My favorite kind of meal

Since becoming vegan, I've fallen in love with cooking. Out of all the things I cook on a regular basis, my favorite is very simple: bowls. Some people call them buddha bowls. They consist of a grain/carb, veggie, protein, and sauce. You don't have to be vegan to make bowls using this formula (although you should definitely try them the veg way sometime). I'd been making them for a while when I read about them in Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. She also has an entire chapter devoted to bowls in Isa Does It (aka the best cookbook ever).
The combinations are endless and so easy, even for the laziest of cooks.

Here are a few of my favorite combos:

                       

Sprouted rice blend, sauteed cauliflower/carrots, dry-fried cubed tofu, and a curry peanut sauce (sauce recipe from Isa Does It)

                        

Looks gross, oh so good. Israeli couscous, lightly breaded tofu, steamed broccoli, and Trader Joe's goddess dressing

                        

Burrito bowls. Rice (I usually use jasmine or basmati), black beans, salsa, and some kind of veggie (and crunched up tortilla chips on top, of course). The second bowl is the burrito bowl from Isa Does It (again). 

I love recipes with basic formulas like this because it really lets my creativity flow. Sometimes I steam the veggies, sometimes I roast them. I like to vary the way I cook the protein too. And there are so many grains out there! Quinoa, barley, couscous, millet, brown rice, black rice, wild rice. 

Apparently this is how I feel about grains