Try this simple and healthy buddha bowl recipe that’s perfect for batch cooking.
Feeling overwhelmed by the idea of batch cooking? We know it can be intimidating. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend hours cooking extravagant recipes on Sunday night to reap the benefits of batch cooking.
The easiest way to batch cook is to make a handful of simply-prepared ingredients and throw them together in a buddha bowl or Tupperware (we like these glass options).
Buddha bowls are hearty dishes that contain a mix of different whole-food ingredients served in a big bowl and topped with a sauce. Traditionally buddha bowls are vegetarian, however, you can make one with pretty much any combination of protein, unprocessed carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Here are some of our favorite options:
Proteins: legumes, eggs, pasture-raised animal protein, wild-caught seafood
Unprocessed carbs: 100% whole grains and starchy vegetables
Healthy fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts/seeds, and nut/seed butters
Recommended Reading: Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables in Every Meal
What does this buddha bowl have to do with my thyroid?
In honor of Thyroid Awareness Month, this simple recipe is especially beneficial for people with thyroid conditions. The thyroid is a tiny, butterfly-shaped gland on the front of the neck. It makes hormones that regulate several critical functions in the body, including growth and development, body temperature, menstrual cycles, sleep, and weight.
When the thyroid is not functioning properly it can produce a variety of negative symptoms, including irritability, muscle weakness, fatigue, weight gain or loss, trouble sleeping, anxiety, depression, and irregular periods. This buddha bowl recipe has several key components that benefit the thyroid: foods that are rich in selenium and iodine and foods that help minimize inflammation.
Our buddha bowl recipe is also great for those who don’t have thyroid issues! Use it as a guide to making delicious and healthy batch cooked bowls. This simple recipe gives you the autonomy to choose between ingredients depending on your taste preferences.
Check out the nutrition facts below for more on important nutrients for thyroid health.
Key Nutrients for Thyroid Health
Selenium
An essential trace mineral for reproduction, selenium is also critical for thyroid function, DNA production, and antioxidant formation (1). Selenium plays several roles in thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. It also helps to increase antioxidant activity in the body. Antioxidants are important for people with autoimmune thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease.
The best sources of selenium include Brazil nuts and other animal proteins, such as shrimp, yellowfin tuna, eggs, and liver. One ounce of Brazil nuts (about 6 – 8 nuts) has over 700% of the recommended daily intake of selenium. This buddha bowl recipe has 55 mcg of selenium, the daily RDA for selenium.
Iodine
Iodine is a trace element that plays a key role in thyroid function. It is an essential component of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid hormones are essential to supporting metabolic activity in the body (2).
Both iodine deficiency and iodine excess can throw off your thyroid hormones and damage the thyroid gland. As a result, it’s important to have a healthy balance of iodine in the diet. Iodine deficiency causes an increase in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which can eventually lead to goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Excess iodine can prevent the synthesis of thyroid hormone. This may lead to some of the same symptoms of iodine deficiency, including goiter, elevated TSH levels, and hypothyroidism.
Because iodine stores need to be delicately balanced, we recommend getting your iodine from food sources (which have a much lower risk for iodine excess) compared to supplements. The best all-natural sources of iodine are seaweed (kelp, nori, kombu, and wakame), seafood, and eggs.
Low-Inflammatory Diet
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in America (3). This autoimmune disease triggers the body’s immune system to attack the thyroid gland, resulting in severe inflammation and tissue damage. This impairs the production of thyroid hormone, which then leads to hypothyroidism.
Eating a low-inflammatory diet is especially important for people with autoimmune thyroid conditions. Food and nutritional status have a big impact on our ability to metabolize and synthesize thyroid hormones, in addition to the functioning of our immune system.
Nourishing your thyroid with key nutrients like iodine and selenium can help support your thyroid gland in making thyroid hormones. Minimizing your exposure to inflammatory foods and increasing your intake of anti-inflammatory foods helps to minimize (and in some cases even reverse) the autoimmune response.
Many people with autoimmune disease do best on a Paleo diet, Autoimmune Paleo diet (AIP), or a Modified Paleo diet (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne has an amazing blog with AIP diet resources). If you have an autoimmune disease, try eliminating potentially inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, grains, legumes, and industrial seed oils. Eat lots of organic vegetables and fruit, grass-fed/pasture-raised/wild-caught animal proteins, and healthy fats (avocado oil, olive oil, grass-fed ghee). The AIP protocol is slightly more restrictive and should be followed under the guidance of a healthcare professional.
This buddha bowl recipe is 100% Paleo and includes sweet potatoes, a great source of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.
Thyroid-Happy Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
Choice of Protein:
- Soft/hard boiled free-range organic eggs
- Wild-caught shrimp
- Wild Alaskan salmon
- Wild halibut
- Free-range organic chicken/turkey breast or tenderloins
- Grass-fed organic beef
Choice of Carbs/Veggies:
- 1 package of kelp noodles *great source of iodine
- Spinach organic
- Sweet potato organic
- Acorn squash organic
- Delicata squash organic
- Beets
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Organic tomatoes
- Avocado slice each time to avoid browning
Lemon Tahini Dressing:
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
- Pinch of salt & pepper
- ¼ cup of water
Instructions
- Choose your choice of protein and vegetables
- For batch cooking, make multiple servings of the individual ingredients, and put the extra in glass containers. Store for up to a week.
- For the eggs, soft (6 minutes) or hard boil (10-14 minutes), then peel off the shell and store extra in a glass container.
- For the wild-caught shrimp, salmon, or halibut, grill in a pan using desired seasonings. We like to use smoked paprika, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and/or Trader Joe’s Chili Lime seasoning.
- For the free-range organic chicken or turkey, slice breasts or tenderloins into individual serving sizes, season with desired seasoning, then roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 20 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. We like to season with rosemary, thyme, cumin, iodized salt, pepper, garlic, and/or onion powder. You can also grill the chicken/turkey until it reaches that same internal temperature.
- For the grass-fed organic beef, cut into individual portions, season with desired seasoning, and grill in a pan until it reaches your desired temperature, i.e. rare, medium rare, medium, etc. We like to season with iodized salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, and or/onion powder.
- For the kelp noodles, rise under cool running water, then place into a bowl. From here, we like to season them with scallions and nutritional yeast, or simply leave them plain and add the Lemon Tahini Dressing on top.
- For the organic spinach, we like to layer the bowl with it raw (shown in pictures), or if desired you can steam it and add it on top of the kelp noodles and/or other veggies. If you leave it raw, rinse it the day of to avoid wilting and keep it fresh for longer. If cooking, do it on the day you plan to eat it to avoid spoilage.
- For the sweet potatoes, carrots, acorn squash, delicata squash, and beets, chop into medium sized pieces then roast at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes. Season with iodized salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon juice, or desired seasoning.
- For the cucumber and tomato, chop and add on top of the bowl and store extra in glass containers.
- For the Lemon Tahini Dressing, simply pour all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. This recipe makes multiple servings, so simply store the extra in the refrigerator in an air-tight, glass container.
- Once the individual ingredients are all prepared, choose what you’re in the mood for and throw it into a bowl! We recommend adding the raw spinach and/or kelp noodles first, followed by your choice of veggies, and then your choice of protein. Finish it off with sliced avocado and the Lemon Tahini Dressing, and enjoy!
Any general advice posted on our blog, website, or application is intended for reference and educational purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or other professional advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation arises in which you require medical advice, you should consult with an appropriately qualified and licensed medical services provider.
