Power Bowls – Plant-Based Dinner

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If you follow me on Instagram, you know we’ve been chatting about grocery budgets and meal planning! I shared with you that my goal this year is to grocery shop once a week and to meal plan for the entire month at once to help organize my shopping. Below is our January Family Dinners Meal Plan, I hope it gives your inspiration or ideas for what to cook for your family this month!

Many of you messaged me on Instagram after I shared my Power Bowls on IG Stories asking for the recipe, so here it is! I love this recipe for so many reasons. You’ll see from the recipe and photos in this post, I veered off the meal plan calendar just a bit this week adding in some yellow bell peppers and tomatoes and then no olives. While I don’t mind having so many repeat meals in the month as it does help make meal planning easy for me, switching up an ingredient or two can really help the meal not feel so redundant.

Besides tasting great, these Power Bowls are also so incredibly healthy and good for you too! I love that these bowls are packed with fiber. Fiber is important to support hormone health, gut health, bowel regularity and blood sugar levels.

Plant-Based Recipes For Kids

My kids eat the same dinners that we do, however, I’ll offer the dinner in a different way. For example from this meal on a plate I added black beans, potatoes, yellow bell pepper, avocado and then a little salad with the dressing my kids prefer. Both my kids like the ingredients separated versus in a big bowl, so they enjoy a deconstructed version of this power bowl!

How Does Fiber Support Gut Health

Consuming foods with fiber is important for gut health, bowel regularity and immune health! Did you know that 70% of your immune system is found in the walls of your gut? Eating a variety of plants, around 30 different plant foods per week, has been shown to feed good gut microbes and in turn support your immunity! Prebiotics found in plant foods feed your healthy gut bacteria, known as probiotics. These probiotics release short chain fatty acids (SCFA) into the body, which help regulate the function of immune cells!

I love that this Power Bowl recipe contains over 11 different plant-based foods in one meal (including the dressing!)

Health Benefits of Avocados

Avocados are an excellent source of potassium, antioxidant vitamin E, B vitamins (which give us energy), fiber and monounsaturated fat. Half of a medium avocado contains approximately 7 grams of fiber! Fiber is important for maintaining gut health. Optimal gut health is important to help lower your risk of inflammation.

Adding healthy fats to a meals such as avocado, is a great way to increase satiety (feeling full longer) and manage blood sugar levels which is important for energy and hormone health.

Health Benefits of Beans

Beans are a great way to consume plant-based protein. Research has shown that just 4 servings of beans per week can lower your rise of heart disease by 14% (1)! A plant-based diet rich in beans may also improve brain function (2). The long-loved Blue Zones populations, eat about 1 cup a day of beans. There are so many amazing benefits to consuming beans plus they are very budget-friendly.

Plant-Based Family Dinner Recipe: Power Bowls!

Power Bowls

Print Recipe
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato orange, yellow or purple
  • 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
  • 1-2 head romaine lettuce chopped
  • 2 cups black beans drained & rinsed
  • 1 mini cucumber sliced
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes
  • 1 yellow bell pepper sliced
  • 4 cooked beets sliced

Instructions

  • Rinsed & scrub the sweet potato, cut away any bad spots. Chop and toss with coconut oil.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
  • Spread in a baking dish and roast in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. Stirring twice.
  • Turn the oven up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and roast for 15-20 minutes. Until the spuds are soft and the skin is crispy.
  • Build your Power Bowl and top with dressing of choice, my go-to is our Cashew Caesar!

Notes

This recipe serves 4 people.
With a power bowl like this, the ingredient amounts are not important! You can add as much or as little of each item as your heart desires!
Servings: 4

Dairy-Free Caesar Salad Dressing

This is my favorite dairy-free caesar dressing! It’s so flavorful, creamy and the cashews provide a healthy fat and fiber to this recipe. To note, this recipe only works with cashews, other nuts will not yield the same look, texture or flavor.

Cashew Caesar

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cashews – soaked overnight drained & rinsed
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon capers with water
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon liquid aminos
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch black pepper
  • Pinch sea salt

Instructions

  • Add everything to a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.

Notes

1) Occasionally I will add a dash or two of nutritional yeast.
2) If you prefer a caesar with a kick (and immune boosting power) swap the garlic powder for a clove of raw garlic!
3) Quick soak the cashews with boiling water for just 30 minutes.
Servings: 4

Plant-Based Program & Meal Plans

If you’re looking for more plant-based meal plans, check out the Plant-Based Program here! Included are meal plans with grocery shopping lists to make meal time and grocery shopping organized and easy. Learn more here!

Sources:

1: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/186/8/E252

2: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25961184/

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