My friends and I have been trying to be a little healthier of late. We have cut back on the booze, are trying to take more exercise, and, of course, eating better. While eating better we are still insistent our food is delicious. Insert meals like the grain bowl.
Grain bowls tend to follow a certain fail-proof formula: Grain, protein, bits, and sauce. Doesn't it seem sooooo simple? So why do so many taste like dust and regret? I think it's because people fail to treat EVERY element with attention and kindness. If each ingredient isn't given attention, tasting good solo, it amounts to nothing but disappointment when put together.
The Mediterranean Grain Bowl pictured starts with brown rice (A dusty tasting contender if ever there was one!). Solution? Salt! Give your rice pot a good pinch of salt and the nutty flavour of the whole grain rice will be lifted up, not in need of dusting off. Ugh. Next, I've made sure to not over cook the chicken so that we aren't doubling down on dusty flavours. My favourite way to make sure chicken breasts are juicy? Dry Poaching. EVERY TIME. Dry poaching will revolutionize cooking chicken breasts for you, if you don't already know about it! And then I drizzled some balsamic syrup over the breasts for extra oomph.
For the veggies I roasted the broccoli and the tomatoes, making an impromptu vinaigrette in the tomato pan by using olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
And finally, the grain bowl was finished with the joyous addition of some basil pesto; bright and herb fresh. (Just before serving I also added a few walnuts I had sitting on the counter, as much to use up the walnuts as for a bit of added crunch.)
For foolproof gain bowl recipes, if you aren't into making up your own, I really like Bowls of Plenty. What's your go to source for your favourite breakfast, Buddha or supper bowl?
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