Kale Quinoa Harvest Bowl with Ranch

Yum

Hi guys! Super happy that you dropped by, because I have the most delicious bowl to share with you! These bowls are packed with plant- powered protein, veggies, and LOTS of flavor. They are definitely worth the effort, and when I say that, it’s not even that much you guys. I’m all about maximum impact with minimum, to maybe medium, amounts of effort. Bottom line… these Kale Quinoa Harvest Bowls take a little under an hour to prepare, they are addictively delicious, and you’ll get a whopping amount of nutrition in one dish! Oh, and you’ll probably have enough for lunch the next day, so.. WIN! (Did I mention that my kids and their friends LOVE these?)

I’m going to let you in on the inspiration for these lovelies… Las Vegas and Amy’s Organic Harvest Bowls! I know, most people don’t associate Las Vegas with healthy food but here’s how that happened for me… Last year we took a trip to Las Vegas, and had the most amazing time! Have you ever been on a trip where everything was so perfect that you just want to do the whole thing again, just the way it was? Well, this was that trip. We visited some of our favorite people there, had a blast with the kids at the Pinball Museum, the Shark Reef and of course, the fountain show at the Bellagio. My husband and I went to see Eric Church at the Hard Rock – AWESOME show – and I even got to take a special photographer’s only tour of the Neon Boneyard! SO COOL! We had fantastic vegan food at Violet’s Vegan restaurant while we were in town too!

So, one night while we were there, I was looking for easy dinner ideas and decided to go over to Whole Foods and get some TV dinners for everyone. There are actually a couple of Whole Foods Markets in Vegas, and one is super close to the Strip. I spotted Amy’s Organic Harvest Bowl and even though I was not a fan of quinoa at the time, I thought I’d give this bowl a try. I cooked mine, added a little ranch dressing, some black pepper, and OMG you guys!!! So glad I gave these a try! Not only do I actually like quinoa now – I’ve been obsessed with these bowls ever since. OBSESSED.

So, I’ve been treating myself to one of these bowls, pretty much every time I go to the grocery store, and appreciating all of the different flavors in it. One of my favorite parts of this bowl is the the little pieces of savory, tangy tofu in there. I knew after one bite, that I would eventually have to figure out this flavor combo for myself! So, that’s my inspiration for these bowls. I still buy them because they are extremely convenient, but I have started to make my homemade version for the whole family on a somewhat regular basis too.

Now let’s talk about what makes up these amazing bowls, and how you can make them in no time at all. I buy the quinoa, kale, and broccoli frozen, because I can get it organic, already washed and chopped, and that greatly cuts down on the amount of time needed to prepare these. You could definitely start from scratch if you like, but I’m laying out my hacker plan here….

I use my Instant Pot to steam the sweet potatoes, because it’s pretty quick,  and I can warm the frozen veggies by steaming them in my regular steamer pot, and both things can be happening at the same time.  The bag for the quinoa says you can steam right in the bag, in the microwave, but I can’t even. Really. I’m buying organic quinoa – I’m not going to cook it in a plastic bag. Microwave it in a glass container if you’re going to microwave it, or heat it in a pot. All you have to do for the beans is add a little spice (see recipe) and warm them as well. IMO, the tofu is really the star of the show here and you will need to marinate it, and then simmer it in a pot. *Want a soy free version? Use double the amount of beans and simmer them in the marinade for the tofu. You may need to cut back on the tamari, if your beans are already salted.

The tofu gets marinated in a savory, tangy mixture of Miso, ginger, apple cider vinegar, and tamari. (That probably isn’t exactly what the sorcerers at Amy’s use to create that magic tofu – but it’s close, and it lives up to my expectations. You’ll probably find yourself fantasizing about what else you could use this tofu for…. burritos? salad wraps? pasta? etc…. if fantasizing about tofu is something you do… I’m not the only one, right?!) Full instructions will be in the recipe below. I use Follow Your Heart Reduced Fat Vegan Ranch for this bowl (and on SO many other things!), but if that option isn’t available, you can make your own (recipe below), or use one of the other vegan Ranch dressings out there. (Daiya makes one and so does Organicville – I haven’t tried them because I either make my own, or use the FYH brand.) Top this bowl with some pumpkin seeds and you’re good to go!

Here’s a little video that shows how I put these together!

That’s pretty much it. You can assemble them keeping everything separate, or you can put it together like I do in the video. Either way,  you are in for a treat! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. If you would like to receive more recipes like this one, delivered to your inbox, please sign up for my email newsletter, or connect with me on social media, so you won’t miss a thing!

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Kale Quinoa Harvest Bowl with Ranch

Author: Angel McNall, Cheftographer Blog

Recipe type: Bowl

 

Nutty Quinoa, crisp tender broccoli and kale, luscious sweet potatoes, and tangy, savory tofu, in a bowl, topped with vegan ranch and pumpkin seeds! So much Flavor, so much Nutrition!

Ingredients

• 3 C cooked Quinoa (or 1 (12oz.) bag frozen quinoa from Whole Foods)
• 4 C chopped cooked kale (sprinkled with a pinch of pink Himalayan salt - opt.)
• 3 C steamed broccoli florets
• 4 C cubed orange sweets potatoes (yams), approx. 2 medium sized potatoes, steamed
• Miso Ginger Tofu:
• 20oz. extra firm vacuum sealed tofu - cubed
• ½ tsp. minced fresh ginger
• ¼ C Apple Cider Vinegar
• 4 Tbsp. Red Miso
• 4 Tbsp. water for marinade, + ½ C more for cooking
• ½ tsp. granulated garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. granulated onion powder
• ¼ C tamari
• 1 Can organic pinto beans
• 4 Tbsp. Aquafaba (liquid from can of beans)
• ½ tsp. cumin powder
• Vegan Ranch Dressing for serving (store bought, or make your own with this recipe)
• Raw Pumpkin Seeds for topping

Instructions

1. Begin by cutting tofu, into 1 inch cubes. Mix marinade ingredients together and pour into a baking dish. Add the tofu and marinade for at least 1 hour.
2. Peel and cube sweet potatoes into large chunky pieces or slices. Steam in a steamer basket until soft but not mushy. If using an Instant Pot: Add water (about 1 C) to the stainless steel pot. Put trivet (comes with IP) into the pot. Put sweet potatoes in a steamer basket and set on trivet. Set to "steam" for 7 minutes, and start.
3. Put tofu and marinade into a small pot with the additional water and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
4. Combine pinto beans with cumin powder and about 4 Tbsp. of the liquid from their can (aquafaba), if beans are unsalted, add a small amount if desired.
5. Warm frozen broccoli and kale by steaming in a steamer pot until warm (or warm in microwave).
6. Warm quinoa.
7. When all ingredients are ready, begin assembling bowls (see video above). I do it like this: Quinoa, beans to one side, tofu to the other, broccoli around the outside, kale in center, sweet potatoes on top, and then drizzle with vegan ranch, sprinkle with black pepper, and then about 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds.
8. Recipe makes enough for 4 large bowls, and if you add another bag of quinoa, you can probably get 6-8 bowls out of it, depending on portion size.

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