Soul-warming food is the perfect end to chilly winter days. Try this tasty, healthy forbidden rice bowl and be glad you did!
As the temperature drops and the days get shorter, I love coming home and making something hearty, warm, and packed with nutrients. This is the best type of dish to snuggle up with on the couch; fleece blanket and all, filling up on soul food. I love making different bowls filled with greens, grains, and sprouts. During colder months, I tend to use more grains and sweet potatoes, and during warmer months, I incorporate more greens and in season vegetables. One of my favorite bowls is my forbidden rice bowl!
When it comes to bowls, I love different textures and flavors. I always add a crispy texture to give it a great crunch, a sweetness to balance out any bitterness in the bowl, nuts, seeds, or grains and spices and herbs. Together they create a masterpiece that will leave you wanting seconds.
I used organic dinosaur kale in this recipe but you can use any kale that’s available. Kale is low calorie and high in fiber. Kale is rich in vitamin A and is also an incredible detoxifier for your body and organs. Like carrots, sweet potatoes are high in beta carotene which is considered an antioxidant and plays a crucial role in eye health! I use sprouts in my everyday cooking. They contain a huge amount of enzymes that help our body function every day. Sprouts are also very alkalizing to the body which helps fight off disease and cancer.
Forbidden rice, also known as black rice, can be found at your local health food store. Forbidden rice is filled with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants and protein! This is a great alternative to refined white rice.
I roast my sweet potato the night before. After it is done cooking, I let it cool and place it in the fridge. It saves a lot of time for the next day. I also make my dressing the night prior and place it in an airtight container. The dressing can last up to four days in the fridge.
Forbidden Rice Bowl
Ingredients:
Dressing:
- 1 ripe avocado
- **1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup basil
- 1 tablespoon hemp oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Himalayan salt
**You can substitute the cilantro for parsley
Bowl ingredients:
- 1 sweet potato, cubed
- 1 cup cooked forbidden rice
- 1 cup sprouts
- 1 cup steamed kale
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap sweet potato in tin foil and bake for 45 minutes–1 hour. Remove foil and let cool. Place in fridge until ready to use.
2.) Blend all dressing ingredients together. If the mixture is too thick, keep adding 1 tablespoon of water until desired consistency
3.) Cook forbidden rice as per directions
4.) Place chopped kale in a steamer and let cook for 10–15 minutes
5.) To assemble, place sprouts, kale, sweet potato and rice in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing and serve
Optional: Top with hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, or nuts.
Finish dinner off with a great dessert like this peach cobbler!
