Deeply Dishy!

According to my newspaper yesterday ‘you’re nobody if you don’t eat from a bowl this year’. For, thanks to Nigella and Gwyneth, eating from a bowl is the default order for fashionable foodies this year.

Well forgive me for sounding boastful but I think we have been bang-on-trend and ahead of the curve here at #bariatriccookery for a little while now. Whilst we, for the main part, portion our foods onto our bariatric portion plates (to ensure we get the right proportions and eat in the right order) for a good many meals, when the mix is all high-protein, we invariably pile it into a small bowl or serve in our new portion, cook and serve cups.

We’re not talking comfort food here (although it can be comforting) as in nursery stodge,

but food that can be simply spooned or forked out of a bowl so that each mouthful is satisfyingly the same as the one before. It’s perfect for eating away from home because it doesn’t need cutting or combining, dipping or twiddling around with a fork. Needless to say we ensure that it’s healthy and #bariatricfriendly as well as nutritiously satisfying. Lean proteins, vegetables and wholegrains are the classic bowl-friendly foods and a good example is our recipe below.

What I like about bowl food is that it really appeals to #bariatrics who find bigger offerings just too overwhelming. You can relax with them knowing that portion control has already been considered and that prepared judiciously they provide a balanced meal with everything happily nestled next to one another. They’re also not limited to just a dinner or entree style meal – you can make great bowls for breakfast, lunch and supper too.

So why not start with this one …it’s a complete vegetarian meal but you could add a few slivers of cooked meat or poultry, flakes of fish, or grating or crumbling of cheese if liked to boost the protein further or satisfy a meat-eater. It’s also a great recipe to try out rice again for those who to date are rice-intolerant – mixing wholegrain rice with beans and quinoa just might work better. On the other hand you could replace both with cauliflower rice or couscous (see here).

And for those who look at the nutritional stats and worry about the fat content, remember that most comes from the avocado (so good fats) as my daughter amply illustrated when she sent me this message in the New Year. So go ahead and ENJOY!

SPICY WHOLEGRAIN BOWL WITH TOMATO AND AVOCADO

Ingredients

METRIC/US

a little olive oil or low-fat cooking spray

1 medium egg, beaten

250 g/8 oz cooked quinoa and rice (I used a 240 g pouch Seeds of Change Quinoa and Wholegrain Rice mix)

400 g/14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1-2 tsp harissa paste

1 ripe baby avocado, peeled and diced

2 spring onions/scallions, chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

Method

Liberally spritz a large frying pan with low-fat spray then heat until moderately hot, or heat a splash of olive oil in a pan. Add the egg and cook for 1 minute, scrambling until set. Turn out onto a plate.
Spritz again or add a further splash of oil and add the quinoa and rice mixture, chickpeas, half the tomatoes and harissa paste, mixing well. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until piping hot. Return the cooked egg to the pan and mix well.
Meanwhile, mash the avocado with the spring onions/scallions, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the spicy rice between bowls, spoon the mashed avocado mixture and remaining chopped tomatoes on top and scatter with the coriander/cilantro. Serve at once while warm.

SERVES 2

WLS PORTION: 1/2

V suitable for Vegetarians

CALORIES PER PORTION: 425

PROTEIN: 17.3 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 45.6 g

FAT: 19.5 g

Image courtesy of Waitrose