FOOD+NUTRITION By Traci Freeman
Meal Prep: Plant-Based Whole Bowls It’s no secret that eating whole foods and plant-based meals are great for overall wellness and to stay on track toward health and fitness goals. But let’s be honest, have you ever been beyond hungry with nothing in the fridge or pantry to create a quick, nutrient-dense meal? In this situation, it’s easy to resort to processed food, pizza delivery, or fast
food. Not ideal—but okay once in a while. As the saying goes, “You can’t outexercise a poor diet.” A silver bullet to solving the “I’m-starvingand-there’s-NOTHING-to-eat-dilemma” is weekly meal prep. It’s an excellent tool to ensure a quick, well-balanced meal, that won’t derail your healthy eating goals, is always at your fingertips.
Preparing multiple veggies, proteins, and grains on a weekend afternoon can set you up for a week’s worth of lunches or dinners. Below are plant-based meal prep tips to serve as a refresher for some or a springboard for others. Also included are a few dishes that are so easy they don’t need a recipe and are easily adaptable based on your taste.
Protein This article highlights plant-based whole bowls. However, feel free to add an animal protein if they are part of your diet. These bowls are meant to be flexible and give you inspiration to be creative with the components. The two recipes below are tasty preparations for plant-based proteins.
BRAISED LENTILS (Adapted from Food 52 and the Zuni Café Cookbook) Ingredients: q 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Roasted Vegetables
q 1 /2 cup carrots, diced
Roasting intensifies the flavor and natural sweetness of vegetables. You can save time by roasting different veggies on separate sheets using the same oven temperature.
q 3 /4 cup onions, diced
1. Preheat oven to 425F. 2. Wash and prepare produce. Save stems and leaves for homemade vegetable stock or add to the compost bin. For composting made easy in the Memphis area, check out the Compost Fairy. 3. Cut veggies into bite-sized pieces and mix with extravirgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other preferred seasonings. Have fun with your spices! 4. Transfer veggies to a sheet tray lined with foil or parchment paper for quick clean-up. 5. Roasting time will vary based on the vegetables, but 20–35 minute is a good place to start. 24
q 1 /2 cup celery, diced q 1 bay leaf q 1 1/4 cups lentils (ideally Beluga/black lentils)
q 1 or 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional) q 4 to 4 1/2 cups water, vegetable stock, or a combination q H imalayan pink salt (or sea salt)
Directions: 1. In a medium-sized pan, warm the olive oil over mediumlow heat and add the carrots, celery, and onions, along with a few pinches of salt. Stir occasionally for about five minutes. 2. Raise the heat slightly and add the lentils, bay leaf, optional thyme, and 2 cups of the water or stock. When the lentils begin to simmer, lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, and adding small amounts of additional water or stock as each is absorbed. After about 30 minutes, the lentils should be nutty but tender and just slightly wet. (You may have water or stock left over.) Salt to taste.
