Fall! The season that brings me back to routine and structure (in a good way). The get-up and go-with-the-flow, travel-every-weekend (and drink alll the rosé) mentality is replaced by a slower, more intentional one.
And intentionality = productivity (!), which means I get really serious about batching; grouping similar tasks that require the same resources to save time and energy. So, instead of checking my email once every hour (while eating lunch, walking, or watching TV), I try to batch this task by responding to all emails at once (keyword: try).
The same strategy applies to making healthy meals. Instead of cooking every night – or even every day – I try to batch cook as much as possible. This doesn’t mean I prep all my food on Sundays. But it means that when I cook, I make sure to at least double the recipe (hello, leftovers). If you’re into this kind of thing, check out this post all about simple meal prep.
These fall harvest bowls with ginger maple tahini sauce are the perfect meal to practice this strategy with. They’re so simple to throw together and the time they take to make is largely unattended. For me and Josh, I tend to double (or even triple) the recipe for these fall harvest bowls and consider lunch done for the week.
If you need a bit more variety, the bowl consists of several different components – building blocks like wild rice, roasted squash, apples, and kale- that you can assemble as suggested or mix and match to create new meals all week. Some examples? Shredded kale and chicken salad or wild rice with fish. Just change up the sauce and toppings and, voilà, dinner is reinvented.
Let’s talk about this magical ginger tahini maple sauce. It’s one of my favorites because it goes on everything. Not only does it tie these fall harvest bowls together perfectly, but you can also use leftovers as a dip for raw veggies, drizzled on roasted potatoes, or even in a sandwich. Need a quick dinner? Make some socca, top with a fried egg, and drizzle with this sauce. A nourishing, satisfying meal in 5 minutes or less. Now that’s magic.
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Fall Harvest Bowls with Ginger Maple Tahini Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Bowl
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
Description
A healthy, seasonal dinner or lunch made with apples, squash, and kale. Easy to meal prep and gluten-free with a vegan option.
Ingredients
Bowls
- 2/3 cup dry wild rice
- 3 cups peeled and cubed winter squash (see notes)
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups shredded kale, loosely packed and thick stems removed
- 1 large apple, diced
- 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, optional
- 1 lb cooked chicken breast (or protein of choice)
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Ginger Maple Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 cup tahini paste
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 scant tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/4 cup warm water, plus more if needed
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the rice. Add 2/3 cups of wild rice, 2 2/3 cups of water, and a bit of salt to a saucepan and bring to a bowl (move on to the next step while waiting for the water to boil). When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is desired chewiness. Drain the rice using a colander.
- Roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together the peeled and cubed squash with 1/2 tablespoon of oil, the spices, and a bit of salt. Arrange the squash evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Prep the kale. Add the shredded kale to a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and massage with your hands until softened, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Make the ginger maple tahini sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Assemble. To each bowl, add 1/2 cup wild rice, 1/2 cup roasted squash, 1/4 of the total diced apple, 1/4 of the total massaged kale, and cooked protein. Drizzle with ginger tahini maple sauce and top with pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries (if using).
Notes
Shown here is red kuri squash, but any winter squash or even sweet potatoes can be used. To save time peeling and cubing the squash, look for pre-prepped winter squash in the produce aisle or try delicata squash because you can eat the skin!
Keywords: fall harvest bowl, fall bowl, harvest bowl, harvest salad, fall salad
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