This week we are making Buddha bowls. They are one of the easiest meals to concoct, as they require few ingredients. This specific Buddha bowl is cauliflower-based, so it’s acceptable for people who have allergies to gluten and/or cannot eat rice.

“Experimentation is always fun when it comes to cooking because it allows you to push yourself past what is comfortable in what you normally cook, and it allows you to find new recipes.” 

Buddha bowls tend to be my go-to option for a lot of meals, as it can be easy to throw together ingredients and give you a little bit of everything. In Buddha bowls, you tend to have leafy greens, veggies, protein and carbohydrates. With the heaps of different ingredients, this recipe tends to leave you more filled than just a regular salad, and it brings a twist to pasta or stir fry. I have come to learn that when you cook, especially for one, you start eating the same foods over and over again. However, when you have the option to cook the same ingredients but in different ways, it makes cooking that much more enjoyable and fun. Thus, you’ll want to cook that much more.

You cannot mess up this meal as, in a way, it’s a glorified salad. You can make up your own add-in’s and not have to follow the recipe to a T. Experimentation is always fun when it comes to cooking because it allows you to push yourself past what is comfortable in what you normally cook, and it allows you to find new recipes.

In this instance, I am using shredded Brussels sprouts for my greens as well as broccoli and peas. “The greener, the better” is what I always say. 

I am incorporating tofu this time around instead of meat; however, if you want, you can absolutely substitute the protein for your desired protein choice. The beauty of these bowls is that they are adaptable, which makes it easy for everyone if you are sharing and/or cooking for more than one, and it will work well for the left-over meals. This recipe is a one-stop-shop at Trader Joe’s minus one ingredient, and it’s a one-pan recipe as well.

Ingredients:  

• 1 bag of peas $1.99 
• 1 frozen bag of broccoli $1.99
• 1 bag of shredded Brussels sprouts $1.99 
• 1 bag of cauliflower rice $2.99
• Onion salt to taste
• ½ packet of sriracha tofu $3.69 
• 2 dollops of B*tchin’ sauce from Natural Grocers for $3.89

Directions: 

In a frying pan, add a bit of olive oil and spread it around. Next, add in your frozen broccoli, peas and shaved sprouts. After about two minutes of stirring that around, add in the cauliflower rice and cook on medium-low heat for about five minutes. Once that’s nice and cooked through, add in a dash of the onion salt. Stir that around so everything gets covered for about a few seconds, and you’re done. While that is cooling off, dice up your sriracha tofu. Add everything into a bowl, top it off with the tofu and add a dollop of B*tchin’ sauce.  

Sierra Grimm can be reached via email at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSURam5.