What I’m digging this week: Warming Curry Bowl!

21.2.2018

Okay – I know I’ve told you I’m not a recipe creator, but every once in a while, something I experiment with is just too simple and delicious not to share. I posted one of my totally amateur food photos on Instagram and Facebook the other day because I like to provide food inspiration sometimes. People like to know what I eat as a health coach, but as I’ve shared before, we eat rather simply, so it’s not always super exciting. Occasionally, however, I create something that I think may be worth sharing my super simple recipe for. And this warming bowl of curry is one of them!

The way I make eating real food sustainable and easy is to create a freezer stash of proteins from which I can remove single servings. I also always keep tons of veggies on hand! These are combo of: fresh (unprepared), frozen, those I’d eat raw, those I chop ahead of time for easy use, and the occasional leftover veggies from dinner the night before. You know what’s funny? In the past several months or more, I realized it had become rare to have leftover veggies from dinner. So, recently I decided I’d try to make more so that there would be at least one serving left over for me for convenience the next morning or at lunch time. But every time I do this, I think we just eat more veggies. HEY- I’m not complaining! It’s fine by me!

So, this meal was a single-serve curry bowl, but the very next night I recreated it to make a larger batch to share with the family because it was so tasty! I’m going to give you the single serve measurements and you can multiply it if you wish. I ate this for breakfast because I love a warm bowl of soup or stew in the morning and this felt just right!

A little disclaimer about how I cook – I keep it super simple and rarely measure a thing! I did pay CLOSER attention to this one, but it’s very much based on personal preference so there’s room for adjustment. I don’t always “follow the rules” or cook super traditionally, unless that’s the absolute point of the dish. I like to color outside the lines a bit and just do what feels right to me. Also, I’m NOT a gourmet cook, so I often take shortcuts to make things quicker or easier. For example, I don’t always take the time to saute onions a head of time, though taking that time can add extra flavor to a meal. However, this delicious bowl took under 10 minutes and didn’t need the extra saute step, in my mind!

I told you it was an amateur photo, but trust me that the recipe is quick and tasty!

Warming Single-Serve Curry Bowl

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 cup cauliflower rice (I used the frozen one from Trader Joe’s, but you can certainly make it fresh too)

6-8 stalks asparagus, cut into about 1′ pieces or ~1/3 cup chopped green beans – I used frozen asparagus in my single serve bowl, and frozen green beans the second time I made it.

1 cup arugula

3-4 ounces cooked chicken, chopped (I used organic, free range chicken thighs)

2-3 TBS full fat coconut milk or cream (I used cream)

1/2 cup +/- water, bone broth, or purchased broth (I used water because I didn’t have any broth on hand. I usually make broth and then freeze it in silicone molds for use in things like this, but I was out.)

1/2 tsp nightshade-free curry powder blend (**see note and recipe below) or substitute any curry powder; you may want to use more or less, depending on your preference.

Pinch of sea salt

OPTIONAL:

1) I wanted mine to be a bit spicy. I didn’t have any red pepper flakes, so I added an extra couple dashes of ground ginger and a dash of cayenne.

2) Fresh cilantro to garnish.

3) Since the curry blend I used (recipe below) doesn’t have garlic or onion powder, you could add either of those or some fresh garlic.

Directions:

1.) If you want to maximize flavor, begin to cook chopped onion (and optional fresh garlic if using) in a little coconut or olive oil in a small pot (I skipped this step).

2) Add onion (if you haven’t already), cauliflower rice, asparagus or green beans, chicken, coconut milk/cream, water or broth, curry powder, and sea salt to a small pot. Stir to mix. Place a lid on the pot and let it come to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let it simmer until everything is warmed through and the asparagus or green beans are bright green.

3) Add water or both (or a mix of water or broth and coconut milk/cream) if more liquid is desired.

4) Next add the arugula and stir until it’s completely wilted, but still bright green.

5) Remove from the heat and serve in a bowl, garnished with cilantro if desired!

**You may be wondering, “What are nightshades?” You can check out this post by Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D. to learn more. Peppers of all types fall in the nightshade family and are typically found in the spices in curry powder blends. Nightshades can be inflammatory for some and when they are, they tend to cause joint pain (though other symptoms are possible). In an effort to limit as much inflammation as possible on my healing journey, I often limit my exposure to nightshades even though I don’t seem to be sensitive to them. I like to keep my homemade nightshade-free curry powder on hand for big flavor with less inflammatory possibilities. You, however, may be totally fine with regular (containing nightshades) curry powder. As you saw in the optional ingredients, I was actually craving something a bit spicier, so I did add some cayenne pepper (which is a nightshade) to my meal, but it’s delicious without too!