We have been trying to plan out our weekly meals more often recently, because I loathe leftovers that seem to get forgotten about! For our family, we have found the key to planning our meals is to get our little ones involved in the decision making – within reason, of course. This of course means happy kids, full bellies and NO wasted food!
Lucky for us, our kids are really good eaters which makes meal planning for the whole family pretty simple. Because they are also the ones pushing us to maintain a vegetarian and plant based lifestyle, we also have to plan the right kind of meals for them so we are sure they are intaking adequate protein!
When our youngest child, our sushi loving 5 year old, suggested we go out to eat sushi every night instead of cooking, we knew he needed work getting the concept of meal planning, but he also was on to something! We all LOVE sushi! Deconstructed sushi bowls are what we came up with as an alternative and have proven to be an easy midweek dinner option that the whole family will enjoy, which means NO leftovers to toss.
Our 8 year old daughter has decided she wants to be a food blogger recently, (amongst being a dress designer and an art teacher), so she styled these photos and prepped this dinner. This whole family meal planning thing, is a HIT!
To replicate at your house, here is what you will need to make DIY Vegetarian Sushi Bowls…
First, steam some sticky rice over the stove or in the rice cooker.
CHILDHOOD CHEF TIP: Get a rice cooker and show your children how to use it. It may just be easier for them to use than a toaster! Promise! Simply teach them how to measure out the rice into a measuring cup, pour into the rice cooker and add in the appropriate amount of water. Plug the machine in and turn the switch to “COOK”. THAT’S IT! EASY!
INGREDIENTS:
Chop one package of dried seaweed
Peel and finely chop three large carrots (Shred them if you prefer)
Spiralize one cucumber (Finely chop if you don’t have access to a hand held spiralizer)
Finely chop one large red pepper
Cook two cups of edamame beans
Slice and scoop out the flesh of an avocado
Have on hand sesame seeds, sriracha and soya sauce for garnishing
To create, layer sticky rice in a bowl along with whatever toppings you would like to create your DIY vegetarian sushi bowl.
To take this quick and easy meal up a notch, try your hand at creating a spicy homemade peanut sauce like we did.
PEANUT SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
1 tbs of minced ginger
1tbs of soya sauce
1tbs of sriracha sauce (optional)
Slowly add in 1/3 cup of filtered water into your sauce, while hand whisking it. Add as much water as you please to get it to the consistency you desire.
That’s it! Drizzle your peanut sauce on top of your sushi bowl and DIG IN!
This bowl is chocked full of healthy vegetables but also PROTEIN!
A 155-gram (g) cup of frozen, prepared edamame beans contains
- 188 calories.
- 18.46 g of protein.
- 8.06 g of fat.
- 8.1 g of dietary fiber.
- 13.81 g of carbohydrate, including 3.38 g of sugars.
- 98 milligrams (mg) of calcium.
- 3.52 mg of iron.
- 99 mg of magnesium.
The whole family loved this meal, but more than that, this Mama LOVED the fact that the kids can make this easy midweek recipe all on their own! This whole growing up thing, isn’t turning out to be too bad. 😉
Do your kids cook in the kitchen?
