At this time of the year, the abundance of tasty fresh salad vegetables means there’s no excuse for us not to eat healthily. As with my scrumptious fruit salad breakfast I described a couple of weeks ago, I just love creating my own buddha bowls using these lovely fresh ingredients.

Buddha bowls are a healthy, well balanced dish containing quality proteins, carbs, vegetables, and healthy fats. In my buddha bowls I always have a mix of salad vegetables (grated carrot and beetroot, sprouts, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumber – the list goes on). I always add a protein (e.g., eggs, chicken, fish, red meat, or tofu), and then wholefood carbs (sweet potato, brown rice, or quinoa). Beans such as chickpeas or mixed beans can help bulk up the bowl. Fermented vegetables can be included as well as may be hummus, guacamole, pesto, or fresh herbs. Healthy fats may include avocado, tahini, or salmon. I love to finish off the bowl by sprinkling a variety of seeds over the top (hemp, sunflower, sesame, or pumpkin seeds are my favourite). As you can see the sky’s the limit when comes to creating your buddha bowl!

The piece de resistance though is usually the dressing. A good dressing always makes a fantastic salad or buddha bowl. If you’re feeling lazy you can simply drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar and hemp seed oil however, I love the following two dressings. My favourite oil at the moment is hemp seed oil. It has a lovely nutty flavour and is rich in omegas 3 and 6. Apple cider vinegar has endless health benefits and of course tahini (sesame paste) contains healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.

Green Goddess Dressing

Ingredients – 1 ½ cup Hemp Foods Aust Hemp Seed Oil, 1/3 cup water, ½ cup packed basil leaves, ¼ cup packed coriander leaves, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup chopped chives, ½ cup green shallots, 1 clove garlic, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp Cleopatra Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.

Blend in food processor or blender until creamy.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Tahini & Basil Dressing

Ingredients – ½ cup Hemp Foods Aust Hemp Seed Oil, ¼ cup Cleopatra Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 tbsp Organic Road Maple Syrup, 4 tsp Organic Road Unhulled Tahini, 2 tsp dried basil.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl (except hemp seed oil) mix well. Then gradually add hemp seed oil, mixing through well.