Spring Green Bowl (Printable)

Nourishing bowl with seasonal vegetables and grains, finished with bright lemon dressing.

# What You'll Need:

→ Grains

01 - 1 cup quinoa, brown rice, or farro
02 - 2 cups water
03 - ½ teaspoon salt

→ Spring Vegetables

04 - 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
05 - 1 cup asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
06 - 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
07 - 2 cups baby spinach leaves

→ Lemon Dressing

08 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
09 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
10 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
11 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
12 - 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
13 - 1 small garlic clove, minced
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Optional Toppings

15 - 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
16 - ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
17 - Fresh herbs such as mint, parsley, or dill, chopped

# Directions:

01 - Rinse grains under cold water. In a medium saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add grains, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, approximately 15 minutes for quinoa, 35 minutes for brown rice, or as package directs. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the peas, asparagus, and green beans separately for 2 to 3 minutes each, until just tender and bright green. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain thoroughly.
03 - Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until just wilted. Remove from heat.
04 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, maple syrup or honey, minced garlic, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
05 - Divide cooked grains among four bowls. Top each with blanched peas, asparagus, green beans, and sautéed spinach. Drizzle with lemon dressing.
06 - Sprinkle with toasted seeds, crumbled feta if using, and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in less than an hour and actually tastes like you spent way more time than you did.
  • Everything stays crisp and colorful instead of turning into mush, which is honestly the secret to why people actually eat their vegetables.
  • The lemon dressing is so addictive that you'll find yourself making extra to drizzle on everything for days.
02 -
  • Ice baths aren't fancy—they're how you stop vegetables from turning gray and mushy, and skipping this step is the difference between a bowl that looks alive and one that looks tired.
  • The dressing needs to taste slightly too strong on its own because it gets diluted by everything else in the bowl; this is the moment to be brave with lemon and salt.
03 -
  • Don't be shy with the lemon zest because it's doing half the work of the dressing—the oils in the peel are where all the actual brightness lives, not just the juice.
  • If you're serving this to guests who think salad is punishment, tell them it's a warm grain bowl and watch their whole attitude shift before they even taste it.
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