Lunch

The everyday nourish bowl

A flexible formula for a balanced lunch bowl: grain, protein, fats, veg, and a herby dressing. Learn the formula, change the toppings forever.

Lunch · 25 Min · Serves 2

The everyday nourish bowl

Ingredients

  • 250g (1¼ cups) cooked grain (quinoa, brown rice or farro)
  • 200g protein of choice (grilled chicken, tinned salmon, chickpeas, or halloumi)
  • 200g roasted sweet potato, cubed
  • 60g baby spinach or rocket
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 tbsp toasted seeds or nuts
  • Dressing: 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 garlic clove (crushed), ½ tsp honey, salt & pepper

Method

  1. If starting from scratch, cook your grain according to packet instructions. Roast sweet potato at 200°C for 20 minutes with olive oil and seasoning.
  2. Cook or prepare your protein of choice — grilled chicken, fried egg, tinned salmon, chickpeas, or halloumi all work beautifully.
  3. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until emulsified. Taste and adjust — add more vinegar for tang, more honey for sweetness.
  4. Build your bowl: grain as the base, then arrange all toppings in sections. Don't toss everything together — the layered look is half the joy.
  5. Drizzle with dressing and scatter with seeds or nuts. Serve immediately.

doTERRA oil tip: Stir 1 drop of Oregano oil into the dressing for an intensely herby flavour — it's very potent, so one small drop is plenty. Lemon oil also works brilliantly here.

Marcia's tip: The formula is grain (25%) + protein (25%) + veg (40%) + healthy fat (10%). Once you know it, you'll never need a recipe again.