And while there's no specific mention of the trendy Buddha Bowl in Zigmond and Cottrell's book, the Buddha did eat from a bowl, which may have led to today's obsession with—or, rather, appropriation of—the term.
"Buddha woke up before dawn every morning and carried his bowl through the roads or paths wherever he was staying. Local people would place food in the bowl as a donation, and at the end he would eat whatever he had been given," explains Zigmond. "So that was the original Buddha Bowl: a big bowl of whatever food villagers had available and could afford to share. It was probably pretty healthy, since Buddha lived before the age of cheap processed food, but it was also probably pretty simple, maybe rice and a simple curry."
When it comes to eating their own Buddha Bowls, Zigmond and Cottrell have some strong opinions. " Here’s a dark secret: I hate quinoa," says Zigmond. "Quinoa is gross, as is kale. There are so many good vegetables in the world, why eat something that tastes like vinyl?" adds Cottrell. As far as prep, the mother of three likes to keep it super simple. "A lot of the Buddha bowl ideas I see on Pinterest involve quite a bit of prep and cooking. My version of a Buddha Bowl is whatever veggies are in the fridge, grilled up with a few spices. Sometimes simple gets the job done just fine."
For my most recent grain bowl (aka Buddha Bowl, aka the-way-I-eat-all-the-time-just-with-a-trendy-name), I've gone with Cottrell's advice and kept it simple AF. Use whatever grain you have on hand (brown rice is usually around, but lately I've been cooking farro), and all the green veggies you've got—roasted, steamed, raw, whatevs. The only real prep comes in making the tangy, herby Green Goddess dressing—which believe me, you'll want extras of. Toss the grains in the dressing, bowl it up with the veggies, drizzle on more dressing, and bam: suddenly, you'll be eating like Buddha, too.
