Every once in a while I get on a kick where I only want to eat one thing, fortunately for me that one thing is a super simple, whole food, Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl!
The temperatures in Arizona area finally on the rise. I’m slowly putting my soups aside and embracing fresh, raw veggies! If you are still frozen I’m sorry! Maybe you can enjoy this bowl in front of the fire and think about warmer days ahead!
The great thing about Mediterranean Bowls is that you can easily adapt it based on what you have and what you like.
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Gluten-Free Mediterranean Bowl
Most of the Mediterranean Bowls I’ve seen use quinoa but some use rice or no grain (or pseudo-grain) at all. Quinoa is great because it’s gluten-free, easy to cook, and I always have some in my pantry.
While the quinoa cooked, I got the veggies ready. Romaine lettuce is my favorite but you can choose your favorite greens. I love red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion. Chickpeas were the perfect addition because I also made hummus! My Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus was perfect in this but I may try my Red Pepper Dip next time.
I set out all the veggies, chickpeas and quinoa and my son made his own bowl. His was pretty much the same except he added apples and cuties and left out the hummus and peppers.
After cutting up all the veggies, I have enough for lunches all week plus some snacks! I’ve been able to make a quick salad with the veggies too. It’s so much easier to eat healthy meals when they are prepped and ready to go!
There are endless combinations you can choose for your bowl if this one isn’t exactly your thing.
- Sweet Peppers
- Artichokes
- Avocado
- Pickled Onions
- Carrots
- Sprouts
- Micro Greens
- Roasted Veggies
- Fresh Herbs
- Spinach
The list is endless! Please leave a comment and let me know what you want to eat in your bowl!
Oil-Free Mediterranean Bowl
Most Mediterranean Bowls are topped with oil or and oil and vinegar type dressing. The hummus does a great job replacing the need for oil and the extra squeeze of lemon gives it an extra boost of acidity. You do not need the oil!
My boys love balsamic vinegar, if you are a fan, you could try it in this bowl. I didn’t think it would mix well with the hummus so I left it out this time.
When I made this bowl I bought olives to go with it. Our grocery store has an olive bar that I’d been wanting to try. My kids and husband love olives so I thought this would make the bowl a little more fun for them.
I, however, do not like olives. I’ve never found an olive I didn’t want to spit out! HA! While I put a few olives in my bowl I didn’t actually eat them. I loved my bowl so much I couldn’t risk it. More for my family.
Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl
This Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl is gluten-free, nut-free, and perfect for the veggie lovers in your house. This meal is easy to make ahead during meal prep and take for lunch or enjoy it at the end of a long day. These measurements make 4+ bowls.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 head romaine lettuce (or your favorite lettuce).
- 1 cucumber
- 1-2 bell peppers (I used 1 red and 1 yellow)
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (or equivalent fresh diced tomatoes)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon
- Kalamata olives (optional)
- 1 cup hummus
Do
- Bring 2 cups water to boil, then add the quinoa and cover with a lid. Turn pot down to simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until quinoa is done and water is absorbed. Fluff quinoa and set aside.
- While quinoa is cooking, prepare the veggies. If you haven’t already, wash and dry them. I prefer to peel the cucumbers, dice the red onion, tear or slice the lettuce, and dice the bell pepper. I like to leave my bell peppers in pretty big chunks but its just a personal preference. I’ll leave the tomatoes whole if I’m saving the bowl for later and cut the tomatoes in half if I’m having it now.
- Create an assembly line with all the veggies. Drain and rinse your chickpeas.
- If you are making hummus from scratch, make it now.
- Assemble your bowls.
- Make a bed of lettuce with 1 cup romaine.
- Scoop in 1/4-1/2 cup cooked quinoa.
- Arrange fresh veggies on both sides of the quinoa.
- Add a dollop of hummus. Since it’s oil-free, I used about 1/4 cup.
- Spoon in about 1/3 cup of chickpeas.
- Garnish with lemon wedge and olives.
Serve
This Mediterranean Bowl is perfect for a weekend meal prep that can be enjoyed all week. It tastes just as good coming out of a lunch bag as it does when it’s freshly made, you can’t say that about most lunches!
This Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl is gluten-free, nut-free, and perfect for the veggie lovers in your house. This meal is easy to make ahead during meal prep and take for lunch or enjoy it at the end of a long day. Bring 2 cups water to boil, then add the quinoa and cover with a lid. Turn pot down to simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until quinoa is done and water is absorbed. Fluff quinoa and set aside. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the veggies. If you haven’t already, wash and dry them. I prefer to peel the cucumbers, dice the red onion, tear or slice the lettuce, and dice the bell pepper. I like to leave my bell peppers in pretty big chunks but its just a personal preference. I’ll leave the tomatoes whole if I’m saving the bowl for later and cut the tomatoes in half if I’m having it now. Create an assembly line with all the veggies. Drain and rinse your chickpeas. If you are making hummus from scratch, make it now. Assemble your bowls by making a bed of lettuce with 1 cup romaine. Scoop in 1/4-1/2 cup cooked quinoa, then arrange fresh veggies on both sides of the quinoa. Add a dollop of hummus. Since it’s oil-free, I used about 1/4 cup. Spoon in about 1/3 cup of chickpeas and garnish with lemon wedge and olives.Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl
Ingredients
Instructions
You mentioned that you prep a bunch of veggies for the week for lunches and snacks. How do you store them so they don’t go bad quickly? I want to have veggies cut up and available for my kids to snack on instead of junk food after school and at night. (well, for me too!)
Hi Jen,
That’s a great question! I have different methods/tools for different veggies. I’ll plan to make a full post about it soon so you can see photos and links to products.
First, I wash most fruit and veggies in a sink full of cold water with baking soda mixed in. I let them soak for 15 minutes, scrub anything that needs it, rinse and put in my dish drainer to dry.
I use storage containers specifically for storing veggies for cut cucumbers, peppers, and carrots. For Romaine lettuce (my lettuce of choice) I pull the leaves off, make sure they are dry, put hem in a big plastic storage container with papertowels layered in between. I found they stay fresher than any other way I’ve tried. I’ve had some last over a week but it depends on how fresh they were when I purchased them.
I hope that helps!
Holly
I ate something just like this for lunch today! Except I go ahead and mix it all together. I use quinoa, chickpeas, parsley, zucchini, onion & red bell pepper, plus a little chopped garlic, then salt & pepper everything and mix with lemon juice – yum! I mix it up and let it marinate and then eat over the next 2-3 days. 🙂 I might add olives next time!
I sometimes mix it up but I didn’t know if you’d be able to see all the different ingredients it it was mixed. For example, the onions can’t be seen in these photos.
Lemon juice and salt and pepper are so delicious in this!
Hi Holly!
I made this last night for dinner. It was so refreshing and good! I actually had some leftover frozen quinoa and chickpeas, so used them. My husband even liked it! He’s not a vegan (I am), so I told him it was loaded with protein. We did add a bit of dressing (evoo, ACV, Dijon mustard recipe that I love) to juice it up a bit. I will DEFINITELY make this again! Thank you!
Hi Kathy,
I am beyond thrilled that you and your husband loved it. I’m always surprised at how good it is because it seems so simple but it’s always so satisfying. I’m thinking about making more seasonal versions of it.
Storing leftover quinoa and chickpeas in the freezer is very clever. I usually try to finish them off or forget about them for too long. I think I’ll stick them in the freezer next time. It’s a great tip!