Buddha bowl recipe

Buddha bowls are on everyone’s lips. No wonder, the colourful creations are a real eye-catcher and bursting with flavours. In our Buddha Bowl recipe, we combine quinoa, hummus, vegetables, feta, and sesame seeds in one bowl for a delicious, balanced meal. Don’t miss out on the trend!

Serves: 2 people

Preparation: 30 min

Ingredients

120 g quinoa (or wholegrain rice)

100 g salad mix (or lambs’ lettuce, rocket or baby spinach)

200 g cherry tomatoes

1 yellow or red bell pepper

½ cucumber

200 g chickpeas in a jar, drained and rinsed or 200 g pre-cooked dried chickpeas (how to cook)

12 olives pitted

½ red onion

To serve

180 g hummus (readymade – or you can make it yourself)

120 g feta

Olive oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Fresh herbs e.g. basil, parsley, mint

Preparation

1. Rinse the quinoa with water in a colander. Tip the rinsed quinoa into a saucepan and cover with 360ml cold water. Bring it to a boil and cook for 12-15 mins (or according to the cooking instructions on the package) or until all the water has evaporated and the grains have doubled in size.
2. In the meantime, prepare all the other ingredients for the Buddha Bowl. Wash the salad ingredients and dry. Cut the washed cherry tomatoes in halves. Cut bell peppers and cucumber into bite-sized pieces. If using chickpeas from a glass jar, in a colander, drain and rinse with cold water. Cut the onion into fine rings. Cut the feta into cubes. Chop your herbs. Roast the sesame seeds in a pan for about 3 minutes (be careful, they burn easily).
3. To prepare the bowls, first put the salad leaves in the bowl as a base. Then add the cooked quinoa in a corner of the bowls and place the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and chickpeas beside each other (in a circle). Leave space in the middle of your circle.
4. Now, put the hummus in the middle of your bowl.
5. Place the olives, red onions and feta cubes on top and garnish the bowl with sesame seeds and fresh herbs. Sprinkle some olive oil on top.

Why this is good for you?

Tomatoes and bell peppers are good sources of carotenoids. Carotenoids are substances found in fruit and vegs responsible for their bright red, yellow, orange and purple colours. Carotenoids act as a type of antioxidant for humans and have also been linked with a reduced breast cancer risk, especially when you eat lots of them.

All vegetables used for this recipe, including the quinoa, help you reach your daily fibre goal of 30g a day. There is increasing evidence that a diet high in fibre reduces breast cancer risk.

There is evidence that processed meat slightly increases breast cancer risk.; Quinoa, chickpeas and feta are tasty substitutes and provide you with plant protein. Unlike some plant proteins, quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own.

Enjoyed this recipe and are craving more like this? Breast Cancer Uk’s brand new recipe e-book is out now! Download (for free) ‘Organic Flavours’ today. What are you waiting for? Get cooking. 

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