This sweet potato chickpea Buddha bowl saved me from my cooking rut

I don’t normally post many recipes and foodie kinds of things, except for the regular food + beer pics that are dotted here and there throughout my week. Hehe. But, the other day I was feeling a bit wild + crazy, and so I challenged myself to document the recipe I was preparing for dinner. Yep. You heard that right. I mean, we gotta broaden our horizons, right?

Ok, perhaps the real reason is because I’ve been in a food rut lately. And the other day, I found myself desperately wanting something really good to eat, but the thing is, I never know what that is. Plus, I’m not the world’s best cook, nor do I really care to be. Eating is way better than preparing in my world. In any case, Lina and I were wandering around the apartment, asking each other over and over again what we felt like eating. We didn’t have a super stocked fridge, but we had enough different stuff that cooking something good was a possibility. But…. for the love of god, what would that be?!

Well, I did what any creatively-challenged person does: I got on Pinterest. I decided that since we had one sweet potato, I’d search for sweet potato recipes. Knowing that these nutritious + delicious spuds are so “in” these days, I anticipated a ton of inspiring and beautifully documented recipes. And I was right! I perused through what seemed like thousands of yummy recipes and settled on one that seemed perfect:

A sweet potato chickpea Buddha bowl.

Colorful. Easy. Tasty-looking. Healthy. And all in one dish – and, who doesn’t love the new meal-in-a-bowl trend?! Plus, we had all of the ingredients. Score me.

Just to inspire me even more, I challenged myself to document my cooking process. I am always hesitant on doing that because it just seems so damn complicated. Like I have to set everything up to look pretty, and I am no pretty cook. The kitchen is a freaking disaster when I prepare food. Plus, I have to juggle actually cooking and documenting, which leads to the possibility that I forget one or the other, and thereby leaves me with either no photos, or a burned dinner. Nevertheless, I decided I was up to the challenge. Plus, I gave myself an attitude change + decided that, dammit, this was gonna be fun. (And it was!)

I turned on some tunes and got started! So, what follows are the steps in my process + then a little recipe info, just in case you wanna give this recipe a whirl.

It was truly an easy recipe + so delicious. The only problem is that, with only 1 sweet potato + a tiny handful of broccoli, there were no leftovers!  Next time: use 2 potatoes, 2 cans of chickpeas, and tons more broccoli and spinach. Or whatever veggie I choose… zucchini? Asparagus? Kale?

So, I’m officially out of my slump and have been pinning away. Perhaps it’s time to bring back the menu board + planned meals for an entire week… I’m even so food-inspired again that I rearranged the kitchen + I am loving the eclectic, funky vibe.

All this to say, the lesson I learned is to never stop changing it up + trying something new when it comes to home living. It leads to a lifestyle of inspiration, creativity, authenticity. And usually, there’s no big necessity to go out and buy a bunch of new shit. You’ve got all you need right at your fingertips. Just get creative! And don’t reinvent the wheel: find your own way to create your twist on inspiring food, design, styles that you see.

Now, happy buddha bowl eating! Namaste. xoxo liz.

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Sweet potato chickpea Buddha bowl

Veggies:

• Sweet potato(s): cubed
• Red onion: cut in wedges
• Broccoli (you can use whatever green veggie you like), chopped into little florets
• Spinach leaves
• Salt + pepper
• Olive oil

Chickpeas:

• Chickpeas: drained, rinsed + patted dry
• Cumin
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Tumeric
• Salt + pepper

Sauce:

• Sour cream (or tahini, if you are vegan)
• Lime zest
• Juice from one lime
• Salt + pepper

1. Place cubed sweet potatoes and onion wedges in a large plastic bag and drizzle oil over them. Shake to make sure all of the cubes are covered. Preheat oven to 225 C and arrange sweet potatoes and onions on a baking sheet. Use parchment paper to keep them from sticking.
2. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and flip sweet potatoes/onions. Bake for 10 more minutes. Pay attention to your oven and watch to see them turn soft and a brown a little on top.
3. In the meantime, prepare the sauce by adding sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside in the refrigerator.
4. Drizzle broccoli with a bit of oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add them to the roasted vegetables. Bake all of the vegetables together another 5-10 minutes, then remove from oven.
5. While vegetables are roasting, add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and mix with seasonings.
6. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once hot, add the chickpeas and sauté, stirring frequently. If they’re browning too quickly, turn down heat.
7. Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
8. To serve: Place vegetables, chickpeas, and spinach into bowls. Top with sauce.
9. Enjoy!