Recipes: Macrobiotic Miso Bowl

Posted by Claire Ragozzino

It’s been quiet on the blog front lately! Between launching a new website, hosting two retreats, guiding the fall group cleanses, completing my prenatal/postpartum yoga teacher training and studying for my upcoming birth doula training, I’ve been one busy (and blessed!) lady over here. It hasn’t left me much time for recipe testing and exploration in the kitchen. In fact, these days I’ve been coming back to the meals that are tried-and-true for me. This warm macrobiotic miso bowl being one of them.

I often hear from clients and friends about how difficult it is time find time to cook when their schedules are so jam packed. I agree, busy weeks are not the time to be hosting dinner parties and working through extravagant new cookbooks to expand your repertoire. But there’s no reason home-cooked meals should be written off your to-do list. When we’re feeling stressed and frazzled, loving nourishment is more vital than ever.
To keep my kitchen time down on busy weeks, I schedule ahead time to prep a few ingredients that can be thrown together in a variety of different bowls. My friend Jessica over at One Part Plant called this idea “Bowl Week”. For example, this week I spent 45 minutes one evening prepping my key ingredients ahead of time to have easy-to-build meals ready for the following days. I chopped up and roasted a butternut squash and sweet potato, soaked and cooked french lentils, started a rice cooker full of brown rice, and made this creamy sesame tahini dressing for a lunchtime salad bowl. The next day, I had just 30 minutes between clients for lunch, so I threw some miso and hot water into a blender, chopped up some fresh greens, sliced an avocado and added my already cooked ingredients to the bowl. In 5 minutes, I had this creamy hot miso bowl of amazingness.  The next day, I had a variation of my favorite Yogi Bowl.

While Ayurveda does not recommend eating leftovers, I think this compromise of adding fresh prana-filled greens to your more sturdy staple ingredients like gently cooked lentils and whole grains, still nourishes you on your busiest days while meeting the demands of a modern lifestyle. Give this concept a try and see if it eliminates some of the “What should I eat right now?” stress off your plate! I promise this macro miso bowl never leaves me feeling any less than completely satisfied and energized.

MACROBIOTIC MISO BOWL

1 small winter squash (butternut, acorn, delicata, pumpkin), cubed & roasted
1 cup cooked french lentils
4-5 leaves kale, finely chopped
2-3 leaves red cabbage, finely chopped
1 radish, sliced thinly
1 avocado, halved & sliced thinly

Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly toss the cubed squash in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast until tender. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.

Broth
3 cups hot water
2 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger

Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender. To serve, arrange the roasted squash, cooked lentils, and veggies in the bowls.  Divide the hot broth evenly between the bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or gomashio. Enjoy hot!

Makes 2-3 servings