Buddha Bowls

Buddha bowls are very much in vogue at the moment and there are a thousand variations on the internet. I'm not sure why I like them so much – perhaps the name itself makes me feel it must be healthy – but Buddha bowls are a favourite of mine when I want to feel nurtured and righteous!.

The idea behind Buddha bowls comes from the ancient tradition of the Buddhist monks receiving food from local villages. The monks would wait patiently with their small food bowls near a village and the villagers would give them whatever they could spare, so the bowls would have a variety of different things in them. Traditionally, of course, the food would have been vegetarian as the monks would not have eaten animal produce and the amounts would have been small, unlike some of the photos you see on the internet.

So this isn't so much a recipe as ideas on putting a Buddha bowl together – in the spirit of the tradition, this variation is vegetarian, but feel free to add meat or fish to your liking.

The bowl is usually build in layers with the first layer being a carbohydrate; traditionally this would almost certainly have been rice but adjusting it to Primal principles, I am using quinoa. The second layer is a variety of brightly coloured salad veggies that make it look appealing and add to your intake of antioxidants, then it is topped with a protein and a light dressing.  I think the mindful attention to the aesthetic appearance as you assemble the bowl adds to its appeal and calming qualities.

​