Family-Friendly Power Bowls Everybody Can Love!
We love these family-friendly power bowls because of the flexibility of:
- the ingredients I choose
- my option to prepare so many of my ingredients ahead
- everybody can choose their own power bowls with their favorite ingredients and Still have a healthy meal
When it’s meal time, we just pull our choices out of the fridge and start chopping or warming up and a few minutes later, we’re sitting down to a yummy meal
Power Bowl Base
There’s usually a primary ingredient as the power bowl base. It might be quinoa or rice, which we have usually pre-cooked and ready in the fridge.
In our household, greens are big and usually the star of the meal, so we usually start with a heaping mound in our bowls as our base.
When choosing greens, go for color variety for more nutrient variety and availability. Some of our favorites include:
- green and red tip lettuce
- butter lettuce (also called bibb)
- romaine
- spinach
- bitter greens like arugula or dandelion leaves to wake up taste buds, stimulate digestion and more
But don’t forget about the pre-chopped greens. An added time-saver, you can also sometimes catch these on sale, so watch your local, weekly ads.
As far as quinoa goes, it’s going to take about 20 minutes to cook, so plan for that whether you choose to cook it while getting everything else ready or cook ahead. It handles warming well.
Same for rice as far as budgeting time to cook or choosing to cook ahead, but we haven’t found it to warm as well.
Cooked Ingredients
We almost always include a variety of grilled, oven-roasted, or sautéed ingredients as options for power bowl building. Often but not always cooked ahead, some that we’ve included are:
- sautéed onions and/or red peppers
- sautéed mushrooms (healthy, filling protein cooked like other sautéed veggies + 3 tablespoons coconut aminos)
- roasted garbanzo beans (drained, seasoned with herbs, and cooked until just starting to slightly brown)
- black beans (1/2 tablespoon cumin usually mixed in)
- roasted, herbed tomato slices
- diced sweet potato
- quinoa or rice
- roasted broccoli
(NOTE: I sometimes mince and add a garlic clove and/or a chili pepper to one of these depending upon who is eating)
Raw Ingredients
What’s in your fridge? What’s in your pantry?
This can pretty much run the gamut, depending upon what you like or what you have available.
Aside from our usual base of greens + whatever cooked ingredients we’re including, we commonly have:
- avocado
- nuts and seeds
- sprouts or microgreens
- raw versions of many of the cooked vegetables listed above)
- cabbage
- fresh herbs
- olives
Eating healthy plant based meals might be easier than you think, and power bowls give you lots of possibilities.
- Protein Options (beans, quinoa, healthy meat options, eggs, baby portabello mushrooms, broccoli, etc)
- Fat Options (avocado, nuts, seeds, healthy meat options, etc)
- Healthy Carbohydrate Options (greens and other vegetables cooked and raw)
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Cook or warm up chosen ingredients.
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Prepare remaining ingredients
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Serve and let the power bowl building begin.
- Quinoa, beans, avocado, and mushrooms are all satiating ingredients that can make this meal comfortably filling
- Try to include as many real food color as possible for a wide variety of nutrient access.
Themes for Your Family-friendly Power Bowls
Power bowls are an easy way to get the nutrients you need every day. Plants are loaded in healthy protein, fat, and the good carbohydrates that you body recognizes and easily uses to power you and your family through the day.
You can target a theme too, if you like. How about topping your base with:
- Tex-Mex Theme – Black beans with cumin, fresh cilantro, avocado, salsa/pico de gallo, sautéed red pepper, sautéed jalapeno or serrano pepper, quinoa, and greens
- Asian – Garbanzo beans warmed in a little coconut aminos, boneless grilled chicken marinated in a coconut aminos blend, sautéed or roasted green beans and carrots, sesame seeds, rice, and greens
- Sweet and Savory – Garbanzo beans with coconut aminos, sautéed sweet potatoes, sautéed red pepper and onions, balsamic vinegar drizzle, quinoa, and greens.
A Helpful Resource
There are so many possibilities when it comes to building your family-friendly power bowls, so I put together a FREE, printable Power Bowl Builder guide. Sort of a cheat sheet to get your creative juices flowing.
For a few tasty ideas that would go great with your power bowls, be sure to check out these posts:
