Recipe: Hearty Winter Bowl
Whether you’re enjoying a snow day or seeking a delicious and nutritious dinner – you can always benefit from balancing your portions. This hearty recipe is sure to provide you with all the above – with warming flavors and colors.
Struggling with understanding how to portion your plate? Check out the tip below!
Hearty Winter Bowl
Serves 5 – 6
Ingredients:
- 3 C kale
- 2.5 C red bell peppers, chopped
- 1 small head ( or ~3.5-4 C chopped) purple cabbage, chopped
- 2 C (or ~ 2 stalks) chopped leeks, sliced
- 15 oz. (1 can) great white northern beans
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 C fresh sage, chopped
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 2 C broth or stock of preference
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Directions:
- On stovetop, bring large pan to medium heat. Add ground beef and sage. Cook until browned (about 15-20 minutes).
- While ground beef is cooking, bring a large pot to high heat. Add olive oil and leeks. Cook leeks for 5-7 mins (leeks may start to caramelize, which is fine).
- When ground beef is browned, combine to large pot with leeks and decrease to medium heat. Cook for ~5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in cabbage and heavy cream and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Lastly, mix in remaining ingredients: kale, bell peppers, beans and 2 cups stock. Stir together so all ingredients are well mixed together.
- Cover pot and allow to cook for 30-40 min on low heat, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- Serve in bowl, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Adding salt to the end of the meal, instead of while you are cooking, can help control sodium intake. - Optional: Shred your favorite cheese atop for a creamy punch of flavor!
Tip: When planning your plate, aim to make it 50% non-starchy vegetables, 25% starch (starchy vegetables or grains), and 25% protein. This may be easiest to do when you have individual components to fill up each section, and may seem harder to follow if you’re making a soup, stew, chili, or casserole. Don’t let the lack of a segregated portions confuse you!
The photo to the left shows all the delicious ingredients of this recipe, which assure balance although the ingredients are mixed and layered in the final product.
Eating balanced can be easy; try not to complicate things. When cooking, be sure your ingredients reflect these same percentages.
Enjoy!