Healthier eating for summer weather - Greens + Grains Bowls - Options are ENDLESS!

Greens + Grains Bowls - Options are ENDLESS!

Hello All! It's been a minute, I realize! I wanted to start things off on a good note, and am posting something I believe is so good for you, and so tasty! Especially since summer is right around the corner. We get busier, we want to sit out in the sun and have a light meal, maybe we work out at lunch time and want to return to our desks with something not too heavy! All of those are ME for sure! Most importantly, I'm going to lay out a system for you here, so you can make not just one, but many for the week, and have them at your finger tips. This is going to seem long, but honestly, if you do all your prep at once, you'll have enough to simply scoop and create your greens + grains bowl in a minute and be done! And, as long as you keep your ingredients separated, they will likely stay crunchy and fresh all week.

So, having now moved to The 704, and being a foodie, working with foodies, we get out A LOT. And, two places have had me wanting - no CRAVING, their food at home - Cava, and Yafo. Both are Mediterranean style "create your own" bowls, some with greens and/or grains (like we're going to do here), and then a host of different sauces and toppings, which we'll also go into. You also have a choice of your proteins, from falafel, chicken, beef, pork and even lamb (tasty, but so fatty!). What we're going to focus on here today is chicken, which I'll give you two ways to prepare on the grill - lemon and oregano (Greek inspired!), and balsamic and honey (Italian inspired). You could use tuna fish, tofu, garbonzos, or even sliced grilled tuna for your protein, but choose wisely!  Choose HEALTHY!

GREEN INGREDIENTS:

I picked the following, which can all be chopped/sliced/prepped into separate containers for future bowl building. 

• Arugala
• Mixed greens with spinach
• Cucumber (thinly sliced or chopped)
• Red onion
• Red and Orange peppers (chopped or thinly sliced
• Red Cabbage (shredded)
• Feta cheese crumbles (go easy! 1 T per bowl)
• Hummus (go easy! 1 heaping T per bowl)
• Cilantro (chopped)
• Italian curley parsley (chopped)

Optionals:

• Dried cranberries
• Dried cherries
• Harissa
• Grilled peppers
• Grilled red onions
• Mint - cilantro - grilled jalapeno chutney
• Olives (Spanish, or Kalamata)
• Tzatziki sauce

GRAINS:

I picked a couple easy ones to cook, that give you a chewy-ness, something different and not ho-hum by any means, and definitely healthy!

Farro:

• 1 C Farro
• 2 C Water
• 1 t Better than Bullion, concentrated chicken broth
• 1/2 t Salt

1. Bring the water, chicken broth and salt to a boil. 
2. Add the farro, cover and set for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the lid, and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until tender but chewy and the water is nearly gone. Set aside to cool.

Quinoa:

• 1 C Quinoa
• 2 C Water
• 1 t Better than Bullion, concentrated chicken broth
• 1/2 t Salt

1. Bring the water, chicken broth and salt to a boil. 
2. Add the quinoa, cover and set for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the lid, and set aside to cool.

PROTEINS:

I used chicken for this - something simple, high protein, and easy to cook that could be done while the above grains are cooking. In fact, I cooked the chicken, and washed the grill pan by the time the farro was done. (Just sayin'!)

Next, let's talk marinades, which you can put your chicken breasts or boneless skinless thighs into for about 4 - 6 hours and they'll be flavorful:

Greek inspired:

• 1/2 C Lemon juice
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2 T oregano, crushed
• 1 t garlic powder (or four cloves of crushed fresh garlic!)
• 1 t onion powder

Italian inspired:

• 1/2 + 1/8 C Balsamic vinegar
• 2 T honey
• 1/8 C olive oil 
• 1 t garlic powder (or four cloves of crushed fresh garlic!)
• 1 t onion powder

Grill the chicken on a hot grill pan or on the BBQ grill for about 3 minutes per side, max. Pull them off, and cover lightly. They will continue to carry over cook and will be fine

Love my grill pan!

ASSEMBLY:

So, here's the thing- there's really no wrong way to do this! Put some greens in the bottom of the bowl, maybe some shredded cabbage, carrots, diced cucumber and red onion salad with Italian parsley (simply chop all ingredients, marinate in red wine vinegar for 10 minutes with a touch of salt; only make enough for one serving as it won't keep), cilantro, parsley, then some grains (maybe a 1/4 cup of each), maybe a couple tablespoons of beans (especially garbanzos or cannelloni beans), a drop of humus on the side, maybe some walnuts, or slivered almonds, maybe a couple slices of hard boiled egg? Then, slice some chicken (or other protein) and lay that on top!

Now, you can get creative and add artichoke hearts, beet salad, other things, but let's keep this simple for now!

Top this with a light vinaigrette, or simply with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and I promise, you will not be disappointed! 

Let me know what you think of this!