Recipe Inspiration: Wizard's Firework Bowl

"Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard...! Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer’s Eve. Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!"  
- Bilbo Baggins, from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit 

A part of being healthy is trying not just to stay active on my Journey to Rivendell, but also to eat well. Occasionally I'll be posting recipes that I've tried and that keep me inspired to move and be healthy, but also that I still really enjoy eating. After all, what's the point of taking the time to make a good meal if you don't enjoy it? Today's recipe, since it's so close to the Fourth of July, is a Wizard's fireworks inspired recipe, based on a vegetarian "Buddha Bowl."

This recipe includes lots of colorful vegetables decorating a "night sky" of Forbidden Black Rice. 

For this meal, you'll need:

• A one-half cup serving of cooked black rice: 160 calories 
• A one-half cup serving of sliced grape tomatoes: 16 calories
• A quarter cup serving of sliced carrots: 8 calories
• One-quarter small avocado: 80 calories
• One-third of a red, orange, or yellow bell pepper: 8 calories
• Two tablespoons chopped green onions: 2 calories

Chop all ingredients, place in your favorite bowl, and add a dressing of your choice! I chose Annie's Goddess dressing, just a half-tablespoon stirred throughout (30 calories).

It's really tasty, and only 274 calories (before adding dressing) for a delicious, colorful, filling, and healthy meal! (Vegan, whole food) 

"The feast was merry and the food all that his hunger could desire." 
- J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring