Yields: 1 serving
Looking for a fun way to dress up a salad? Try this protein buddha bowl! This is a great recipe, especially if you have some leftover cooked chicken or chicken substitute you can just toss right in. I personally love this salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, however, almost any vegetable(s) you have available work just fine.
My sister (aka my best friend) and I created this recipe my sophomore year of college and her senior year of college when we were both stretched for time. Baby tomatoes (cherry or grape) are our absolute favorite! If you put a whole bucket of them in front of us they would be gone in seconds. The Quinoa is the only ingredient that takes some time, but it is also low maintenance so you can still do some work while it cooks. Most people don’t know this, but quinoa is actually a great source of plant-based protein. If you do not have quinoa, brown rice works as a substitute or you can choose to leave it out entirely. Any dressing can be substituted, but I generally pair this buddha bowl with a home-made honey mustard dressing–unless I’ve run out, in which case, store bought is also perfectly acceptable!
Ingredients:
- Bowl
- Spring Mix (~ 2 Cups — more or less to liking)
- Baby tomatoes (a handful)
- Medium Cucumber (½ Cucumber)
- Cooked chicken or chicken substitute (½ cup – 4 oz)
- Quinoa, cooked (½ Cup)
- Dressing – Honey Mustard
- Dijon Mustard (¼ Cup)
- Honey or Maple Syrup (2 Tbsp)
- Garlic Powder (¼ tsp)
Directions:
Start by preparing the quinoa or brown rice. Follow the directions on the package for water to quinoa ratio. Both of these grains can be made in bulk and used in other recipes. Make as little or as much of this as is desired.
While the quinoa is cooking, if you do not already have prepared chicken or substitute, now is the time to cook it. You can use frozen or fresh–whatever you have available to you. I like to cook mine in a pan with 1 Tbsp of olive oil to get it a little crispy.
Now you can chop your cucumber and baby tomatoes (or whatever other vegetables you choose). I like to taste big pieces of both so I always cut large pieces but you can adapt to your preferences! Then, add spring mix, tomatoes, and cucumber to a medium bowl and set aside while making the dressing–or getting some work done (;
Add all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and mix until smooth. This dressing can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Once the chicken and quinoa are done cooking, add them to the buddha bowl and top with dressing. Enjoy!
