Happy Hump Day, my vegan lovelies! I hope you’re thriving this week and eating something delicious and healthy.
Do you have set times for your meals or do you start prepping your meal when you feel the first pangs of hunger? I’m more of the latter and I find that it helps me cut down on unnecessary snacking for the most part. I’m not eating because “it’s time to eat” but because my belly is yelling at me that she’s hungry. It works for me.
Anyway, the other day we had a late lunch and I was deep in the writing cave working on my latest romance novel (follow up to Just One Night if you’re interested) and before I knew it the clock said it was late. Like really, really late.
I had a plan because that’s just the type of woman I am. I always have a plan but on this night the meal I planned to make would’ve taken too much time so I had to improvise and by improvise I mean that I bumped up a recipe that was meant for later in the week, one of those tasty but easy recipes for those days when you’re exhausted or just over it.
Enter, the Gyro Ball Bowl.
The what, you ask?
You heard me right. I saw a recipe for gyro lentil balls that looked delicious but I know myself and I knew I wasn’t going to make lentil balls , at least not this week but I liked the idea of the whole dish, a gyro bowl. Y’all know how much I love a Harvest Bowl or Buddha Bowl or even a Burrito Bowl! They are the perfect way to have things like tacos, burritos, gyros, fajitas, shawarma or doner kebabs without all the excess calories that come from the wraps.
Don’t believe me? Check it out: 100 grams of rice/couscous/bulgur etc… is about 350 calories. But 60 grams of grains goes perfectly in a bowl whereas that taco shell or pita bread is anywhere from 80 to 150 grams per vessel! And more if you choose flavored or colored shells.
Okay, rant over and back the food.
There are a few components to this vegan gyro bowl but each of them is easy so let me prove it and you can tell me how brilliant I am in the comments. 🙂
Kitchen Tools:
*Cutting board
*Kitchen knife
*Mixing bowls
*Citrus juicer
*Microplaner
Ingredients:
Gyro Balls:
*Vegan balls (your choice, mine are by Vemondo made with pea protein)
*Vegan Worcestershire sauce
*Gyro seasoning: salt & pepper, paprika, cumin, parsley, oregano, thyme, lemon zest, cinnamon & garlic
Vegan Tzatziki Sauce:
*Vegan yogurt (I love my cocogurt)
*Cucumber, diced
*Lemon zest & juice
*Garlic, minced
*Dill
*Lemon vinegar (red wine works if ya got it)
Couscous
*Lemon peel, finely sliced
Tomato Salad:
*Tomatoes (I used cocktail tomatoes)
*Herbed olives
*Salt & pepper & garlic granules
*Lemon juice
Instructions:
*Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
*Place vegan balls on a baking sheet and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until you get the texture you want. I should’ve used the air fryer but I just forgot, so tell me how they come out if you use it for this.
*Put on the water or waste free broth for the couscous. Set aside and after the first 5 minutes have passed, tilt the lid to let the grain steam & fluff. I added sliced lemon skin to the couscous when I fluffed it with a fork prior to serving.
*Mix all the ingredients for the tzatziki in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. Refrigerate if you want until you’re ready to use it, but be sure to taste it and add more seasoning as needed.
*Chop the tomatoes and olives and place into a small mixing bowl, toss with salt, black pepper, garlic and lemon juice. Vinegar will also work here, but really it’s up to you.
*Assemble the ingredients into a bowl or on a plate depending on how you want it stacked. Sometimes I like to make it like a burrito bowl with the grains on the bottom but this time I arranged it like a bento box with each ingredients scattered around the plate so you can decide how you want to put it all together in your mouth.
This Vegan Gyro Ball Bowl was a hit with me and the Hubs. It was tasty with lots of flavor and super satisfying. Just like having a gyro only you know, better.
What’s your favorite type of Vegan Bowl?
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The Spicy Spatula 
Whatcha think?