in my κούκλα era

Food has always been an important part of my life–in a Greek household, the kitchen represents the center of the family. It’s where you bond, share and show love over family dinners, holidays and everything in between. It’s no surprise then that in my adulthood, sharing food has become one of my love languages. If you come over to our house, you can expect a full spread of everything you adore (all homemade) and you WILL leave with a week’s worth of leftovers, no other option.

If I don’t like you, you’ll never see anything home cooked from me EVER.

Kiddingggg…

I’ve also been on a bit of a food journey the last 10 years or so in finding what works best for my stomach and my fitness journey. Being a dancer, weight lifter and former athlete means that I need the right foods to fuel my body, but I also like variety and I really enjoy cooking. I don’t eat added sugars and I limit my saturated fats. After all of these factors, what in the world is left?

Enter stage right: Rainbow Bowls. Actually, they are called Nourish Bowls, but I called them Rainbow Bowls because I basically aim to get as many colors of the rainbow in my bowl as possible. And lucky for you that I’m in a sharing mood today.

Rainbow Bowls (or Nourish Bowls) are easy to prep meals that include several key components. The idea is to create a meal that is full of macro and micro nutrients while also being flexible enough to change and easy enough to put together.

Here are the key components to how I build an ideal Rainbow Bowl:

1. Whole Grains

The grain I choose depends on what my protein choice is but lately I have been loving rice, whole wheat pasta and whole grain rice pasta. My rice brand of choice (I can’t believe I just typed that……..) is Lundberg Farms. According to my husband, that’s the best brand to buy for some reason backed by science and logic, and I do honestly think it tastes better than other types I have tried. Need a quick meal? They also have 90-second rice packets that have 0 saturated fats and are actually tasty.

I also love these Rice Vermicelli Noodles for when I am doing more Thai inspired bowls.

And of course you can never go wrong with a good quinoa. I have this one in our pantry and it’s a solid choice for sure.

2. Protein

Here is where the fun starts. I looooove going to the grocery store and getting creative with what proteins to put in my bowls. I’ve used shrimp, chicken meatballs (not my favorite tbh, probably won’t do again), salmon, chicken, venison and bison. They key here is to season the protein to match the vibe of your dish. Are you doing a Tex-Mex type of bowl? Air fry your chicken with Adobo seasoning, Greek yogurt and a squeeze of lime. Are you feeling inspired for some Thai? Add some freshly ground ginger while sautéing your shrimp with plenty of pepper and citrus for a bright flavor.

While I do have my favorite types of ground meats, I refuse to link them here. I have to draw the line somewhere, ask me in person if you’re that interested.

3. Vegetables

While there might be a limit to the quantity of vegetables added to a Nourish Bowl, I try to stick to about 2-3 and normally pick what looks good in store. I have been getting a ton of sweet peppers lately and have been enjoying those roasted with some pepper and a bit of oil. If you’re looking for the next best thing to fresh, or can’t find something in season, try the frozen section. Not only are the nutrients locked in, sometimes this is a cheaper alternative. To be transparent, I don’t buy canned vegetables due to the sodium content, so I normally stick with fresh or frozen.

Frozen mixes like this mix from Whole Foods are great when you want a variety of veggies in a bowl but don’t have the time to prep all of this yourself.

Other vegetables that go well in a Rainbow Bowl: corn, roasted or shredded carrots, arugula and spinach.

4. Healthy Fats

Given that I am a millennial, I have a weird obsession with avocados so if I have any in our house, then it’s going in. I’ve been OBSESSED with roasting my own cashews (and chick peas) recently, so I normally season those accordingly, roast in the oven for 10 minutes and add a handful while still warm. I find that cashews and other nuts add the perfect amount of crunch and pizazz.

This category probably has the least amount of variety for me as I try to stick with solid options I know settle well.

Pro tip: try to find frozen again when you can. I tried roasting my own chick peas from scratch once and it took forever between soaking them overnight and boiling them. So instead I buy these, defrost them and roast them immediately. Muuuch easier.

5. Fiber

This component is something that I add for my own personal health and have only begun to add in the last couple of months. Again, see bulk section of Whole Foods. I currently am stocked up on split peas and lentils, which are great options for adding more substance in a simple way. Plus, they fridge really well and are versatile for other dishes. I often add leftover split peas into my lunch salads and to be honest, this gets me excited.

What is my life..

6. Sauce

The term “sauce” is super loose here, so don’t go adding a bunch of nasty, sugar filled or sodium-stuffed sauces into your beautiful bowl. I normally create my own vinaigrette with olive oil, herbs, pepper and lemon. Sometimes, I have also swapped the lemon with dijon mustard for a richer flavor. I also discovered an avocado lime dressing with no saturated fats or added sugars, so I’ll add a drizzle of that on top if the dish calls for that.

At the end of the day, do what works for you and feels good for your body. The best advice I could give is to pay attention to what foods make you feel fueled and energized, and stick with those. This is just what works best for me and my fitness goals.

And much to my dislike, espresso does NOT count as a food group, despite 90% of my diet consisting of it.