Power Bowl with Walnut Pesto
This power bowl is the perfect healthy lunch or dinner recipe. It’s packed with nutritious fats, protein and carbs to create a well-balanced meal.
Thank you to California Walnuts for sponsoring this blog post. All opinions are my own.
February is American Heart Month. Heart-healthy foods are super beneficial for everyone. Through dietary and lifestyle changes, heart disease can be prevented and controlled. Walnuts are one of my favorite heart-healthy(1)foods because they are so versatile. When it comes to health, getting a good nights sleep is super important. I’ve been incorporating more walnuts into my diet to help support my sleep patterns. Walnuts contain melatonin (3.5 +/-1.0 ng/g), an important plant compound related to maintaining a healthy sleep cycle.4. Sleep is super important! I aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night. For American Heart Month I decided to make walnut pesto power bowls because they are a good way to get a lot of nutrients in.
Ingredients in Walnut Pesto
Walnuts
Spinach
Basil
Nutritional yeast
Lemon Juice
Garlic
Olive Oil
How to Make Walnut Pesto
First, add all of the ingredients to the food processor except the olive oil. Pulse the ingredients until they are broken into fine pieces. Then turn the food processor and slowly pour in the olive oil through the top. Blend until smooth but make sure not to overdo it.
How to Cook Brown Rice
The most important thing about cooking rice is that you should follow the instructions on the package! Brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook.Make sure to use a timer so you don’t overcook your rice.The first step is to bring the water to a boil, then stir in the rice and bring to a boil again. Then reduce the heat to low (about 3), and cover the rice and let it simmer. Once there are about 5 minutes left, check the rice. You know the rice is done when all of the water is absorbed.
How to Sauté Broccoli
Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables. I probably eat too much of it if that’s really a thing. To sauté broccoli, add about 2 tsp of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Then add in the broccoli. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir the broccoli to make sure its coated. Then add 3 tbsp of water to the pan to help the broccoli steam. Make sure to stir the broccoli frequently so that it does not burn. Cook the broccoli until its tender or about 5-7 minutes. If you like your broccoli on the softer side, cook longer.
How to Pan Sear Chicken
First cut your chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Then season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the olive oil is heated, add in the chicken. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken in batches in necessary. It should take about 2 minutes per side to cook.
Footnotes:
1.Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts offers 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid –the plant-based omega-3
Resources
https://walnuts.org/health-professionals/essential-omega3s/
Power Bowl with Walnut Pesto
ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups spinach
- 1 ½ cups fresh basil
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste*
- 1 cup brown rice
- Water for cooking
- 1 head of broccoli
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Olive oil for cooking
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Olive oil for cooking
instructions:
How to cook Power Bowl with Walnut Pesto
- Add all the ingredients to the food processor expect the olive oil and salt and pepper. Pulse the ingredients until they are chopped into fine pieces. Then turn the food processor on and slowly pour in the olive oil through the top. If your food processor does not have the opening in the top, just remove the top and add a little olive oil at a time. Blend until the olive oil is incorporated. Store this pesto in the fridge for up to 4 days (but it probably won’t last that long).
- Heat about 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Then add in the broccoli and season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir the broccoli to make sure its coated. Then add 3 tbsp of water to the pan to help the broccoli steam. Make sure to stir the broccoli frequently so that it does not burn. Cook the broccoli until its tender or about 5-7 minutes.
- Cut your chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Then season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.Once the olive oil is heated, add in the chicken. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken in batches in necessary. It should take about 2 minutes per side to cook.
- Cook the rice according the instructions on the package! Refer to the previous section for some tips on cooking rice.
- Divide the ingredients amongst bowls to serve. You will most likely have rice and pesto leftover. But this should make 4-5 bowls. I served mine with some avocado as well.