Week-Long Power Bowl (Printer-friendly)

Vibrant make-ahead bowls with quinoa, roasted veggies, beans, nuts and zesty tahini dressing

# What You'll Need:

→ Grains

01 - 2.5 cups cooked quinoa

→ Roasted Vegetables

02 - 2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced
03 - 2 cups broccoli florets
04 - 1 red bell pepper, chopped
05 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
06 - 0.5 teaspoon sea salt
07 - 0.25 teaspoon black pepper

→ Fresh Vegetables

08 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
09 - 1 cup cucumber, diced
10 - 1 cup baby spinach or kale, chopped
11 - 0.25 cup red onion, thinly sliced

→ Beans

12 - 1.5 cups cooked black beans
13 - 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas

→ Nuts and Seeds

14 - 0.25 cup roasted almonds, chopped
15 - 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
16 - 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

→ Tahini Dressing

17 - 0.25 cup tahini
18 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
19 - 2 tablespoons water
20 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup
21 - 1 clove garlic, minced
22 - 0.25 teaspoon ground cumin
23 - Salt and pepper to taste

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a mixing bowl, combine sweet potato, broccoli, and bell pepper with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss until evenly coated.
03 - Spread seasoned vegetables in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until tender and lightly caramelized. Allow to cool completely.
04 - Prepare quinoa according to package instructions if not pre-cooked. Cool to room temperature.
05 - In a small bowl, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, water, maple syrup, minced garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy. Adjust consistency with additional water as needed.
06 - In meal prep containers, layer 0.5 cup cooked quinoa as the base, followed by roasted vegetables, fresh tomato and cucumber mixture, chopped greens, red onion, combined beans, and a sprinkle of chopped almonds with pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
07 - Drizzle each bowl with tahini dressing immediately before consumption or store dressing separately in an airtight container to maintain texture integrity. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • You'll actually eat your vegetables because they're roasted to golden perfection and taste nothing like obligation.
  • The dressing is so good you'll find yourself drizzling it on everything by Thursday.
  • Five servings mean you can stop thinking about lunch for half the week, which is genuinely priceless.
  • It's flexible enough to work with whatever vegetables are looking fresh at your market.
02 -
  • Roast vegetables long enough for actual caramelization to happen—this is what makes day-four vegetables taste good instead of tired.
  • Always cool everything completely before assembling bowls or you'll create steam that makes everything mushy and gross.
  • Taste the dressing before assembly and adjust—some tahinis are earthier than others, so lemon juice and salt amounts might shift slightly.
  • Keep dressing separate from the bowl if storing longer than overnight, or the texture of everything suffers.
03 -
  • Prep vegetables on Sunday morning while your coffee brews, and roasting takes exactly 30 minutes—you can assemble bowls while they cool and be completely done before lunch.
  • Toast nuts and seeds lightly in a dry pan for 2 minutes before adding to bowls, which intensifies their flavor so you can use less and save money.
  • If you're storing these for five days, freeze the dressing in small containers separately and thaw one as needed—this prevents the entire week from tasting increasingly diluted.
  • Layer the most perishable items on top: seeds, nuts, and fresh herbs last so they don't get soggy from the bowl below.
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