Grain Bowl - Perfect for Meal Prepping
You're probably wondering what a grain bowl is, and quite honestly, if anything I feel like I should call this a veggie bowl. But I like grain bowl more! You also may know these as Buddha Bowls. This is one of my favorite meals because I feel like no matter what vegetable or grain I add to it, I will always love it. I've had these bowls with a mix of farro, quinoa, and barley (hence the grain bowls), but this time I just used farro to make my food prep easier.
I try and meal prep every Sunday because I love having food ready to go for the week. This past Sunday I prepped the below vegetables, making my lunches this week so much easier. All I had to do every morning was throw everything into a container and I was ready to go for work! Meal prepping can be overwhelming, and can lead to spending WAY too much on groceries. I'll be honest, I've spent far over my budget on groceries recently, so this weekend I was determined to plan out my meals for the week. This meal was budget friendly, and lasted me the whole week!
Grain Bowls
Ingredients:
1 container of Arugula
1 small package of baby bella mushrooms
Primal Kitchens Balsamic and Italian Dressing (or any brand you like!)
1 head of kale
4 tbs olive or avocado oil
cumin
paprika
salt
pepper
1 cup of Farro
2 cups of Kettle and Fire bone broth (any brand works)
1 container of love beets (I like the mild vinegar ones)
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1 lb baby potatoes
oregano
1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
Directions:
Rinse the mushrooms and then put in a bowl with about 1/2 cup of the balsamic dressing. Then add your chicken to a shallow dish and pour about 1/2 cup of the Italian dressing over that. Add more to either, as needed and let that sit as you're preparing the other foods.
Peel the kale away from the stem, chop it into bite size chunks, and rinse with water. Add the rinsed kale to a cast iron skillet with 2tbs of oil (may need to add more as they cook) and season with the cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper (I got this idea from shutthekaleup's instagram page). I cooked this over medium-high heat and cooked until the kale started to get crispy, about 15-20 minutes. Make sure to stir every few minutes!
As the kale is cooking, rinse your farro and add it to a pot with the chicken broth. Bring that to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes as well.
While you're waiting for your kale and farro to be done, you can slice your beets and tomatoes so they are ready to add to your bowls. I just set these aside in my fridge.
Set your oven to 425 and start cutting your baby potatoes in halves or fourths. Throw these into a bowl and mix with garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and cumin. Spread these onto a baking sheet and set aside until your oven is fully heated. Once it is fully heated, roast for about 35 minutes, flipping around the potatoes about halfway through. I got this idea from RachaelGoodEat's instagram page!
If you haven't done so already, remove your kale and farro from the heat. I set my kale on a plate to cool and "dry" for a little bit before putting in my fridge.
Now add your marinated mushrooms to your skillet, with the balsamic that it is in. Cook these on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until soft.
Finally, start your grill and cook your chicken! Once everything is done add it all to your bowl and top with the jalapeño dressing!
Notes:
This is a lot of steps and can be overwhelming but it will save you so much time during the week!
I know I don't have all of the ingredients above shown in the picture, that's because the chicken and potatoes were a late add. But that's whats so great about these bowls, they are extremely versatile!
The farro is cooked when there is no more liquid left in the pot but keep a very close eye on it because if it starts to cook too much, it will crystalize together and start to burn. Although this crunchy farro is kind of tasty!