Trend Alert | Healthy Food Bowls

“It’s not the dish you eat it in, it’s what’s in the dish.” Becky Worley ABC Good Morning America

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This past weekend I served up 14 friends of mine some amazingly tasty acai greek yogurt smoothie bowls for breakfast and all I heard were raves, so I decided to devote this week’s blog to meal bowls! Combination foods of hot or cold, sweet or savory ingredients are taking the foodie fit world by storm. But before you dig in or prepare 14 of your friends their next meal, make sure you know what you’re serving up to yourself.If you’re purchasing a meal bowl, try to follow the guidelines below:

- Look for basic ingredients - you should be able to pronounce and know what the ingredients are!

- Steer clear of candied sweetened nuts.

- Make sure to only include dried fruit without added sugar.

- Reduce or eliminate the amount of creamy, or heavily sweetened sauces/ dressings.

- Buy a bowl with <500mg of sodium, <20 g sugar, < 5g fat, < 500 calories, >20g protein.

If you’re trying to put together your own bowl follow these easy steps below!

1. Start with a base

2. Leafy greens

3. Kale

4. Spinach

5. Maximize veggies

6. Cucumber

7. Bell pepper

8. Broccoli

9. Carrots

10. Zucchini

11. Brussel sprouts

12. Tomato

13. Add fruit for fun

14. Blueberries

15. Strawberries

16. Mango

17. Apple

18. Grapes

19. Mango

20. Goji Berries

21. Stick with complex carbohydrates

22. Brown, wild or black rice.

23. Quinoa

24. Sweet potato

25. Corn

26. Peas

27. Millet

28. Pack on the protein

29. Eggs

30. Fish

31. Tofu

32. Chicken or turkey

33. Lentils

34. Chickpeas

35. Beef

36. Choose healthy fats

37. Avocado

38. Sunflower seeds

39. Olive Oil

40. Tahini

41. Chia seeds

42. Nuts

43. Pump up the flavor

44. Kimchi

45. Crumbled cheese

46. Apple Cider Vinegar

47. Sesame seeds

48. Lemon juice

Looking for some more inspirational ideas?

Click here to make your own healthy breakfast bowl

Click here to make your own healthy lunch bowl

And as a bonus, here's my favorite acai greek yogurt breakfast bowl:

(Makes 2 bowls)

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen mixed berries

1 Tbsp. Navitas Natural Acai powder

1 cup Fage Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1 Tbsp. Ground Flax meal

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together

2. Pour into bowl and finish off with fun toppings like unsweetened coconut shreds, slivered nuts and seeds, pomegranate seeds, banana, strawberry or kiwi slices, Barbara’s or Ezekiel granola, low sugar or no sugar added dried fruit.

What's your favorite kind of healthy bowl? Let me know in the comments! Happy bowl making!