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They have texture, layers of flavor, and SO much color. A few months ago when I was writing the HBH cookbook manuscript, there was day after day of non-stop writing. No joke, non-stop writing. Typically, my days are filled with cooking and writing at night, so this was a bit of an adjustment for me, since I was basically doing zero cooking all week-long. This is when I turned to Sunday meal prep. That way, come lunch and dinner, I actually had food other than avocado toast and eggs to eat…not that there’s anything wrong with avocado toast and eggs, but you know, variety is occasionally needed in one’s diet. I’m not sure why it took me so long to do something like this, but honestly, I am so excited about it! I love the idea of making a healthy delicious meal that can be enjoyed throughout the week.
Second task, grocery shop! Look carefully at your recipe, read the ingredients closely, and then make your list! Once at the grocery store, try to physically cross off all of your items as you go. Most of us at one time or another, have gotten home only to realize that we forgot the most important ingredient! That is the worst…like the worst. Once home, put everything away, get organized and then it is GO time. To prep for this recipe, you’ll need a couple of baking sheets and a pot for the couscous (or quinoa if that’s more your thing). Pretty simple. The first step is to marinate the chicken for half an hour or so. If you’re short on time, you can definitely skip marinating, but I find it really tenderizes the chicken, making it much more moist and juicy. <–sounds really weird saying that out loud, but it’s true. I always start with the chicken, then while it’s marinating, I prep all the veggies. The next step is to arrange the marinated chicken on one sheet pan and the sweet potatoes fries and asparagus on another. Then throw them all in the oven and roast. While those are cooking, I like to make the couscous. Sometimes I’ll use quinoa, but couscous is very middle eastern, so it fits more with the this recipe and its middle eastern roots. During this time I’ll also make the garlic tahini yogurt and then gather all the toppings, storing each in their own little container for easy access. When everything is done cooking, I let it all cool, then store everything in separate glass containers. I prefer to store ingredients separately so I can easily assemble my bowls when getting ready to serve. However, if you’re planning on taking these to work as lunch or you need your dinner completely assembled (maybe to take to a potluck), you can assemble the bowls like you see in the photos, just leave the avocado and lettuce off, as those are best to add right before eating. Once everything is packed up, throw it in the fridge and DONE. How easy was that? Probably about an hour of work for a weeks worth of healthy lunches or dinners. Um, yes please!
Honest, these bowls saved the day while I was writing the book. Now I am kind of hoping they will save yours too! And guys, if you’re not into meal prepping and you are simply in need of an easy dinner, this recipe is pretty dang good for that too. Hello, shawarma chicken, sweet potato fries, garlic tahini yogurt, couscous, avocado and goat cheese. Yup, dinner (or lunch) perfection!
AND it’s healthy too. You see, the bestest! ps. while naan is not pictured, I highly, highly recommend it along side these bowls.
