Do you want to know the secret to making healing, plant-based lunches and dinners that completely satisfy you??
THE SECRET: It's all about the sauce!
The sauce is what gives your dish flavor! You could eat the same vegetables every night and feel like you're eating a different meal each time if you used a different sauce each time. There are endless possibilities for combining flavors and creating delicious sauces. It's very important to take the time to find recipes that taste good to you to have on-hand, especially when you are starting out on a new lifestyle. This will ultimately help you transition successfully, feel good about what you're eating, enjoy the process, and be able to stick to it long-term.
One of my favorite sauces to recreate is a peanut satay sauce, because it is jam-packed with flavor in ways that tends to shock people when I tell them how healthy it is!
Here's the catch - I don't use peanuts in my sauce. I recommend avoiding peanuts because they are largely genetically modified. For this reason, I don’t consume peanuts myself either. My No-Peanut Satay Sauce is peanut-free! I use almond butter instead, and if anything, I think it creates an even better flavor because it goes down so much more smoothly than traditional peanut sauce does. It actually feels really good to eat!
Winter Nourish Bowl
INGREDIENTS:
2-3 cups sweet potato, cubed
2 cups broccoli
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup gluten-free quinoa (optional)
1 bunch kale, stems removed
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 avocado, sliced (optional)
METHOD:
First, cook your quinoa according to the instructions on the packaging. If you purchased your quinoa in bulk, here is a great instructional article on cooking nice, fluffy quinoa.
While the quinoa cooks, you'll want to cook the sweet potato, broccoli, and carrots. You can either steam or bake these vegetables to your liking. If you choose baking, I recommend cooking at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven. I also highly recommend using NO OIL in your baking in order to keep the fat content of this meal as low as possible.
Set cooked vegetables and quinoa aside.
Prepare your No-Peanut Satay Sauce (recipe below).
In your bowl, make a bed of kale. Massage some of the No-Peanut Satay Sauce into your kale for a few minutes. Do not skip this step! Massaging the flavor in will completely transform the taste of your kale, and therefore your meal.
On top of the bed of kale, arrange your bowl. Add in the cooked sweet potatoes, broccoli, and carrots, along with the quinoa.
Top with red onions, avocado, and more sauce. You can mix the sauce into your bowl, or you can use it in a ramekin, like I have pictured, for dipping!
No-Peanut Satay Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup raw almond butter (look for one that has only almonds listed as the singular ingredient)
Juice of 1 lime
1.5 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp pure maple syrup
A dash of garlic powder or 1 clove fresh garlic
A dash of ginger powder or fresh grated ginger
If you like spicy: add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
* For a thinner sauce, like the one pictured above, add 1-2 tbsp filtered water
METHOD:
Simply whisk all of your ingredients together in a mixing bowl and enjoy!
** If you used a whole garlic clove rather than the powder, then you want to place all of the sauce ingredients into a blender with the garlic clove instead of mixing by hand