FP Escapes: The Great Kosmic Kitchen’s Quinoa Bowl

Savor this nourishing and colorful recipe, courtesy of the Great Kosmic Kitchen, who will be cooking on our Palm Springs retreat next week!

We know it can be difficult to find time to eat healthy. Luckily, we find the most success when we plan our meals like our meetings. While this might seem like yet another obligation, it doesn’t have be like that! Make it fun. Let yourself have a movie night or some special reward if you craft a home cooked meal for yourself.

Hard-working folks are prone to stress and, in the worst case scenario, burnout. We try to avoid all that by planning our meals and using adaptogens. By definition, adaptogens are plants that help your body adapt to stress. Usually they have an affinity toward a certain body system and can help to bring it back into balance. Adaptogens can strengthen function and therefore help the body resist physiological stressors.

We love using nourishing adaptogens like ashwagandha, shatavari and astragalus in powdered form so that we can easily sprinkle them into our medicinal meals. Adaptogens aren’t an instant “aha” moment for stress — they work best over a few months’ time. If it took years of go-go-go for you to feel the effects of burn out and cumulative stress, do yourself a favor and give adaptogens time to balance you out! Two of our favorite options are listed below.

ASHWAGANDHA (Withania somnifera)

This plant’s nickname is “Indian ginseng,” and while it’s not stimulating like ginseng can be, it does have similar medicinal effects. The root can be used for emotional and physical stress, immune system support, and much more. The whole plant is commonly used in Ayurveda and is warming energetically. Great if you tend to run cold—such as folks with cold hands and feet. Traditional recipes include the root (powdered) in warm milk and/or honey. To get a proper dose, you will need about 1-6 grams a day.

ASTRAGALUS (Astragalus membranaceus)

This medicinal plant isn’t anything new, it’s been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. You may have seen astragalus sold under the name “huang qi,” another common name for it. It’s used traditionally to promote immune system health, especially for those who are prone to getting run down during winter. It’s commonly prepared in broths or soups. You can use about 3-4 grams throughout the day of the powder for best effect.

This dressing is simple to create—you can use one or all the adaptogenic powders listed above. We encourage you to use whatever plants are calling to you. This miso based dressing can be used in a hearty massaged-kale salad, tossed with buckwheat noodles or as part of this balancing quinoa bowl.

Dressing Ingredients

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp white miso

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp adaptogen of choice

1 thumb ginger, grated

2 tbsp honey

Quinoa Bowl Ingredients

3 cups quinoa, cooked

1 watermelon radish, sliced thin

3 bok choy, steamed or sauteed

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

1 sheet toasted nori, crumbled

Method

To make the dressing, add all ingredients into blender. Blend until everything is incorporated. Scrape into a mason jar with a tight lid and refrigerate. Leftover dressing will keep for about a week in the fridge. Note: It will look much more like a dressing when first made and at room temperature but, once refrigerated, it will thicken up.

Makes about 1 pint or 2 cups.

Assemble your quinoa bowl by dolloping a few tablespoons of dressing and mixing in a separate bowl with the quinoa. Making sure the dressing is incorporated into the quinoa, divide between two bowls and add toppings however you’d like.

If you’re looking for more ways to dress up your salads or quinoa, be sure to check out our Creamy Turmeric Tahini Dressing and our Wild Weeds Pesto.

 

And a very, very special thank you to Alessandra Olanow for her gorgeous illustrations!

0 0 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

The illustrations are adorable. The food sounds deliciously healthy too!

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

Beautiful illustrations. I wish I was on the retreat with y’all!
http://craftylittlegnome.com

6 years ago

Unique vegetable illustrations.

http://www.ca-dress.com/short-wedding-dresses-ca

6 years ago

As always great post! Thank You :)

6 years ago

I love Quinoa, did not know her power. Excellent!