Coconut Bowls Project - Part 4

Welcome back to another installment of my Coconut Bowls Project! If you've been following me for a while, then you know the drill and can skip the next paragraph of explanation.

If you're new here, this is my project where I am cooking my way through an entire cookbook! Yep, you read that right. I am making every recipe in the Coconut Bowls cookbook, "Vegan Bowls for Vegan Souls". Along the way I might make a few adjustments to some of the recipes based on my own person eating choices, but whenever I do that I always let you know! If you want to cook along with me be sure to check out the book on the Coconut Bowls website and use the coupon code joyfulbalance-10 to get 10% off your order! Also be sure to check out my first, second, and third installments that came before this one if you feel so inclined.

Now, onto the recipe reviews!

Veggie Fried Rice

• Recipe # 19/100
• Recipe by @breakinspiration
• Page 242

I was never much of a fried rice eater before going plant based, so it's not something I typically think of making very often. But this was super yummy and simple!  I followed the recipe pretty closely except that I left out the oil.

I've actually made this one a few times since photographing the above picture, and it's a great go-to to use up whatever veggies you have on hand! Now when I make it I use the recipe as a general guide but throw in whatever veggies I have. Great for a weeknight meal, and you could even prep the rice itself the night before to make it even quicker if you wanted! This one made about 3 smallish bowls worth for me.

Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl

• Recipe # 20/100
• Recipe by @frommybowl
• Page 38

I'm pretty much always on the hunt for a good smoothie bowl, and this one intrigued me because I had never used sweet potato in a smoothie before! I followed the recipe pretty closely - but I did use Japanese sweet potatoes instead of purple ones, so my bowl is a very different color than the one in the book! For toppings I used pumpkin seeds, dried mango, coconut flakes, and cacao nibs.

This one did require a little bit of prep the night before because you have to cook the potatoes and then freeze them. However, if you like this bowl you could absolutely prep a whole bunch of potatoes at once and have them ready to go for smoothie bowls throughout the week! The flavors of this bowl reminded me of cinnamon-flavored ice cream and I was not upset about it. It's basically an excuse to eat ice cream for lunch, but it's made out of delicious and nutritious whole foods! I got two bowls out of this recipe.

Roasted Gnocchi with Avocado Cream

• Recipe # 21/100
• Recipe by @miss_gruenkern
• Page 172

I am a major gnocchi fan. I've had many versions of gnocchi in my time. This is one of my absolute favorites. If you've never had gnocchi before, it's basically like little potato dumplings that somewhat replicate pasta. This particular recipe has you roast the gnocchi in the oven, which gives it a slightly crispier texture and really puts it over the top! This recipe also has you serve your roasted gnocchi with roasted tomatoes and a delicious avocado cream sauce. The avocado cream sauce was honestly SO GOOD. I think this is one of my favorite Coconut Bowls recipes so far!

I used Yukon gold potatoes for this one because that's what I had on hand, and I also used whole wheat pastry flour as my flour. And in typical me-fashion, I left out the oil as well. Other than those changes I followed everything else pretty closely! I doubled the recipe and had about 4 bowls worth. (Side note: my husband and I had the first two bowls the first night, and then I popped the leftover uncooked gnocchi in the freezer over night. The next day I cooked the frozen gnocchi and it was just as good as it had been the day before!)

 

Rainbow Nourishment Bowl

• Recipe # 22/100
• Recipe by @choosingchia
• Page 90

This one is basically a fresh-tasting buddha bowl, packed full of veggies and nutrients galore! I'm a fan of anything resembling a buddha bowl (which is why I wrote a whole ebook on the subject!), so I was excited to try this one. The only changes I made were that I used romaine lettuce instead of spinach (though it's hiding underneath all of the other veg in the photo so you can't even see it), and I used guacamole in place of avocado.

This is a great option if you want lots of fresh veggies on your plate! Made about two bowls for me.

Homemade Rawnola Cereal

• Recipe # 23/100
• Recipe by @lonijane
• Page 72

The basic idea of this one is that you pulse some yummy breakfast-inspired ingredients in a blender and then eat it with plant milk like cereal! I enjoyed this one because it was easy to whip up on a Sunday evening and then eat for breakfast the first few days of the week.

I followed the recipe itself pretty much exactly, and did not include the optional chocolate (although this option does sound yummy and I may have to attempt it in the future!). The recipe includes optional maple syrup as a sweetener - I included this and really liked the sweetness it provided, but I have a pretty big sweet tooth. I suspect that others with less of a sweet tooth would likely be happy leaving it out and just getting the natural sweetness from the dates instead!

I ate mine mixed with puffed rice for a little crunch, and used almond milk as my milk of choice. For my toppings I used raspberries and extra coconut shreds! I got about 4 bowls worth out of this, but I think if I had eaten it without the added puffed rice it probably would have been 2-3 bowls.

Spiced Oatmeal

• Recipe # 24/100
• Recipe by @thrivingonplants
• Page 74

You guys have probably figured out by now that I'm a big oatmeal fan. I love experimenting with different flavors, and this one reminded me of fall because of all the spices!

I followed this recipe pretty closely. The spices are definitely the dominant flavor, so I added some extra maple syrup to mine since I like sweet breakfasts - but this was just due to personal preference. I topped mine with frozen blueberries, dried cranberries, hemp seeds, and roasted pumpkin seeds. I doubled the recipe and got about 3 bowls out of it!

Wrap Up

Installment number 4 is in the books! I hope you guys enjoyed these reviews and got inspired to go make something yummy in your own kitchen! Don’t forget to use the coupon code joyfulbalance-10 for 10% off your very own copy of the Coconut Bowls cookbook if you decide to cook along with me!

Until next time, stay well!

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