Health Bowls

Working from home today and planning to test drive a car later tonight. Fingers crossed.

I read this Get It Done Tip in Real Simple Magazine.  The article talked about how if you are short on time you can mix and match things you have on hand to make a "Health Bowl" — an ingenious mix of grains, vegetables, and anything else in the pantry and fridge (leftovers!) that you can toss together for a healthy quick feast.

Real Simple’s food editors tried nearly 100 combinations of ingredients to come up with this deliciously versatile mix-and-match list of about 50. Keep your health bowl simple, or max out with something from every category.

Grains

• Quinoa
• Brown rice
• Farro
• Barley
• Bulgur

Greens

• Romaine
• Red leaf lettuce
• Arugula
• Watercress
• Mâche
• Radicchio
• Kale
• Swiss chard
• Purple cabbage

Proteins

• Steak
• Chicken
• Fish (canned, smoked, or freshly cooked)
• Cured meats
• Beans (black, cannellini, butter, chickpeas, kidney)
• Eggs (hard-boiled, poached, or fried)

Vegetables and Herbs

• Radishes
• Snap peas
• Snow peas
• Tomatoes
• Avocados
• Scallions
• Herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, tarragon)

Cheeses

• Feta
• Goat
• Ricotta salata
• Gruyère
• Parmesan
• Aged Cheddar
• Any creamy cheese (like Camembert or Humboldt Fog)

Wild Cards

• Nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts)
• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower)
• Kimchi
• Marinated artichokes
• Olives
• Capers

You can find some sample Health Bowl recipes here. Keep handy for those crazy days when you don't have a lot of time to fuss. Enjoy!