Fall Harvest Grain Bowls

You will likely have lots of leftovers in the coming weeks. I always have leftover roasted vegetables, rice, and fruit around the holidays. Fall Harvest Grain Bowls are a great way to empty that refrigerator! They’re healthy and quick to throw together! Oh and pretty, too – very important, of course. 

James recently told me there was noting in the fridge to eat. I took that as a challenge to prove him wrong. Some leftovers, and a little imagination goes a long way – and I scored some major wife points. They were taken away a few hours later, though, when I put yet another nail in the walls trying to hang a new piece of art on the walls. Anyways, I digress.

Back to the Fall Harvest Grain Bowls. Within a few minutes, I had three different grain bowls for James to choose from. Challenge Won. I always like to use a spring mix that includes arugula as the base in my grain bowls. For these bowls, I had left over barley that worked perfectly. However, you can use any grain you have on hand; brown rice, quinoa, farro etc.

You could even use chickpea noodles in your grain bowl. I had some leftover Banza Cavatappi noodles in the refrigerator, so I tossed those in one of the bowls. The noodles, combined with hard boiled eggs added some great protein to this bowl. I drizzled the top with some homemade avocado cilantro dressing I had on hand. I love all the great fall flavors that I added to the other bowls. I did a combination of roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, apple slices, and pomegranate seeds. One of the bowls I kept vegetarian, and the other I added some leftover grilled chicken. You can also use leftover turkey. 

I added blue cheese to one of the bowls, and chickpeas and radish slices to the other. I was just using what I had, so I could get three different grain bowls prepared. One for me, 1.5 for James, and a half bowl for Lukas. The great thing about grain bowls is the versatility. You can use as many or as little ingredients as you’d like. The recipe below is just one of many ways you can make a grain bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cooked brown rice, faro, quinoa or other grain
• 1 cup of mixed greens
• 1 cup of leftover roasted vegetables
• 1/2 cup of your protein of choice (leftover turkey or grilled chicken)
• 1 tbsp of feta, blue cheese, or your preferred cheese

Additional Options:

• 1 tsp of dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• Sliced radish
• Avocado
• Cherry tomatoes
• Sliced apples
• Hard boiled egg
• Red cabbage slices
• Walnuts
• Chickpeas

For the Dressing:

If you’d like a savory options, try my Simple Vinaigrette or Avocado Cilantro Dressing. If you’d like a sweeter option, especially if your ingredients include apples, cranberries, and walnuts, here is a good option:

Apple Cider Dressing

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
• Salt & Pepper to taste

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