Who: Foodie friends
Friday nights are always such a drag. I want to celebrate making it through to the end of the week but I’m also too tired to do anything or host anyone, my house isn’t clean, dishes are still in the sink and I have no food in the fridge.
Enter my brilliant foodie friends who were busy planning without me. “We’re thinking of doing a ‘buddha bowl’ night,” one friend says to me as I’m pulling into work at 8:30am, 15 minutes later than I wanted to arrive. “Sure” I say, thinking to myself, what do I make for the kids.
Why: just because
Little did I know… when I arrived, I saw the most amazing spread with all of the toppings you can imagine. Here are some reasons why I thought this was such a great idea for a friends/family Friday night dinner:
- Everyone brings a few toppings/components, depending on their likes and dislikes.
- You can spread the prep work among those attending.
- The kids LOVED it, as they got to fill their bowl with whatever they preferred (the options were endless (there were tortillas for those who wanted to ‘wrap’ it.
- The husbands loved it. Although these bowls are vegan, we had to add some protein for the hubs. (Ours included steak, chicken, hard boiled eggs and shrimp.)
- The leftovers can be combined for a yummy lunch the next day.
- It’s healthy,
- delicious,
- sweet
- and savoury.
What: everything but the kitchen sink
Need I say more? Ok, so now you know the who and when. I’ll tell you about the what…
Here is a list of toppings/components to the bowls I tried. The possibilities are endless however.
Grains/Legumes
- quinoa
- brown rice
- roasted chick peas
- roasted beans
- roasted lentils
Vegetables
- oven roasted sweet potatoes
- oven roasted kale
- carrots
- cherry tomatoes (raw or oven roasted)
- mashed avocado
- cucumbers
- red and yellow peppers
- raw or steamed broccoli
- raw or steamed cauliflower
- edamame
- raw or steamed snap peas
- marinated eggplants, artichokes
Dips/Dressing
- red pepper dip
- guacamole
- beet hummus
- garlic hummus
- vegan baba ghanoush
- tahini dressing (tahini, maple syrup, honey, lemon juice)
- berry compote/reduction
The idea of a Buddha Bowl Bar is great, not only for Friday night dinners… it would work well for cottage, camping or Sunday meal prep for the week ahead. Enjoy and let me know if you try this.