Cauliflower Quinoa Bowl

Lately I have been craving lighter dinners with more fresh produce and herbs. This bowl is what I came up with, and I have to say it is freakin delicious! It has a variety of healthy vegetables such as the cauliflower, carrots, and peas, and protein from the hummus and quinoa. It would be suitable for a larger lunch or lighter dinner, and can be kept in the fridge to meal-prep for the week.

I was pretty proud of the presentation....the next Masterchef? Totally kidding... You do not need to make it look fancy and could easily just add all the ingredients to a bowl. Some ideas of other ingredients you could add to this bowl are: -greens like spinach or kale

-tofu

-mushrooms

-roasted sweet potato

-lentils or chickpeas

Cauliflower Quinoa Bowl (makes 5-6 servings)

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cup quinoa

-1 medium head of cauliflower

-1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

-1tsp ground turmeric

-1/2 tsp garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

-6 large carrots

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F. 2. Wash and prepare the produce. Chop the cauliflower into individual florets and set them on a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Chop the carrots into 3 lengthwise and slice into small strips, place them on a smaller separate baking tray.

3. Sprinkle the cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and pepper on the cauliflower. Drizzle around 1tbsp worth of olive oil as well. Toss it all into the cauliflower with your hands or a spatula. Place into the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, checking halfway through and flipping them.

4. For the carrots, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Toss it all together on the baking tray. Place the carrots in the oven for 25-30 minutes, so add them 5 to 10 minutes after you begin cooking the cauliflower.

4. While the cauliflower and carrots are cooking, cook the quinoa. Add 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of quinoa to a medium pot. Cover and bring it to a boil on high heat.

5. Once the water and quinoa is boiling, decrease the heat to low, cover and simmer the quinoa for 12-15 minutes. DO NOT take off the lid, just let it cook. Check it at 12 minutes, there should be no more liquid and the quinoa should be light and fluffy.

6. Once the quinoa is cooked, keep it covered until all the rest of the food is ready.

Green Pea Hummus

-1/2 cup garlic hummus (we used store-bought)

-heaping 1/2 cup frozen green peas (let defrost in some warm water)

-1/4 cup fresh parsley

-1/2 lemon (juiced)

-salt and pepper to taste

1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender. If you do not have either, you could mince the parsley by hand and mash the peas into the hummus with a masher or fork. 2. When blending, you may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula and continue. Blend for around 1 minute in total. The consistency should be thicker and there still will be pieces of peas and parsley throughout, that is okay. It is supposed to be a thicker spread. 3. When it is done, set it in a bowl in the fridge until the rest of the meal is complete.

Lemon Garlic Mayo Sauce

-1/3 cup vegan mayo

-1/2 lemon (juiced)

-2 garlic cloves (minced)

-salt and pepper to taste

1. To a small bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk together with a fork. Set it in the fridge.

Once the quinoa, carrots and cauliflower are cooked and everything is prepared, you can plate it all together. From the picture, I usually spread the pea hummus on the bottom and add the rest on top, drizzling with the lemon garlic mayo to finish. Enjoy!