Rip's Bowl of Powerful Stuff

We went to Austin, Texas to listen in on an Engine 2's Plant-Strong discussion with Rip Esselstyn. We were fortunate to eat with Rip at the Whole Foods Market, where we were introduced with this nutrient dense bowl of powerful stuff!

This is one easy meal, especially if you have extra veggie left-overs! The base is always a sweet potato. Then, you choose the grain, beans, veggies and toppings! Here's our favorite:

1 sweet potato, baked
1/2C barley, cooked
1/2C JBC (see our chili recipe here)
Pinch of fresh cilantro

Set your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (or, if you are crunched for time you can use the potato setting on your microwave which cooks the potato in 5 minutes). Carefully, poke holes with a fork or knife in your medium-sized sweet potato. Place on a baking sheet and let it bake for about 1 hour. Once it is soft, remove it from it from the oven and let it cool. Then, strip the skin off and mash up in a bowl. Now, it's time to add in your grain. We like to use barley, but feel free to use your favorite, like quinoa or brown rice. To cook barley, you need 3 cups of water for every cup of grain. Simmer pearled barley for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and chewy, and hulled barley for 40 minutes or longer. Once this is finished, add it to your bowl. Then, add in 1/4C of your favorite beans! Next, you can add a 1/4C of veggies of your choice! We usually have our favorite JBC chili on us, so we just like to add that. But, feel free to add in mushrooms, bell peppers, roasted garlic, onions, corn or anything else you like! Now top it with fresh herbs and dig on in!

Prep time 10 minutes (not including baking the potato or cooking rice)
Serves 1-2 people.