Southwest BBQ Bowl

This Southwest BBQ bowl will satisfy your sweet & spicy cravings! I make this meal whenever I’m in the mood for BBQ but want to add some more nutritious ingredients by making this meal plant-based. You will see that I’m not one for exactly measuring ingredients. I am a big proponent of estimating how much you will eat based on how hungry you are. Start off with the serving size recommended, but add more or less to your plate as you listen to your hunger cues! Here’s what I add in my Southwest BBQ bowl:

Kale – one big handful

Organic sweet corn

1 medium sweet potato

¼ cup Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley or any quinoa blend

Grape tomatoes

Black beans

Dressing: Primal Kitchen Classic BBQ sauce

I first chop up a big handful of kale and place it as the base in my salad bowl. Dinosaur kale (a.k.a. Tuscan kale) is my favorite kind! As a dark leafy green, this vegetable provides some amazing sources of fiber and vitamins A, C, and K.

For the brown rice, I follow the directions on the package and boil in bone broth. There are so many health benefits of bone broth, especially when it comes to supporting immune functions, decreasing inflammation, and promoting gut health. Cooking rice in bone broth instead of water allows the nutrients from the broth to soak into the rice, increasing the nutritional profile of the rice. Everyone can benefit from consuming bone broth and there are so many flavors to choose from: beef, chicken, and even vegetable.

The sweet potatoes should first be microwaved for 2 minutes on high so that they are easier to chop and will not take as long to bake in the oven. Once microwaved, let cool and them slice into circles. Cut the circles fours ways into wedges. I then spread the sweet potatoes on a baking tray and drizzle about 1 tbsp of avocado oil onto them and mix well. Sprinkle them with taco seasoning and mix thoroughly. The taco seasoning provides a spicy kick to the potatoes that really enhances the southwestern BBQ flavors of this dish!

I cook the corn by heating it in a pot over the stove. Season with pepper and sea salt. Stir the corn and spices every few moments, and stop cooking once the corn has been simmering, right before they start to boil. Really, just cook the corn until they are hot enough for you! I let the black beans heat up on a pan over the stove as well; cook long enough for them to heat up, but not so long that the beans begin to boil. Keep the heat low!

Chop the grape tomatoes in half and place to the side.

Primal Kitchen is a fantastic brand that uses all organic ingredients, is Whole 30 approved, certified gluten-free, no added sugar, no soy, and is paleo friendly. I totally support using real food in products! There is also no high fructose corn syrup and 0 grams of fat in this sauce. Drizzle 2 tbsp over your salad once you have compiled the rice, corn, black beans, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes into your bowl. This is the perfect flavor to finish off your dish!

There you have it! A delish plant-based BBQ bowl packed with vitamins and minerals. I mean look at how colorful this meal is! Give this a try and let me know what you think 😊