Delicious Veggie Bowl

Inspired by the Victorious Veggie Bowl from Litehouse Whole Foods Grill in Chicago's Hyde Park, I tried my own hand at a veggie bowl. I liked that the bowl incorporated the fresh raw ingredients typically found in a salad with warm rice and grilled veggies. The result was a hearty, tasty meal. The Litehouse bowl is Fresh spinach romaine mix, onions, tomatoes, green and red peppers, giardinera peppers, Mexican cheese and a special house (sweet creamy) dressing served over brown rice or pasta.

For my veggie bowl I cooked Forbidden black rice (my favorite) - seasoned with nutritional yeast, curry, onion powder, and salt. That's how I usually cook it; although I sometimes add diced onion and other veggies.

Lotus Foods Forbidden Black Rice

For my salad I included the following ingredients (all raw and uncooked):

• Baby Greens (Tender Baby Leaf Spinach & Lettuces with shredded carrots, arugula, red & green chard)
• Black olives (drained)
• Fresh mushrooms
• Green pepper
• Red pepper
• Yellow pepper
• Orange pepper
• Sunflower seeds

For seasoning I added:

• Italian Seasoning
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Unfiltered apple cider vinegar

I served my raw salad veggies over warm black rice. I didn't want the rice super hot as it might wilt the greens and raw ingredients. Below you see the veggies on top of the black rice before I stirred it all in.

I mixed all the ingredients together and the result was an extremely delicious, satisfying meal. If you want something a little heartier than a salad, I highly recommend serving over a bed of warm rice. This veggie bowl could also easily be turned into a wrap (or burrito). I forgot to add fresh kale this time; but I look forward to adding it in the future. One could easily add tomatoes (I'm allergic) or cheese, but it was delicious without it. I added a little vidalia onion dressing at the end just to see how I liked the taste with the bowl, and it was wonderful.

In the future I'll probably experiment with more veggies and seasonings such as lime and/or lemon juice, etc.

Basically you can include whatever you enjoy in your salad and serve over warm (but not hot) rice or pasta.

Enjoy!!!