There’s nothing worse than going to bed hungry.

For those of us who are lucky enough to go to bed with a full belly, we owe it to our bodies to refuel with nourishing ingredients after a long day of hard work.

I always had this fear of salads for dinner, or this preconceived notion that a salad was a side dish, or sort of an afterthought for a meal. How could a plate of greens possibly fill me up? I dreaded lying awake at night, tummy grumbling, so I always went for the pasta or meat option. And, in a sense, I was right; a plate of greens would probably have left me tossing and turning at night, ravenous, sneaking to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

What I didn’t realize was that a “salad” wasn’t simply a plate of greens, nor was it a “one size fits all” phenomenon. Just like everything else I’ve mentioned in other blogs posts (there seems to be a theme here), all I needed was a little creativity in order to transform this boring side dish into a nourishing bowl of delicious ingredients that I’ve now come to crave.

Here are some tricks I’ve learned that have helped me build nourish bowls that satisfy all my cravings and keep me full all night long:

Use a variety of flavors and textures. This is key! The more variation, in terms of both composition and zest, you can add to your salad mix, the more interesting it becomes. So, add some crunch, experiment with different sauces and spices. Throw in a mix of different vegetables and grains, in addition to your leafy greens. Whatever you do, have fun and make it interesting!
Make your salads BIG! Get yourself a big, pretty bowl, and don’t be afraid to fill it to the brim. How big? Think popcorn bowl big. When you switch to a plant-based diet, you need to think about nourishment, not calories. (This is also one of the main reasons I love this lifestyle - less focus on numbers, which can really mess with the psyche, in my experience, and more focus on what we need to fuel our bodies.)
Just like with smoothie bowls, make it pretty. Again, this may totally be just me and my weird obsession with pretty food, but this trick really helps me. I like to style it to make it visually pleasing - if it looks good, I (and those I’m serving it to) am more likely to dive in and enjoy it. Plus it just makes the whole experience that much more fun, and encourages me to add a range of colors and textures, which circles right back up to that first (and most important) tip on my list!

Pickled red onions are a prime example of a way to add both texture and flavor to your bowls!

Here is a list of some of my go-to ingredients for a nourish bowl:

I usually do some combo of leafy greens, grains, beans or other plant protein, root vegetables, squash, fresh herbs, and then “add-ons,” like nuts, seeds, and fruit. And, of course, some sort of sauce or dressing.

Leafy greens:

Kale
Arugula
Micro green mix
Ice berg or Romaine lettuce

Grains:

Quinoa
Brown or Jasmine rice
Millet

Plant Protein:

Red beans
Black beans
Lentils
Garbanzo beans

Root Vegetables:

Carrot
Potato (any variation)
Sweet potato

Squash:

Butternut squash
Spaghetti squash

Fresh herbs:

Cilantro
Parsley
Basil
Mint

Add-ons:

Avocado (always!)
Bell peppers
Green beans
Snap peas
Nuts (ground-up almonds and macadamia nuts are my favorites)
Seeds (sunflower, hemp, chia, sesame)
Fruit (mango, grapefruit, dried fruit, like raisons or cranberries … whatever fruit goes with the general theme of the bowl, basically)
Pickled red onions
Anything else you can think of! This is where you can really get creative and cater it toward your liking.

Here are some sample sauces / dressings that I like to make for my nourish bowls:

This is another key part! While Kevin has some magical ability to eat the same food and the same flavors daily, I am very much the opposite. My food needs to vary. By making my own sauces/dressings depending on my mood and/or cravings (which is actually way easier than it sounds), I find I’m able to keep the base relatively simple without becoming repetitive. The sauce/dressing gives it flavor and makes each dish unique!

*Note: I do a lot of this “to taste,” so measurements may vary a but, but here is a rough guideline! I make all of these in my food processor or NutriNinja, so just throw it all in and blend it up until the consistency is nice and creamy.

Simple Cilantro - Garlic Dressing:

Handfull cilantro
1/4 cup crushed toasted almonds or macadamia nuts
1/4 cup olive oil (this is the base, so I usually end up adding more)
Juice from 2-4 lemons or limes (depending on how citrusy you like it)
1 clove garlic
Sea salt & pepper to taste
* I recommend doing this one in a NutriNinja s opposed to a food processor if you have the option - it comes out super nice and creamy!

Tahini - Lemon Dressing:

1/3 cup tahini
Juice from 1-2 lemons (I like mine citrusy so I go for two)
1 tsp maple syrup
tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp water

Avocado - Cilantro Dressing:

1/2 Caribbean avocado (or 1 full Hass avo)
Juice from 2 limes (more if you like it extra citrusy)
1/2 cup nut milk
1 clove garlic (more if you like it garlicky - normally I probably would, but since I’m pregnant I can only handle so much garlic)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin (I always end up adding a little more because I love the flavor, but I’d start with one and add more if you like it)
Water (once you blend the rest of the ingredients, slowly add water a little at a time until it reaches the consistency you want; for a thicker sauce, use less water; for a thinner sauce, use more)

Vegan “Caesar” Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil (this is the base, so I usually end up adding more)
Juice from 2 limes (more if you want it citrusy)
1 clove garlic (more if you want it extra garlicky)
1/4 cup crushed toasted almonds or macadamia nuts
Sea salt & pepper to taste