Picnic Rainbow Nourish Bowls with Lemon Tahini Dressing

When you hear the words "eat the rainbow", this nourish bowl is the picture next to the definition in the dictionary, or at least it should be. All the vibrant colors, all the textures, and all combined into one dish make this the most visually appealing and highly nutritious lunch and especially if you're going to take it for a picnic.  It just goes fabulously with the great outdoors and particularly after a nice hike.

I love nothing more than feeling as if I'm doing something good for my body, especially when it tastes delicious.

Arugula, or rocket if it's called across the pond, is a slightly bitter leafy green that is an excellent detoxifier. I love its peppery flavor as the bed to these bowls.

Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are an excellent source of protein  weighing in at 10 grams per serving and nearly that of fiber as well.  They make this bowl nice and filling as well as lending a creamy texture.

I use wild rice as my grain base, although it's not a grain at all but the seed of an aquatic grass.  I love the chewy nuttiness, but you can use any grain you prefer such as brown rice.  

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Time saving tip - When cooking whole grains that take some time (wild rice and brown rice take about 45 minutes), make a double or triple batch.  The cooled and cooked grains freeze wonderfully so you can pull them out and use them at a moment's notice.

Purple or red cabbage is another nutritional powerhouse that I absolutely love.  It's actually slightly sweet, but the crunch is incomparable, the color vibrant and the fact that it is loaded with antioxidants, those cancer fighting properties that attack free radicals and help to fill you up with all its fiber is perfect for this bowl.

Eating the rainbow assures you of quality nutrition, so you can see how this bowl is a creative pallet that you're so ready to dive into.  The lemon tahini dressing brings everything together.  

You could certainly add some cold shredded chicken or chunks of hot smoked salmon if you wanted, but there's no need.  This is a crunchy, cruciferous, flavor packed meal.

Take 'em for a hike, take 'em to work or simply eat in front of the TV.  Have kids build their own and they'll be a participant in this healthy eating game plan.

Picnic Rainbow Nourish Bowls with Lemon Tahini Dressing
Makes 4 bowls


1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
4 cups arugula (I prefer baby arugula for this)
1 cup garbanzo beans, also knows as chick peas (rinsed and drained)
1 cup cooked and cooled whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice, barley or your preference
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup sugar snap peas (I like to cut mine in half lengthwise to expose the little peas inside)
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
12 kalamata olives


This is basically an assembly process. Artfully arranged all of the ingredients amongst four bowls or to go type picnic containers. I like to separate all of the colors on a bed of arugula so that I can see each individual components. It's just visually very appealing.


Make the dressing and put four individual servings in small containers that can travel to your picnic or simply take along the entire jar for drizzling over each individual nourishing bowl. 




Lemon Tahini Dressing


1/3 cup tahini (ground sesame paste)
Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos)
1 garlic clove, minced or grated
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper (about 2 grinds)
Water as needed if your mixture needs to be slightly thinned out

Combine everything but the water in a blender (I like to use my mini Ninja blender for this).  Blend until smooth.  If the mixture is thicker than you want, add a small amount of water and combine until your perfect desired consistency.

I store this in a jar in the container for up to 2 weeks, but it never lasts that long.