A go-to recipe that’s a beautiful balance of nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and quality proteins.
I’m excited to share with you all one of my favorite go-to meals that I’ve been eating for years. I’ve finally come up with the perfect way to describe it—the nourish bowl. When I first shared one of my nourish bowls on Instagram, it became one of my most popular posts, and for good reason… it’s easy and so delicious!
The root of the nourish bowl is choosing nutrient-dense veggies, fruits/carbohydrates, healthy fats, and quality proteins to make a filling meal in a bowl. It’s essentially a macrobiotic bowl or macro bowl, so keep reading to learn the nutrition of a macro bowl and how to make your own!
Without fail, this is one of the staple recipes I eat at least once a day!
What Makes Up a Balanced Nourish Bowl
If you’re looking to make healthy and well-balanced nourish bowls, you’ll want to use my Foundational Five Nourish Meal Template.
The Foundational Five is the system I cam up with to make it easy for you to look at your plate and know you have a well-balanced meal, without needing to follow strict rules or count anything.
This template ensures each and every meal is packed with all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs so you can feel satiated (full), energized, and well-nourished so you can tackle your day and know that you’ve cared for your health.
The Foundational Five elements of nutrition include: Protein + Fat + Starchy or Sugary Carbohydrates + Non-Starchy Carbohydrates + Flavor Factor
A well-balanced nourish bowl contains all five of those elements!
Make Your Own Nourish Bowl Recipes
The best part about nourishing bowls is that the options are endless, and using the Foundational Five Nourish Meal Template, you’ll be able to easily visualize how to put together a bowl that is nutritious and delicious.
Proteins
Tempeh, beans, quinoa, and lentils (starchy-proteins), hemp seeds, nuts/seeds, nutritional yeast (not a “protein”, but loaded with plant-based protein). Vegetarian-friendly (ovo-, pesca-, lacto-): farm fresh eggs and wild-caught fish. Animal proteins: quality sources only.
Non-Starchy Carbohydrates
Spinach, romaine, arugula, kale, microgreens, sprouts, mustard greens, swiss chard, bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, snap peas, radish, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower
Healthy Fats
Avocado, olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, hemp seeds, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, truffle oil
Veggies
Starchy and Sugary Carbohydrates
Sweet potatoes, quinoa, millet, brown rice, wild rice, beans (starchy-protein), corn and peas (starchy veggie), trawberries, pears, banana, papaya, mango, grapes, raspberries, apples, etc.
Flavor Factor
Fermented veggies like kimchi or sauerkraut, homemade salad dressings (try my favorite Sweet Tahini Drizzle), kelp/dulse granules and flakes for added iodine and minerals, nutritional yeast, homemade hummus, apple cider vinegar (a must!), fresh lemon juice
Nourish Bowl Ideas to Try
- Foundational Five BBQ Tempeh Nourish Bowl
- Foundational Five Eggs, Beans, and Greens Nourish Meal
- Simple Sweet Potato and Greens Bowl
- Brown Rice Miso Macro Bowl
- Hearty Vegetable Bowl
TIP: Use your batch cooking day to prepare some of these nourish bowl ingredients ahead of time, like washing, cutting, preparing other veggies or grilling/baking/preparing proteins of your choice. It’ll save you so much time during a busy week.
On my batch cooking day, I’ll always have tempeh, beans, sweet potatoes, massaged kale salad, and roasted veggies galore to use throughout the week. The nourish bowl is the exact dish I use many of these prepared “meal components.” You simply start with a big bed of dark leafy greens, add your favorite toppings, drizzle a delicious dressing or squeeze of fresh lemon, and you’re good to go! Literally, lunch or dinner in under 10 minutes.
