You Can Do It!

So how are those New Year's healthy eating resolutions going now that we are a few weeks in? Ok, we get it. This is about that time that you may be getting sick of it and ready to ditch all those well meaning goals for 2017. And that's where we come in. This post is just for those of you ready to fall off the healthy eating bandwagon. We promise, you CAN do it! Though healthy eating as a sustainable change does take extra planning and preparation. This recipe is your fresh start - with simple food preparation one day out of the week you have many healthy meals that reheat well. So let's get going!

We find that healthy eating is much more doable when you aren't shopping and cooking fresh meals every day of the week. It is important to have some meals that can be stored and still taste well when reheated later in the week when you just need a day off from meal preparation. This saag protein bowl is just that. First, saag is an Indian dish of cooked spinach and spices. It will make you feel super healthy when eating it because you'll remember just how much spinach went into the recipe (a whole pound to be exact!). Since spinach cooks down to a much smaller portion size, it is easy to eat a large portion of this super green when it's cooked. The ingredients for this dish may look like a lot but are all pretty standard food items that you may already have around the house, other than some spices that you may need to add to your collection for Indian dishes. This recipe takes under an hour to prepare and makes a large quantity, so plenty for meals during the week. As mentioned, it reheats very well without creating any "off" flavors as meat based dishes can when re-warmed. In the interest of time (that can be spent food prepping), on to the recipe.

Saag Protein Bowls
PREP TIME: 45 mins
TOTOAL TIME: 50 mins
Servings: 6 bowls

Ingredients
Saag
1 lb organic spinach
2 small or 1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp ginger juice or 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
3/4 can full fat coconut milk
2 tsp coriander powder  
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp curry powder (we used masala curry)
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Rice
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp sea salt

Cauliflower
1 head organic cauliflower
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted 
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp sea salt  

Tempeh
8 oz organic tempeh
2 Tbsp ginger juice or 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
2 Tbsp garlic chili paste

Chickpeas
1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp sea salt

Toppings
1/2 cup toasted pepita seeds
1 -1.5 cups plain Greek yogurt (optional if not making bowls vegan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium pan combine 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coconut oil, and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Bring to a boil, then reduced to a simmer and cover pan with a lid. Continue cooking until rice is soft and the water has been absorbed, about 30-45 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, wash and chop cauliflower into bite sized pieces then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add melted coconut oil, paprika, and sea salt then use your hands to evenly coat the cauliflower pieces. Place in preheated oven and roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender. 

To make the saag, add coconut oil and chopped onion to a saute pan on medium heat. Cook onions until translucent and golden on the edges, about 7 minutes. Add chopped garlic, ginger juice, and spice mixture to onion and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, place spiced onions in a food processor or blender and blend or pulse until mixture comes together and is roughly chopped. You do not want to over blend the mixture and should still be able to see full pieces of onions. In the same saute pan you cooked the onions, wilt the spinach working in batches until a full pound of spinach has been cooked down, Add cooked spinach to the food processor or blender that contains the onion spice mixture and blend or pulse until spinach is roughly chopped but not liquefied. Place blender contents back into the saute pan, add coconut milk, stir to combine, then simmer for 15 minutes.

While the saag is simmering, cube tempeh into bites sized pieces then add to a pan along with chili garlic paste and ginger juice. Cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes stirring often, until tempeh has warmed and absorbed the chili and ginger. Drain and rinse the chickpeas then place in a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. 

To assemble a bowl, add ~1/6 of the prepared rice, roasted cauliflower, tempeh, chickpeas, and sagg. Top bowls with pumpkin seeds and plain yogurt (if desired). Divide the rest of the ingredients among 5 more bowls fitting with air tight lids and place in the fridge for quick, healthy, flavorful, high protein meals all week long! We recommend keeping the yogurt separate and adding once you have re-warmed your saag bowls on the stove-top or in the oven at 350 degrees. If choosing to keep this bowl vegan, skip the yogurt and add a touch of full fat coconut milk to the top of your bowls. 

How right were we? You can absolutely do it! With a little extra thought and preparation, healthy eating can be a sustainable change for you this year. Remember that the extra time spent preparing will pay off when you feel great and achieve your personal goals. We hope you enjoy the kick of spices, variety of vegan proteins, and hearty dose of daily greens that this protein bowl provides. We've been full and satisfied with this recipe so far this week.

Enjoy,
Jess and Cecelia