Mexican Buddha Bowl – Perfect Meal Prep For Batch Cooking

I’m going to start a series on this blog where I share my batch cooked meals, and this week was a Mexican buddha bowl.

I am huge fan of batch cooking for a few days at a time, particularly on a Sunday afternoon. Not only does it save me precious time during the working week, it saves a lot of food wastage and most importantly, helps me have healthy meals in the fridge and freezer, ready to go for meal times.

This stops me from eating out or grabbing some convenience food laden with calories, to keep me on track.

I always eat two ‘proper’ meals a day, I’m not one for a quick lunchtime sandwich or pot noodle and so buddha bowls for lunch are always one of my go to lunches. 

Before I tell you about this feast I made, I should preface this by saying I am not one for recipes either. I tend to just open the fridge and cupboards and work with what I have to put a meal together, experimenting along the way.

The initial components of a buddha bowl for me are a grain of any description, some protein and then some veggies. I always have this in mind and start with cooking my grain first, as it’s the easiest to do in terms of meal prep. 

But first..

What is a buddha bowl?

A buddha bowl is simply a balanced dish of protein, healthy fat (if you want) and veggies. It can consist of anything you want it to be, and they are always healthy one bowl meals that contain a variety of textures and flavours. 

Buddha bowls are the perfect way to use up what’s left in the fridge. You can prep all of the ingredients in advance and simply assemble them on the day, making it great for when you don’t have the time for any complex cooking.

I love being able to throw batches of grains, beans, veggies and protein together for a quick lunch. 

I find Buddha bowls really fun to make because I can get creative with combinations of ingredients and flavours.

This Mexican buddha bowl is one of my favourite combos that I make regularly, just switching up some of the veg and protein depending on what I have at home.

Vegan Mexican buddha bowl recipe

Quinoa

Starting with the grain first, was and rinse a small bag of quinoa and simply boil it with a stock cube. As this is a Mexican buddha bowl, I added some lime juice to it once cooked and stirred it through. You can top with coriander too, if you have any at home.

Roasted sweet potato

Wash and dice a sweet potato (no need to peel the skin) and added a tin of drained sweetcorn and black beans. Season with smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion salt, garlic granules and oregano before roasting in the oven until cooked. Alternatively, you can use a fajita spice mix, if you have one to hand.

Pico de gallo

This is so easy and makes such a huge impact to any Mexican dish. My version is simply finely diced red onion and baby plum tomatoes with a generous sprinkling of Tajin; a zingy chilli and lime seasoning that adds so much flavour to raw fruit vegetables.

Vegan chicken fajitas

Simply stir fry sliced peppers and onions with vegan chicken, adding the same seasoning as above (smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion salt, garlic granules and oregano).

I made the mistake of buying a bag of frozen sliced peppers in an attempt to save time chopping, but wouldn’t recommend them. They went all mushy and watery, even when cooked on a high heat, and that’s not a texture I can get on board with. Some frozen veg really just isn’t for me.

Red cabbage slaw

Finely sliced red cabbage and carrot with a drizzle of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I didn’t add any sweetener to this and I will admit this recipe needs work to make it taste a bit better. If you have a better red cabbage slaw recipe, please let me know!

High protein dressing

My tofu, coriander and lime sauce was the star of the show here; packed full of protein and zero fat, it’s zingy, spicy, creamy and filling.

Similar to this high protein dressing, I cooked Mexican chillies, onions and garlic and blended them with a block of silken tofu, plenty of lime juice, a large handful of coriander, salt and pepper to taste. I use a combination of dried ancho, habanero, serrano, pasilla – anything I have at home. You can also substitute this with a jar of jalapeños instead, and of course, they don’t require any cooking.

Mexican buddha bowls are so versatile; you can switch the quinoa for brown rice, add jalapeños, a variety of salads depending on what you have in the fridge. Avocado is a great addition too if you aren’t trying to avoid all fat like me, even the healthy ones.

Find more Slimming World vegetarian recipes below:

• Mexican Style Loaded Fries with Vegan Chicken Mince
• 5 Minute High Protein Salad Dressing
• Roasted New Potato And Lentil Salad With Herb Dressing
• Vegan Flying Dutchman Burger Recipe Using Cabbage Steaks
• Delicious Gochujang Tofu Fries Recipe (High Protein)
• Gluten Free, SYN FREE Pizza!!
• Tarka Daal Recipe
• Crunchy Red Cabbage Fried Noodles Recipe
• Turkish Restaurant Style Bulgur Pilav Recipe
• Hoisin Vegan Duck Sushi Bowl Recipe
• Roast Vegetable Pasta Bake Recipe