whole Foods) and try new veggies as well as the many salads they make. It’s my usual treat after I take a yoga class. Talk about feeling great!
So many of my favorite foods in one bowl!!
love this kind of bowl..you can never have too much sweet potatoes or hummus in a bowl.
Hi,
I was wondering if you make the hummus or you buy it? If you buy it what brands do you like? You are amazing
Hi Carla, I’ve been loving a local brand called Sunflower Kitchen lately. I make it when I have time, but I go through the stuff way too fast to keep up it seems!
This looks so good! It looks like it delivers the perfect mix of creamy and crunch. If only I could download it and eat it….LOL!
— Alex at brainyGirlsBeauty.com
Oh wow! I completely agree with you, exercise and good food does wonders for my mood. Then again, if I need to eat a big slab of chocolate, I will do that as well. It’s important to trust your instincts. I’m very much looking forward to trying this recipe! xoxo
OMG this just made me call in my dinner order to the Thai restaurant. Delicious.
I’m been putting together some awesome lunch bowls lately–it is just so addictive coming up with different combinations! Yours looks great!
This looks so wonderful and filling. I love all the ingredients!
This looks very filling and tasty! I might have to make this tonight as I have all the ingredients on hand. Perfect for next day lunch leftovers. Since you’re on this cauliflower kick, any chance you have experimented with cauliflower crust pizza? I’m dying to know your thoughts on that!? I’m going to attempt a 2nd go this weekend as the 1st try didn’t pan out the way I hoped for. I live in Seattle, WA. It’s dreary we’re counting days til spring as well.
I love the way you think! I’ve been juicing more to increase my veggie intake and it really makes me feel better about eating a piece of chocolate after dinner :)
I’m constantly searching for lunch inspiration- it’s the one meal that I have a really hard time with. I can’t figure out why!
This looks amazing though! Plus, the ingredients are something I can have prepared ahead of time so I’ll have no excuse not to have a healthy, delicious lunch.
Thank you! xoxo
Love’n the bowls!
My favorite from a local Berkeley restaurant, Cafe Gratitude (source: some random blog):
seasonalvegan.com/winter/i-am-whole-bowl/
The “sauce” would be great on lotsa stuff.
I didn’t have the sea palm or kelp powder but it’s still great without it.
I really love the idea of one bowl meals. Somehow they make the meal seem so much more substantial and cozy!
There was a snow storm in NYC yesterday so unfortunately I couldn’t go grocery shopping. Instead I spent most of the evening browsing through your recipes and found a lot of things I could make straight from my pantry! Thanks for the endless inspiration & ideas :)
Yum, this looks amazing! So fresh and vibrant. It’s so true that we feel our best when we fuel our insides with the best. Love it!
DELURKING TO SAY:
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This post reminded me that I really need to get to the store today and buy some more colorful veggies to go on the falafel and rice bowls we’re planning to take out of the freezer tonight. Parsley, I think, is not going to cut it on a day like today. :)
I recently became vegan after being vegetarian for 8 years. You have made the transition so much easier for me. Thank you. Bought your book last month, anticipating its arrival! This dish is so great because being that my husband hasn’t yet converted, (he will eventually, wink, wink) I have many left overs. I am trying so many new and exciting recipes, flavors that I never imagined! Thanks again. Don’t ever stop!
By the way were wearing shorts here in Las Vegas some days.
Hummus is absolutely a necessary salad component, I agree! This looks amazing and so easy once you have some basic prep done- love it!
Hey Angela, Hope your well, as I am dedicated to going to school and once in a while when Im not studying (math and bio) I also take online classes, well when you take online classes here in Las Vegas you can set up at profile, you know a pic, some background info, and ALSO — If there are any links to cool websites that interest myself , I noted ohsheglows,com and one other raw vegan food blog that im obsessed with, its so other people can see what interest myself and I noted you. not a biggie, just thought id let you no. Have a PEACEFUL day, Angela….
A bowl is a fabulous way to get many nutrients and flavors. Thanks for the great idea!
Hi Angela,
I remember somewhere reading about if we pre-ordered your cookbook you were doing something about an e-book with some recipes. Was this in your newsletter? I can’t find that email. I haven’t seen anything else on this – is it still in the works? Please advise. Thank you very much! (Can’t wait for your cook book!)
This looks great! It’s summer here in Australia but that isn’t going to stop me from making this sometime soon! Hope spring comes quickly!
Sam xx
smart-twenties.com
This looks like just the thing I was craving and didn’t even know it. More importantly- I truly LOVE your new profile picture! It’s GORGEOUS! You literally are absolutely GLOWing! Thanks for sharing your talents and recipes with all of us foodies :D
Veggie bowls are the best! They’re just so easy to put together which I reckon makes them taste better too (even though they taste awesome already).
Here in Perth, Western Australia, we’re sweltering… what I would give to swap a few days of weather with you! lol
Robyn xx
This is my kind of meal; leftovers galore!!
This is definitely the perfect cold winter day bowl! Love roasting sweet potatoes and cauliflower. I’ve recently started adding hemp hearts to my salads as well. As far as hummus goes, I will make a HUGE batch, then freeze it in 1-2 cup portions. It can be frozen up to 6 months (mine never lasts that long). Simply take it out of the freezer and once thawed, give it a stir. Works like a charm.
Look- I am all over the food blogs and yours is simply amazing. Easy, creative and delicious. Thank you so much for putting it out there for us. I have made many of your recipes and I have yet to be disappointed. Again, thank you for sharing. -Amber
This sounds great! I make a quinoa salad that’s almost identical to this, except I also toss in tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado – the lime juice and the press of the quinoa keeps the avocado surprisingly fresh and free from oxidization. I’ve never thought of tossing some other roasted vegetables in with it – I’ll have to try it!
OK – this looks amazing!!! It is freezing here too- but I truly love it because we get to hibernate a bit, make yummy warm food like this and go to bed early :-)…Oh yes, I know how to live!
Made your cauliflower alfredo last night – oh my – I LOVED it! My family did not know what it was (I called it cheese sauce as they are vegetarian and eat cheese – though they knew it was vegan cause I was eating it) and ate it up – even had seconds- and even my picky son (who does not like ‘warm cheese’ and is obsessed with his cheese always being straight from the fridge) liked it. My boyz have a race today so pasta was the perfect pre race meal- thanks for making it interesting – and delicious! for us :-)
Enjoy your weekend!
I can not wait to try this!!
This is a great way to help one eat more baggies during the winter. I know I have to make an effort to do that, and salad just doesn’t float my boat unless it has a grounding aspect to ti, which this does! Thanks!
Oh Yum!! My kind of lunch or dinner!! ;)
xoxo ella
i LOVE YOUR RECIPES. Keep up the good work.
I LOVE your bowls!!! I look forward to seeing more updates!!!
p.s. I totally understand that exercise helps mood – it raises your endorphins!
I was wondering where you got your twig cutlery from
they are so pretty
Hi Kate, It’s from West Elm :)
thanks so much…for the recipes to I am actually making it right now
my daughter and I love it sooooo yummy!!
This looks so good, and so filling. Yum!
brightsidefilms.com/
This looks amazing! So healthy yet it looks incredibly delicious! I will have to make this for my family! I also make vegan recipes if you’d ever like to check out my website. XOXO
Hi! First, I want to say this looks AMAZING. This blog inspired me to go vegan and learn how to cook. I am a teenager so my parents were really against me going vegan at first, but I learned how to cook so my mom wouldn’t have to make extra meals for me, and now I cook and bake for them all the time. If it weren’t for OhSheGlows I would probably have given up. So thanks Angela! :)
I also have a question… I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask but maybe someone could direct me to a better place? I eat a lot of really healthy food like this – whole grains, legumes, fruit and veggies, nuts and seeds – and I exercise daily. I don’t eat huge meals that make me over-full. Despite this, I get severe stomach aches and bloating at least one day almost every week. I was wondering if this was something that all vegans experience because we eat such high-fiber foods? Or maybe we are deficient in healthy bacteria that other people get from yogurt? (I know someone is going to mention gluten but I don’t eat many things with gluten anyway and I don’t think that’s the problem.)
Sorry for posting this here but everyone seems so friendly and I don’t know where else to ask. Thanks!
I started taking a probiotic a while ago and it’s helped a lot with digestion! I also eat lots of fermented foods (like sauerkraut) several times per week as those have healthy gut bacteria too. Just a couple ideas you might want to try. :)
Thanks for the advice. Where do you get your probiotics from?
We think I might have a nut intolerance but we’re approaching this cautiously because a vegan diet is already relatively limited when it comes to protein and right now I think I get half of my calories from peanut butter :)
Wasn’t I supposed to do something with my receipt for my pre-order? I read it in the newsletter, but I’m so efficient that I deleted it after reading it to keep my inbox clean. Now I have my pre-order receipt (ordered 2 copies!) and can’t remember what the offer was.
This looks like a big ol’ bowl of greatness. What a wonderfully balanced meal!
Great recipe! By the way, what do you have under your iPhone? Is it a binder, a coaster? It looks so beautiful, where did you get it? : )
Thank you, it’s a notebook from Indigo :)
I could eat a different “bowl” like this every single day without getting tired. They’re just so filling, energizing, and delicious! It really shows you how good fresh and simple food can taste and make you feel.
Thank you so much for this amazing looking recipe! I love healthy recipes and I will look forward to trying it out and sharing it with my followers at TianaGustafson.com. As Arnold says “I’ll be back” :) Thanks again!
This looks delicious!!!
I am in LOVE with roasted veggies! I know what I’m having for lunch today;)
I recently discovered the amazing combination of sweet potatoes with tangerines. It would make a great addition to this bowl. (Also try tangerines with avocado – in tacos, burritos or bowls with beans, greens and peppers – sprinkled with cumin, coriander and ground ginger – yummmmy!)
The feel good lunch bowl turned into a fabulous dinner. This was absolutely deelicious!!! I added cucumber, tomatoes and avocado. SO yummy…will make this ALL the time. Thank you :)
What do you mean, “enough hummus to meet your daily quota”? I should be eating hummus everyday? Please embellish.
Much Love,
Beginner among beginners,
Toni
haha nope, that was just a joke! ;)
We just had this for dinner a few days ago and it was so good. We had roasted curry cauliflower on the side as well as the sweet potato rounds. We ended up with a giant sweet potato to go in the salad and added chickpeas to go with the black beans. It was very tasty, but the added material meant it could’ve used more dressing. I think I would put the dressing on when eating it, I found that the dressing (which was really good) kind of disappeared after the salad had sat in the fridge for a day.
Ohhhh yum. Pour over a bit of tahini sauce, and I am all over this. <3
Bonjour,
Is there a French version of your book?
Your recipe are only in English on the website…
It’s a shame! Everything looks so good.
I’m sad.
I will have to ask my editor if there will be translated versions. Thanks for your interest!
Thank you. Keep me informed. Please
Wow.wow.wow.
The title and photos caught my attention originally, and this evening I finally got around to making this for dinner. And, it was SO good, SO healthy and SO satisfying, I had to comment for the first time.
Mind you, I’ve been extremely impressed with most every recipe I’ve made of yours – you really have a gift for creating incredibly delicious, healthy recipes, like this one … that my not-so-into-vegan husband said was delicious, and both my little ones gobbled up happily!
I’m anxiously awaiting my (well, your) cookbook to arrive! :)
Thank you so much!
Do you use any oil to roast the vegetables?
Made this for dinner tonight, added mango to the black bean salad, gradually converting my husband to the vegan way of life! Have made many of your recipes over the past month or so and all turned out fantastically! Thanks so much for being so inspiring and proving food that promotes health doesn’t have to be boring!
I enjoy your blog.
dsmith
I made this today/night…..I would have to say its the best salad I’ve Ever tasted!! Thank you for uploading it!
New to this…..LOVE YOUR BLOG. So much goodness there.
made the squash burritos…LOVED them. WeIll be having that again this week. Couple questions…..
What is edible confetti.
How do you roast your cauliflower ?
Thanks so much!
I absolutely love you blog, for the past few months I have been trying to change my diet and your blog is a massive help. Thank You!
I made this for dinner tonight and love it! I love all the flavored together and the cumin dressing is awesome. Thanks for this recipe! I bought your book today and can’t wait to start trying everything.
lovely and cozy recipe!
Yum!! This bowl looks so good and like something I would eat for lunch everyday! Although where I live was about 80 degrees today, I could totally use a warm delicious meal like this! Also, I have that same notebook and use it to keep all my recipes in :)
I made this for dinner today (so it rather was a “feel good dinner bowl” lol) with just some tiny modifications. It tasted SO good! Thank you for this recipe, will definitely make this more often from now on!
I modified this recipe a bit, specifically buying a few of the ingredients and then throwing in some of what I already had on-hand. It is so delicious! I’ll definitely be putting this one into rotation, and it’s easily adaptable. I’m constantly trying to mix things up and keep the lunches that I bring to the office interesting, which can be challenging. Thank you for inspiring such a satisfying, colorful, vegan meal!
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Shannon! I agree, it’s always great to keep meals interesting :)