Hello friends! Happy new year!
If you follow me on instagram, you're probably aware that I spent the holidays hanging around a hospital. My mom had a fairly major reconstructive surgery on her spine just before Christmas, so I flew to Vancouver to be with my family during that time. I packed all kinds of books, knitting, episodes of Grey's Anatomy, and enough edited photos to crank out at least four blog posts, which I thought I'd merrily tap out at my mom's bedside while she recouped. It ended up being a much more intense couple of weeks than I think any of us expected, and though I lugged my computer and my book and my knitting between my sister's apartment and the hospital each day, it all sat virtually untouched for the duration.
Though it wasn't the easiest of trips, there isn't anywhere I would have rather been, and the way my family rallied together filled my heart to bursting. This year was all about presence, not presents, and from that respect it was a very good Christmas.
After two weeks of consuming a diet that was essentially hospital cafeteria food and snacks (i.e., cheese), it's good to get back into my kitchen and put some wholesome food into my belly.
This bowl full of goodness is something my mom and I made together when we last cooked together, and so I've dubbed it Heather's Hallelujah Bowl. It has fairly basic beginnings and from there is open to interpretation. A bed of whole grains go down first - in this case brown rice - followed by whatever vegetables you like, some cubes of crispy fried tofu, and some crunchy almonds. It can be enjoyed hot or cold and mixed up any way you like.
So what pushes such a humble bowl of ingredients into a hallelujah situation? You guys, the dressing. It's a creamy combination of some of my favourite things; nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, soy, tahini... so much yum! If the portions seem a bit crazy, just know that the dressing recipe makes almost enough to bathe in. You could cut it in half, but it'd be a real shame since once you try it you'll want to douse pretty much everything in it. For real - and I don't even like salad dressings usually! I have cut the oil down a bit from the original, and there is probably room to cut it down a bit more if you wanted to. My advice is to keep it as is and use the dressing in moderation on a big beautiful bowl of brown rice and veggies. Hallelujah!
One year ago: Orange Braised Broccoli
Two years ago: No-knead Bread
Three years ago: Next Level Hummus
Heather's Hallelujah Bowls Recipe:
If you've cooked your grains ahead of time this recipe comes together really quickly. I like to cook up a big pot of brown rice, farro, or quinoa at the beginning of the week to use in meals throughout. You can also freeze cooked grains in individual portions for busier times. I've included proportions for four Hallelujah bowls, but like I said, you'll have much more dressing than what you need. Leftovers will last a couple of weeks in the fridge, and I don't think you'll have trouble using it up.
Recipe Adapted from Whitewater Cooks
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For four bowls:
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup grated carrot
2 cups spinach leaves or other greens
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 pkg (250g) firm tofu, cubed
½ cup toasted almonds
For the dressing:
½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
â…“ cup water
â…“ cup tamari or soy sauce (I use Braggs)
â…“ cup apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoon tahini paste
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Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the cubes of tofu until they're browned on all sides. Lightly steam the broccoli and cauliflower florets - just for a minute or two until the broccoli is bright green. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and drain well.
Whisk all dressing ingredients together, or use a blender to emulsify.
Layer brown rice into the bottom of four bowls. Top with spinach, grated carrot, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, tofu cubes, and almonds. Top with dressing (go moderately!) and serve immediately.
Okay, so the dressing here is full of all kinds of good and nutrient rich ingredients, but it also packs a pretty good caloric punch. Go moderately - a little goes a long way!
Broccoli is good for you, right? It is a great source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and high broccoli consumption is thought to be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease and some cancers. Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable, in the same family as broccoli, kale, and cabbage, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits. Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. It is a great source of vitamin B5, potassium, dietary fiber, and a good source of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins B1-3, and iron. Brown rice is a source of dietary fiber, manganese, selenium, magnesium, and tryptophan. Did you know that the process of converting brown rice to white rice destroys 60 - 80% of the vitamins and minerals, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids? Think of white rice like cake, it's a special occasion food and should be eaten in moderation. Brown rice, on the other hand, is a whole food with a myriad of health benefits from colon health to cholesterol lowering. You can have your cake and eat it too!
Anita Menon
Hope your mom in the best of health now. This bowl full of goodness is just kind of detox meal I need in my diet. The yeasted dressing is new to me. But I am intrigued enough to try making it myself.Thank you for sharing.
themuffinmyth
Thanks Anita! My mom is doing really well, thanks for asking. This bowl is all kinds of delish and the dressing is amazing - I hope you give it a try!
Deepika Srinivas
This looks and sounds really yummy! I can't wait to try this out tonight 🙂 Like the way you have detailed your page and the variety.
themuffinmyth
I hope you liked it! Let me know how it turned out for you 🙂
laurasmess
This sounds incredible!! Healthy, delicious and gorgeously tasty with that tahini and tamari dressing. Trying this for weeknight dinners next week. Yum! Thanks
themuffinmyth
It's super delicious! I've been packing this for lunch for the last 2 weeks (am nearing the end of the dressing now...) and it's every bit as good each time I have it. Yum!
Sarah
Had this for dinner, with a couple minor adjustments (based on what was on hand)-- it's fantastic! I suspect this will become a new staple in my kitchen! Thank you so much for the recipe!
themuffinmyth
I'm so glad you liked it! I adjust it all the time depending on what's on hand. Sometimes with another grain (quinoa this week) and whatever veggies and proteins I've got handy. It's really the dressing that ties it all together.
erika
Oh my gosh YUM!! I don't know why I seem to get your blog posts sporadically emailed to me (I didn't get this one but saw it on instagram), but glad I saw this one!! I need to start doing this. Lately I've been getting home around 8 after kickboxing and I don't feel like cooking so I just snack on like.....cheesecake. Or cereal. Bad bad. So smart to cook up a big batch of everything before the week gets started. I resolve to do this next week!
Also have you heard of Angelica Kitchen? This kind of reminds me of their dragon bowls.
Oh and I hope your mom is doing okay! Sorry to hear that you spent your holidays in the hospital, but I'm glad you got to hang out with your family! Those presence instead of presents moments are important sometimes (and I love the way you phrased that).
themuffinmyth
I hear ya, Erika! If I get home tired and hungry I'll reach for whatever is easy - usually crackers or cereal or something like that. Since whole grains take so much longer to cook, I find having some pre-cooked is absolutely essential if I want to be reaching for them during the week. You can make up a whole bunch of these bowls in advance (hold the dressing) or, as I more often do, toss some grains into my lunch containers followed by handfuls of raw veggies, something for protein, and a little jar of dressing on the side. I haven't heard of Angelica Kitchen, but I'll be sure to check it out! I love dragon bowls! A vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver, where I grew up, had the best dragon bowls. My favourite had brown rice, steamed veg, sesame potato wedges, cheese, and the whole thing was smothered with miso gravy. Yum! Something I've been meaning to recreate for ages.
I wonder why you don't always get the emails. Do they go to your spam box, or do you straight up not get them? And thanks for the kind words. It was definitely nice to be there.
Jasline @ Foodie Baker
This is a bowl of nutrients and vitamins, looks so delicious!
themuffinmyth
Thanks Jasline!
Ella
you copied this from mynewroots.org. Hers is way better.
themuffinmyth
Actually, I adapted it from the cookbook mentioned in the recipe notes. If I had been inspired by Sarah's bowl, I would have credited her here. Angela from Oh She Glows also posted a bowl yesterday - it's bowl season!
Cammy
What a patient and gracious reply. 🙂
kellie@foodtoglow
I hope your Mum is recovering well. She and your 'local' family will have appreciated you flying over. But that cafeteria food plays havoc on your gut, that's for sure. I did that off and on for a year. Subway was our best option... Anyway, it is good to be home, I'm sure. In charge of what goes in your body. This looks like something i make for myself occasionally, but I am looking forward to trying your nooch-ey dressing. I shan't bathe in it however 😉
Now I know you are on Instagram I will look you up and follow!
themuffinmyth
The hospital cafeteria actually had a decent salad bar, but I fear I strayed towards the comfort foods more often than not. T'was the season, after all, and a trying one. But yes, it was great to be there, and now it's great to be back to my healthy eating routines. The noochey dressing is so good you just might bathe in it, mark my words!
Kathryn
Welcome home, I hope your mom is continuing to recover well and you can start to recover from the stresses of the last couple of weeks. A bowl full of goodness seems like an excellent place to start.
themuffinmyth
Thanks Kathryn! A bowl of goodness feels SO GOOD after all that hospital food and cheese. Here's to a healthy and happy 2014!