Easy Bowl Recipes that'll Replace Your Lunch Salad

 by Katie Sweeny 

We’re all familiar with quinoa and how good it is for you, but even we can tire of having every lunch feature The Grain of the Year. But good-for-you bowls can be prepared with a host of other ingredients that sing, like soba noodles, farro, and your standby vegetables. And they’re not just a super-easy way to fit in your daily vegetable quota: They're also so easy to prepare in advance using just about any ingredient you have on hand.

Soba Noodle Bowl

Not all bowls require a grain: You can use a noodle as the base instead. This recipe does just that with buckwheat soba noodles infused with soy and ginger. Toppings include julienned kale, toasted walnuts, and black sesame seeds, but this versatile dish can be filled with whatever veggie, nuts, herbs, and seeds you prefer.

Kale and Couscous Tofu Bowls With Orange Tahini Dressing

Don’t have time to make brown rice? Use couscous instead. It takes just five minutes to make and works wonderfully in a bowl with lightly wilted kale, baked tofu, rich avocado, and snappy sunflower seeds.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Bowl

One way you can tell that a bowl is going to be scrumptious is just by looking at it. If it has a bunch of vibrant colors like orange sweet potatoes, green broccolini, and bronze chickpeas, you know you’re in for a taste treat. Be warned: The spiced chickpeas are addictive, so you might want to make extra to snack on!

Greek Quinoa Bowl

When you’re building your own bowl combinations, look to a certain country’s cuisine for inspiration. For example, this bowl is filled with traditional Greek flavors such as red bell peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and hummus. However, you could use quinoa as the base to make an Italian-inspired bowl with pesto, white cannelloni beans, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella cubes, and pesto. Or what about a French bowl with radishes, roasted pearl onions, endives, and a honey-Dijon vinaigrette? The culinary possibilities are endless.

Rainbow Veggie Bowl With Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

This colorful rainbow veggie bowl has a base of farro and lentils, topped off with burst-in-your-mouth cherry tomatoes, crunchy snap peas, and creamy avocado. Make sure you don’t skimp on the homemade jalapeño ranch! Every great bowl has some sort of flavorful sauce, and since this ranch is made with nonfat Greek yogurt and tons of fresh herbs, you can rest assured that it’s good for you.

Mexican Quinoa Bowl With Orange Lime Dressing

Take a trip south of the border when you bite into this Mexican-inspired quinoa bowl. It’s a vegan salad that’s full of black beans, corn, avocado, cilantro, and segmented oranges. Serve with tortilla chips, guacamole, and a fiery michelada, and you’ve got a meal that’s impressive enough to serve friends at an impromptu weeknight dinner party.

Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowl

These Vietnamese vermicelli bowls are to die for. While the noodles cook in less than three minutes, the protein (your choice of chicken, tofu, or shrimp) needs to be marinated in lemongrass Chinese-five spice mixture for at least 30 minutes (and up to 24 hours). We recommend prepping the night before.

Via Mydomaine