Coconut Bowls Project - Part 2

Welcome back to installment #2 of my Coconut Bowls Project!

If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, you can go check out installment #1 or even check out the most recent video on my IGTV for more background as to what this is! But the basic idea is that I'm cooking my way through the Coconut Bowls Cookbook, and these are 6 of the recipes I've done so far! If you feel inspired to try these recipes out for yourself, you can buy your own copy of the book from the Coconut Bowls website and use the coupon code joyfulbalance-10 to get 10% off your order!

Now, onto my second batch of recipes!

Red Lentil Curry Soup

• Recipe # 7/100
• Recipe by @veganwhat
• Page 136

This recipe is intended to be a curry-flavored bowl. The description of the recipe specifically states that it can be a brothy soup OR a thicker curry. This means that there is room to play based on your preference! As you can see, I went on the thick side. This recipe did have a long cooking time, but the hands-on time was quick and easy!

The flavors of this recipe worked really well - curry can be overpowering sometimes, but this had just enough for me to be happy. I did make a pretty big adjustment in my cooking - I actually converted this to an instant pot version by cooking it in the instant pot on high pressure for ⅓ of the time that it would have been on the stove. I did this to save time, but I suspect that it likely made my dish thicker than it may have been otherwise. So if you aren't looking for a thick version, I would recommend sticking with stovetop!

Ingredient-wise the only change I made was that I used 4.5 cups of veggie broth instead of using water and veggie powder separately! I served mine with some brown rice and it made about 6 bowls.

 

Vegan "Fish" Tofu Salad

• Recipe # 8/100
• Recipe by @nathaliesader
• Page 106

This one is pretty much what it sounds like - a salad with vegan "fish" made out of tofu!

I REALLY enjoyed the flavors of this one. This one had me step outside of my comfort zone a little bit because I did a number of things that I don't often do! I pulled out my vegetable sheet cutter to make my cucumbers into pretty ribbons, I bought broccolini instead of my usual broccoli, and I used arugula since that is the main green of the salad (a green that I don't typically use often)! I'm really glad that I tried this one because it was a lot of "new" things for me, but I loved how it all came together. The tofu itself was SO good! I don't think my tofu ended up tasting much like fish, but just as a cooked tofu it was delicious. I suspect that the seasonings you choose for your tofu likely play into this. But even though it didn't taste like fish to me, I still loved it!

I didn't make any changes to the actual salad part itself! I also followed the dressing ingredients very closely with the exception of swapping out oil with water. For the tofu, I left out the coconut oil, replaced the soy sauce with Tamari, and used an herb sesame spice blend for my seasoning.

I also air fried my tofu so that I could easily keep this oil-free. I set my air fryer to 375 degrees - cooking the tofu for about 5 minutes on each side when initially cooking it, another 1 minute after adding my Tamari, and then another 3-5 minutes after the nutritional yeast.

This one made 4 bowls for me - 2 bowls with 4 pieces of tofu and 2 bowls with 3 pieces.

Potachos (Potato Nachos)

• Recipe # 9/100
• Recipe by @terezas_diary
• Page 244

This one is also pretty much what it sounds like - basically nachos, but veganized (like all of the Coconut Bowls recipes), and with potatoes in place of traditional chips! You basically roast up some thinly sliced potatoes and then top them with black beans, a homemade salsa/pico, and yummy veggies.

There were only two small changes that I made in this recipe. I left out the jalapeños, and I took my potatoes out of the oven about 10 minutes earlier than the recipe says to. I suspect that your cooking time will largely depend on how thinly you slice your potatoes - so I would recommend just keeping a close eye on them and take them out when they are cooked to your liking.

In the future I think I would add just a tad bit of salt to my potatoes and maybe change the salsa/pico ratio so that it had more tomatoes and less onion. But that's just my personal preference based on my taste buds! Overall I loved the simple idea behind this recipe and I will definitely be making similar lunches in the future.

I got about 2 bowls out of this. After those two bowls I still had some leftover salsa/pico, which I used as a topping for other meals throughout the week!

Midnight Energy Balls

• Recipe # 10/100
• Recipe by @marie.reginato
• Page 202

After really liking the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls from earlier in this project, I was very excited to try another energy ball recipe! The two energy ball recipes I've made so far did have some similar flavors, but I think this one was sweeter. So you may have a favorite between the two based on how much of a sweet tooth you have!

For this one I used untoasted coconut flakes (instead of toasted), I used coconut milk as my plant milk of choice, and I replaced the coconut oil with more coconut milk! My dates had a hard time blending, but they eventually got there! In the future I might try soaking them for a few minutes to help with this process.

I really am falling in love with this energy ball concept. It's just so easy! I love being able to essentially throw everything in a blender, roll it into balls, and be done!

Made 14 balls for me!

Creamy Chocolate Tahini Oatmeal

• Recipe # 11/100
• Recipe by @oatmeal_stories
• Page 44

Oatmeal is one of my go-to quick breakfasts, so I'm always excited to try some new flavor ideas. The name of this one doesn't lie - it's very creamy, which I think makes it delicious!

I love a sweet breakfast in the morning, but some chocolate-themed breakfasts can be a bit too rich for even me. This one though was perfect! It was chocolatey enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, but it wasn't too overpowering. The tahini and the chocolate mixed together really well to create a really unique but delicious flavor.

This recipe does require the oats to soak for 20-30 minutes, so be prepared for that soaking time! But after that soaking time it cooks very quickly and is ready before you know it.

I doubled the recipe and ended up with 2 bowls worth!

Falafel Balls with Spinach Pasta

• Recipe # 12/100
• Recipe by @leilajasmin_
• Page 156

The basic idea behind this one was to combine falafel balls, pasta, and a sauce in a bowl. I love falafels and I love pasta, so I was excited to combine them into one meal!

My favorite part of this meal was the falafels - they were delicious and super easy to throw together! The sauce in this recipe had a bit of a kick from the spices that were used. I am pretty wimpy when it comes to spice, so I used a small amount of sauce in my bowl. My husband, however, likes spice and was happy using a more "normal" amount in his. If you are a fan of spice (particularly curry spice), you'll probably be a big fan!

I made two changes to this recipe - the first is that I air fried my falafels so that I could keep them oil free! I kept all of the ingredients in the falafels the same, but cooked them by popping them in the air fryer at 375 degrees for 16 minutes. The second change came about because this recipe calls for "spinach noodles", which I could not find. I used regular whole wheat noodles, but still wanted to include spinach somewhere in the meal, so I blended up a handful of spinach into the coconut milk that was used in the sauce! It ended up being a good way to sneak those greens in!

This recipe made about 3 bowls for me (I used 5 falafels in each of my bowls).

Wrap Up

Installment #2 of the Coconut Bowls Project is in the books! I hope you keep following along and get inspired to cook delicious plant-based food yourself. Don’t forget to use the coupon code joyfulbalance-10 for 10% off your very own copy of the Coconut Bowls cookbook!

Until next time, stay well!

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