Anti-inflammatory Buddha Bowl
The amazing thing about Buddha bowls is that you can mix them up as much as you like! They are a great option to take to work or when you´re on the GO because you can cut up all the ingredients ahead of time and in the morning quickly put together your bowl.
Today I created a Buddha bowl by including nutrient dense plant based ingredients that are known for their anti-inflammatory properties.
These bowls are considered whole meals!
Here’s how to build one:
Unless you have been diagnosed with a disease that makes you intolerant to grains, cutting out grains from you nutrition plan is not a smart idea. Grains, which are carbohydrates, are the main source of energy for our brain and body.
Carbohydrates are broken down into smaller sugar molecules called glucose, which is our body´s and brain´s fuel.
Without an adequate amount of stored glucose in the body, other nutrients, such as fat or muscle protein, are utilized to make energy. With the correct amount of carbohydrates available to muscles, protein can be free to do its main job of repairing and rebuilding muscle tissue, which maximizes muscle gain.
The important thing to know is how to choose the right fuel!
My favorite grains are: quinoa and brown rice but you can use buckwheat and couscous for your Buddha bowl as well.
Quinoa, which is technically a seed, contains 8 grams of protein per cup but you can compliment this by adding another plant-based protein such as: chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, tempeh or tofu (make sure your tofu is organic). I decided to add garbanzo beans but you can also add it in the form of hummus, organic brands are available or making your own hummus is easy as well.
Different vegetables contain different vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, as well as fiber and hydrating water.
That is why it’s so important to make your food colorful by adding a rainbow of vegetables. To make this an anti-inflammatory Buddha bowl I added spinach, blueberries and mashed baked sweet potato, chia seeds and a dash of turmeric (Turmeric is a great thing to add to homemade hummus as well).
I also added organic cherry tomatoes and cucumber. It’s important to understand the fruit-vegetable ratio, 2 servings of fruit a day is recommended while vegetables should be at least 5 servings. Also I recommend choosing fruit that have low glycemic indexes, which means they are low in sugar such as: apples, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, oranges etc.
Fat is one of the three macronutrients that your body needs to grow, to reproduce other healthy cells and maintain your body functioning correctly.
Healthy fats assist your body in the absorption of other nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E, and K), we use them to produce hormones in the body, and fat is stored around organs to protect them from damage.
Examples of healthy fats are: olive oil (found in the hummus that I love to add), sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and avocado. I decided to add avocado to this particular bowl because it’s my absolute favorite healthy fat!
Fermented foods support healthy gut bacteria, which plays a crucial role in healthy digestion, absorption and immunity.
Prebiotics and probiotics are two nutrients that are involved in this area. Prebiotics come from the plant fiber and feed the bacteria in your gut.
If you eat a variety of different whole foods you will be sure to get enough of these to feed your own gut bacteria. Probiotics (or friendly bacteria) are contained in fermented foods such as kimchee, sauerkraut and kefir. They’re also in some yoghurts and fermented drinks such as kombucha. They grow in these foods through the fermentation process.
