Vegan Sunshine Bowl w/ fresh crunchy veggies- grated beets, carrots, kohlrabi, sunchokes, radish & jicama with nutty brown rice and Creamy Sunshine Sauce! Vegan and GF!
Happiness consists not of having, but of being. It is a warm glow of the heart at peace with itself.
David O. McKay
Coming home after a two-week road trip, exploring Idaho’s beautiful nooks and crannies -our fridge is frighteningly bare. I make a quick trip to the farmers market and return home, arms full of fresh produce. While at the market, I have this Sunshine Bowl in mind and make sure to pick out fresh crunchy veggies like golden beets, carrots, kohlrabi, sunchokes, radish, jicama and cucumber – all of which can be grated, spiralized or thinly sliced- and taste good in their raw state.
In this recipe, all the veggies are raw, served over a bed of warm, short-grain nutty brown rice (or any other whole grain) with kale.
But it’s the Sunshine Sauce that really makes all this healthiness -palatable and delicious. Earthy and flavorful, it’s low in fat and oil, vegan and gluten-free. Because most of the ingredients are all raw, this dish is pumped full of antioxidants, vitamins and living nutrients.
I think of this as a “detox” bowl, and whenever I eat this, I feel energized and alive, and my body thanks me for it. It also passes the Brian taste test, meaning – he loves it without knowing how good it is for him. Haha! The Sunshine Bowl makes shopping at the farmers market fun… giving a good excuse to try different, interesting veggies that you wouldn’t normally pick out.
You will need a total of four cups of grated or sliced raw vegetables…so try to use four different vegetables.
What is in a Sunshine Bowl?
- raw crunchy veggies
- whole grains – brown rice or quinoa
- Tofu
- Sunshine Sauce!
The Sunshine Sauce is whipped up quickly in the blender. It is made with sunflower seeds(or hemp), water, Bragg’s liquid Aminos, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and fresh citrus. I added bee pollen as well, but this is optional.
You can substitute tamari or soy sauce, but I find the Liquid Aminos add an earthy nutty flavor that I really enjoy, one that is lost when using soy sauce.
Fresh grated beets add a pleasant sweetness to the dish, and I always try to include them- here were using golden beets.
Carrots can be grated -or shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler to add a different texture.
Kohlrabi has thick skin, so be sure to peel and either grate or cut into fine matchsticks. It tastes a little like a cross between turnip and radish. Substitute fresh radishes, or daikon if you can’t find these.
Fresh sunchokes ( aka Jerusalem Artichokes) are the tuber of a type of perennial sunflower. Raw they add a delicious crunch and earthy nutty flavor. Roasted they taste similar to artichokes. For this recipe, I leave them raw, scrub them and slice them thinly, leaving the peels on.
For protein, add small cubes of raw, sprouted tofu lightly marinated in Braggs Liquid Aminos. Of course, you can buy baked tofu, or make crispy tofu for this (delicious) or bake the tofu – but for the sake of keeping this lean and raw today, I used fresh uncooked raw tofu. It’s not a texture for everyone- so if new to tofu- perhaps try the crispy tofu.
Once the rice is cooked and the veggies prepped, divide into bowls. Place a bed of warm rice or grain into the bowls and top with kale and then divide the other veggies.
Top with sunflower seeds and chives.
Drizzle the Sunshine Sauce over top……. and feel your body tingle with energy.
Enjoy this clean, raw vegan Sunshine Bowl and let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
Vegan Sunshine Bowl
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: healthy veggie Bowl
- Method: assembled
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This healthy vegan Sunshine Bowl is packed full of healthy veggies, brown rice and greens, and dressed with the tastiest Sunshine Sauce. (Updated 4/2021)
Ingredients
Units
- 4 cups hot cooked brown rice, quinoa or other whole grain
- 16 ounces (1 1/2 cups) cubed extra-firm tofu ( or feel free to buy baked tofu, or make crispy tofu)
- Drizzle of soy sauce or liquid aminos- optional
- 4 cups fresh raw crunchy veggies- grated beets, grated carrots, radish, daikon, kohlrabi, cucumber, jicama, peppers, snap peas, tomatoes
- 2 cups packed leafy greens--kale, spinach or arugula
- 2 tablespoons chives or scallions- chopped
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- sprouts- optional
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, raw (see notes!)or sub hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup water (start with 1/4 cup, add more as needed)
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (half an orange)
- 1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Amino's or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, more to taste
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- -------
- 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional, for color)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons bee pollen (optional, for allergy benefits)
- 1-3 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional, for rich flavor)
Instructions
Cook grain or rice according to directions. Drizzle 1 teaspoon Braggs liquid amino over cubed tofu in a bowl and set aside, letting it marinate.
Prep tofu: If using raw tofu, cut into cubes and place in a bowl and drizzle with a little soy sauce to season. Alternatively, crispy tofu would taste great here, or baked tofu.
Prep all veggies: grate or finely slice and set a side.
Make Sunshine Sauce (see notes first). Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until creamy and smooth. This may take a few minutes- and remember to scrape down the sides. If too thick, blend in a tablespoon or two more water (or add olive oil) as needed. It will thicken as it chills. Taste adjust salt and vinegar to your taste.
Assemble: When the grain is cooked, divide among 4 bowls. Top with chopped kale. Arrange veggies and tofu overtop. Drizzle with Sunflower Seed Sauce. Garnish with chopped chives ( or scallions ), sprouts, and sunflower seeds.
Notes
- If you don’t have a high-powered blender, these can be tricky to blend until completely smooth and creamy. You could simmer them in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain,or soak them in cold water for 30-60 minutes first (or overnight) to soften before blending, or sub hemp seeds. Soaked cashews would also work here.
- If you only have salted sunflower seeds, skip the salt in the recipe, adding it to taste.
Componenets can be made ahead, refrigerated and assembled for midweek meals. The dressing will keep up to one week in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -with 3 tablespoons Sunshine dressing
- Calories: 509
- Sugar: 9.9 g
- Sodium: 595.5 mg
- Fat: 19.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 64.1 g
- Fiber: 9.6 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sadly, not one of my favorites. 🙁 The dressing came out so watery and I wasn’t able to doctor it up. That really makes the dish, so it was just meh to me. I’ve tried a couple other Sylvia recipes and liked them though, so I’ll keep trying!
I caught the error in the recipe- I’m so sorry about that. Fixed now. I appreciate you letting me know!
I LOVE this recipe and make it often! I didn’t have all of the ingredients for the sauce the second time I made it and ended up using substitutions with great success, which I think I will repeat in the future:
-substituted the soy sauce and orange juice for one ingredient – Yuzu Ponzu Sauce
-substituted the Apple Cider Vinegar for Rice Vinegar
-left out the nutritional yeast
-added a splash of Mirin
-topped with raw pecan pieces instead of additional sunflower seeds
Love it! Thanks for sharing Lynn!
Made this tonight but next time I will change the dressing a bit. Mine came out very watery and a little too salty flavored. I poured out half the liquid and added cashew butter to thicken it and added some orange rind. Delicious bowl idea though, and a good way to use up extra veggies. Thanks!
I’m so sorry about the runny dressing, there was a typo in the recipe – but it is fixed now. 🙂
Hi. Need to add on tahini ? Or just blend without tahini sauce?
Yes, no actual tahini in it – the sunflower seeds replace it. 🙂
I’ve loved this bowl for years now and never thought to leave a rating, The dressing is SUPERB!
But plz can i use white Basmati Rice in place of Brown Rice , will it turn out to be the same ?
Of course- use any grain you like!
The pop up ads at the bottom of the screen are extremely annoying.
Thanks, I’ll look into it. Are you on mobile, desk top or i-pad?
I love rainbow salads! The dressing sounds unbelievable, I love using tahini in recipes. I’m going to have to try making this!
Your pictures are so bright and inviting! I can’t wait to give this a try 🙂
Thanks Paula!
What a gorgeous salad! It makes me happy just looking at it. We just returned from a long weekend in Idaho and I’m itching to get back to explore more places.
Your pictures are beautiful and that sunflower seed tahini sauce sounds delicious! I’ll try out tomorrow for lunch.
Let us know what you think…thanks!!!
That sunflower seed-tahini dressing sounds really nice! However, I wonder if the recipe is missing tahini? 🙂
The sunflower seeds replace the tahini in this recipe. I suppose the tahini should be “tahini”. 🙂
I see the confusion- I may change the name of the dressing.
Beautiful photos that captures the essence of an equally beautiful salad. I love dressing.
This is gorgeous! I love kohlrabi!
another stunning recipe. i love how nourishing it will be for my body!
Thanks Amanda!!
Looks so gorgeous – I love bowls!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
This is a beautiful salad, and so, so healthy. : )