The VIDA Bowl — a healthy helping of feel good

The VIDA Bowl is a crazy healthy, fun, fast and delicious bowl of feel good. If you don’t like an ingredient or have a food sensitivity, have some fun and adjust it. We all come in different shapes and sizes so some of us need or want a few more calories and some of us could use a few less.

A large amount of the calories in this meal will come from quinoa/beans, avocado, hummus and your choice of dressing. Have no fear, this bowl can be big and can fill up even a mega eater like Theo. This is about a 700-calorie meal, filling, but not heavy.

Have fun and change whatever you want to! We are constantly ad-libbing or being spontaneous with it. Add or subtract anything you want from the recipe. Make it your own. Be creative!

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa or beans of choice or both
• 3-5 cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups of mixed greens (suggest spring mix)
• 2-3 large forkfuls of sauerkraut (we regularly make it or grab some from the farmers market)
• 1/4 of a cucumber peeled and cubed, or sliced
• A handful of sunflower sprouts
• 1/2 of an avocado sliced
• 1/3 cup Beet Hummus (recipe below). You can use any hummus you want, but this makes the dish.
• Lemon Tahini dressing (or your favorite)

Ayurvedic option: Add the Vaidya Vegetable Mix (below).

Directions

We love using a big bowl and assembling this in any manner of a way that looks good. We typically put the spring mix in the bowl and then put each these around the sides in little groups:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Sauerkraut
• Beet Hummus
• Quinoa

Then, spoon the Vaidya vegetable mix on top, layer the avocado slices, and place sprouts on top. Drizzle dressing over it or on the side. Voila!

Beet Hummus Recipe

(You may be able to buy this pre-made in a health food store.)

• 1 roasted beet (small to medium)
• 1 15-oz. can cooked chickpeas, mostly drained. Or 1 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas from scratch.
• 2 large cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 lemon juiced (same lemon from above)
• 1 healthy pinch salt and black pepper
• 2 heaping Tbsp tahini (ground sesame seeds made into a paste)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Peel and quarter the roasted beet and place it in the food processor. Blend until it is just small bits. Add everything except the oil and blend until smooth. Drizzle in the olive oil and mix.

If it is a bit thick, add small amounts of water. Adjust lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

This will make 6 small servings.

Vaidya Vegetable Mix

Have fun with this any way you want. We found this at neat little yoga-centric eatery and loved it. Prepare this in advance or keep it on hand. It is nice to have in the fridge.

Vaidya is a Sanskrit word meaning physician, generally referring to a practitioner of Ayurveda.

• 1-2 carrot shredded
• 1/4 beet (not cooked) shredded
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/4 tablespoon vinegar of choice
• 1/2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/4 lemon: juice and zest

In a bowl, whisk together ginger, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, and the oil. Mix in the shredded beet and carrot

— Kim and Theo Hanson