Instant Pot Vegan, Southwestern Sweet Potato, Garbanzo, and Red Lentil Bowl
Last week in our test kitchen I cooked my way through 7 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, 4 lbs pork 
roast, 1 1/2 lbs red lentils and 1lb of French green lentils. In contrast, this week it’s a very different scene and not a meat product is in sight as our Bowl Meals take shape.
What is a Bowl Meal in modern parlance?
Of course, Bowl Meals have existed since the beginning of cooking time, across many cultures and cuisines. This term was coined to describe a methodology of assembling and layering of a variety of ingredients with different flavors, textures and colors all in one bowl. Consequently, a steaming bowl of chili over rice, topped with crunchy tortilla chips and a dollop of low fat sour cream with cilantro passes as a “bowl meal”.
Bowl meals are the new comfort foods, whether you are dining in community or on your own, and provide a blank canvas for delicious, nutritious, satisfying and simple eating – umami in a bowl. Rather like a traditional Indian Thali, a round platter with a selection of dishes in little bowls, you can pack variety into a single bowl and enjoy the tastes as they mingle. As advocates of “one-pot” cooking using a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, we’ve made our fair share and oftentimes they come from leftovers like a big pot of Southwestern spiced beans.
In an effort to create more vegetarian and vegan friendly recipes for our followers and family members, our ingredients this week are packed with flavors of the Southwest as a result of the spices, served with herbed cilantro rice, cooling slices of avocado and crunchy seeds. In addition the sweet potatoes are filled with fibre, B and C vitamins.
So what’s the appeal of a Bowl Meal?
- Bowl meals are fun to assemble, full of flavor, and are convenient, a break from the routine of sandwiches, meat, and potatoes.
The freedom to be creative with a variety of ingredients with bold flavors. The different ethnic profiles of “bowl meals” provide contrasting layers of interesting flavors and textures.
- Global flavors abound with the availability of ingredients at our disposal both in store and online, and our propensity to travel has given us more adventurous palates.
- Substitutions in bowl meals are totally acceptable. Whatever works for you.
- There are no hard and fast rules, more a methodology, which is liberating
- Vegetarian Buddha Bowls – with one young vegetarian in my household this concept is a fun way to try new combinations. A Buddha Bowl is colorful, nutritious and meat-free.
Bowl Meal Methodology – What can I put in it?
- Fill a bowl a third fill with leftover grains or rice for carbohydrates. A great way to include gluten free grains if you are intolerant or allergic.
- Add color and vitamins & minerals with a handful of fresh, crunchy, chopped or quick cooked vegetables such as radish, cucumber and red onion, and fresh herbs.
- Pack with protein from a simple fried egg, halloumi cheese slices, or handful of leftover diced meats and fish, it’s also a great vehicle for jazzing up low fat alternatives beans, tofu, & lentils.
- Fats including slices of avocado, fish such as tuna, nuts and seeds, and olive oil dressings, boosts the good fat content.
- Top with texture by adding a couple of tablespoons of seeds or nuts (pumpkin, walnuts, hazelnuts, toasted almonds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, hemp)
- Boost the flavors – pickles, chutneys, & fruits such as pomegranate seeds
- Dressings & specialty ingredients – top with a simple French vinaigrette, hot sauce such as sriracha, a tahini citrus or a ginger soy based dressing. Fermented kimchi (touted as beneficial to health)
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Ideas
- Overnight steel cut oatmeal with a variety of toppings from savory to sweet – sautéed & seasoned spinach and mushrooms, nuts and seeds, fresh fruits.
- Lentil, Coconut & Green Bean Curry topped with toasted cashews and quick pickles
- Brown rice or a nutty grain topped with Southwest style black or pinto beans, avocado, crunchy red onion, a soft fried egg and hot sauce or a spoonful of sour cream
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups / 1 medium onion, small dice
- 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp coriander seed powder
- 2 tsp smoked, sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 x 14oz can garbanzo beans, drained
- 4 cups / 2 whole / 12oz sweet potato, peeled and chopped 1/2" dice
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup uncooked rice per person, cooked
- sliced avocado
- pumpkin seeds
- cilantro
- lime wedges
- heat oil in the Instant Pot on sauté function medium and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes
- turn off the sauté function and stir in the coriander powder, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne, black pepper, lentils, garbanzo beans, sweet potato, diced tomatoes and water
- secure the Instant Pot lid and turn the pressure valve to Sealing
- press the Manual button and adjust the cook time to 6 minutes (it will take 11 minutes to come up to pressure) and allow to cook
- leave to Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes (see notes below)
- turn the dial to Venting and use Quick Pressure Release
- serve immediately
- **Total Cook Time: refers to the time from when you set the Instant Pot until the food is ready to eat and has completed either Quick Pressure Release (QPR) or Natural Pressure Release (NPR): includes time to reach pressure, cook time & release
- using QPR or NPR depends on what you are cooking. Avoid QPR with recipes that may produce foam (beans, rice, oatmeal) or when the pot is full of liquid such as soup because hot spray may be emitted at pressure from the valve. For big cuts of meat, consider NPR similar to allowing meat to rest after cooking.
- *substitute all the spices for 1 packet Southwest Fiesta Slow Cooker Spice Blend at www.thezenofslowcooking.com
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups / 1 medium onion, small dice
- 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp coriander seed powder
- 2 tsp smoked, sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 x 14oz can garbanzo beans, drained
- 4 cups / 2 whole / 12oz sweet potato, peeled and chopped 1/2" dice
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup uncooked rice per person, cooked
- optional bowl toppings
- sliced avocado
- pumpkin seeds
- cilantro
- lime wedges
- heat oil in a small sauté pan on medium and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes and transfer to the slow cooker
- stir in the coriander powder, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne, black pepper, lentils, garbanzo beans, sweet potato, diced tomatoes and water
- stir, cover and cook on LOW: 6-7 hours or HIGH: 2 1/2 hours
- serve in a bowl with coriander studded rice topped with a choice of avocado, pumpkin seeds and lime
“Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
