I used to be against vegetarian meals. Seriously, I’d confidently proclaim that God made meat for me to eat.
But the issue was honestly just that I really felt like I could NOT get enough protein in a vegetarian meal. And when I don’t get enough protein, I tend to overeat because I am just not full.
I also tend to overeat when food is just incredibly flavorful, but that’s a different problem.
I need protein in order to have healthy habits, and I also need it in order to really have efficient workouts. It’s a super common belief that the best form of protein is meat, so I pretty much rode that train believing meat was the only way.
Thankfully, I have a new client for my meal planning program that is a vegetarian, so it gave me the push I needed to come up with delicious, filling, and protein heavy dishes without meat.
Y’all, I can honestly say I have been having a BLAST doing it.
It turns out there are so many ways to have a vegetarian dish with a ton of protein, be completely full and satisfied, and have it be totally delicious.
The first dish on my list was this vegetarian power bowl. I had been wanting to do a power bowl for a while anyways, so doing a vegetarian one seemed like a fun idea. After all, isn’t the whole idea of a power bowl to get creative and have a nutrient dense dish?
For this first one, however, I kept it pretty simple. I used four main ingredients:
Sweet potatoes, quinoa, black beans, and my creamy honey avocado dressing.
I cooked my quinoa with a bit of cumin and salt and it amped the flavor WAY up.
I roasted my sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and garlic, and I simply added a little salt to my black beans. Once it was all plated, I put a dollop of honey avocado dressing in the middle.
Although I plated the items in sections so that they were separate, I enjoyed the bowl most when I was taking bites of everything together.
The bowl was powerful, indeed. Between the quinoa and the black beans I got the protein I needed, and the sweet potatoes were super filling. The honey avocado dressing gave a smooth and creamy texture that was to. die. for.
And per usual… I covered my bowl in hot sauce.
Seriously, y’all. You want to try this bowl. You can get creative if you want- add cheese, avocado slices, or any other exciting ingredients (but keeping it clean is up to you)!

Vegetarian Power Bowl
Here's What You Need
- 2 medium sweet potatoes diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 c quinoa
- 2 c water
- 2 tsp cumin
- 4 tsp salt divided (optional)
- 1 c black beans rinsed and drained
Here's What You Do
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Preheat oven to 400F.
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In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes in olive oil. Toss well to evenly coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and season with desired amount of salt and pepper.
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Roast sweet potatoes for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and tender but crispy on the outside.
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In a stovetop pot, combine quinoa with water and cumin. Add salt if desired.
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Boil quinoa for ten to fifteen minutes or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
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Heat black beans until they reach desired temperature. Add salt if desired.
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Plate all ingredients and add creamy honey avocado dressing to top (link in post). Season with salt and pepper.
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Enjoy!