Cooking at the Cove: Boost winter energy with thrive bowl and a smoothie

A grain and veggie thrive bowl along with a smoothie will give you a needed burst of energy for snow shoveling and other winter “sports.” Karen Schneider / For The Forecaster

Karen Schneider cooks and writes in the village of Cundy’s Harbor. You can reach her at iwrite33@comcast.net.

Many years ago, my friend Elaine took me to Life Alive Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I fell in love with the bowls of beautiful organic vegetable and grain combinations, as well as the colorful smoothies. From that day forward, I vowed I would eat this way as often as I could.

Since then, I’ve prepared countless grain bowls at home and upped the game on my smoothie routine. At this time of year especially, when being healthy and warm is key, it’s good to have these recipes in our arsenal to keep us strong and energetic.

The rule of thumb I use for creating my thrive bowls is to have as many colors as possible, along with a grain, a bit of onion and/or garlic, some nuts or seeds and a sauce. I cook my grain of choice and roast (in fall/winter) or steam (in spring/summer) my vegetables. I store all my thrive bowl components in the fridge in separate containers to mix and match throughout the next few days.

While you’re chopping up all those veggies, be sure to set aside some leafy greens for the smoothie. It’s nutrient-packed, really refreshing, and you don’t even taste the greens if you’re concerned about that. When I drink the smoothie to replace a meal, I include a scoop of plant-based protein powder and it keeps me going through just about anything.

Thrive bowl

2 cups butternut squash or sweet potato cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, slivered

3 cups broccoli florets or chopped zucchini

3 cups greens, stemmed and torn

2 large carrots, shredded

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds or toasted flaked almonds

Fresh herbs of your choice

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash or sweet potatoes on a large parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over all. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

After 10-15 minutes, stir the squash and add broccoli. Toss with a bit more olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for about 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender and broccoli is beginning to char a bit. (Keep a close check on things so nothing burns.)

To serve, place rice or quinoa in individual bowls and add squash or sweet potatoes and broccoli or zucchini. Spoon sauce over all and add greens, shredded carrot and sesame seeds or almonds.

Yield: 4 servings