Easy Bean Bowl

By Julia Howard, MPH, RHN

Easy Bean Bowl

During times of stress, don’t be too hard on yourself if you fall off the nutritional wagon. The key is to get back on as soon as you can. You don’t need to beat yourself up over it or continue eating poorly as if all is lost.

Who had chips and wine for supper last week? Yep, me too. And that’s ok. You need to give yourself a chance to let the initial shock of this dramatic shift in how we’re all living register.  

But this week, let’s take some time to get back to a routine. Try to keep meal times similar to how they’ve always been. Prioritize a varied whole-food, plant-based diet of colourful fruits and veggies. This type of diet will provide your body with the phytonutrients and fibre it needs to support your immune system, improve your gut health, and help you deal with stress. 

If you’re taking this time at home to focus more on your nutrition, incorporating more plant-based proteins into your diet is one thing you could try. If you’re looking to add some more canned beans and lentils to your diet, be sure to check the sodium content on the label and try to choose a “no salt added” variety. 

Need some inspiration? Here’s one of my favourite plant-based recipes, the Easy Bean Bowl.

Easy Bean Bowl (Serves 3)

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 can of black beans (or adzuki or mung beans, rinsed and drained)
  • 1.5 cups of short grain brown rice (or quinoa), cooked in water
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 7-8 mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 handfuls of salad leaves (e.g., spinach, kale)
  • 1 large sweet potato, chopped and roasted
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Avocado, sliced

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Prepare rice (brown rice takes about 40 minutes to cook).
  • Chop sweet potato into cubes, place onto a pan, and drizzle with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder.
  • Cook sweet potato for about 20 minutes.
  • Heat oil in a pot and add black beans, stirring occasionally while coating beans in 2 tbsp water, juice of lime, a sprinkle of chili powder, and a pinch of salt.
  • Sauté your greens and mushrooms in a few tablespoons of water and salt.
  • Build your bowl! Grains on bottom, beans in the middle, + root veggies, greens, and mushrooms on top.
  • Season with lime juice, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.
  • Optional: add slices of avocado on top (1/4 avocado each/bowl).

Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading,

~Julia

If you want to learn more about nutrition or have some nutrition goals you need help with, we offer online nutrition coaching!

Julia Howard Nutritionist + Run Coach

I joined JKC because I wanted to better care for my physical health, but didn’t really know how, or where, to begin.  Seeking help from a trainer seemed like a wise choice, and I had heard great things about the staff at JKC. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate exercising.  So, I’ve only ever tried sticking with a gym routine twice in my life.  Each experience consisted of me wandering around, not knowing what to do, and settling for an elliptical machine or something else that seemed comfortable and non-threatening.  Each session was the same, and I felt like I was wasting my time.

Each session at JKC, however, is specifically crafted for me.  I don’t have to think about what to do, because I’m told what to do.  I don’t have to worry about how to do things properly, because I’m shown (sometimes multiple times!) how to accomplish each task.  I don’t have to be concerned about slipping into a comfortable routine, because Jon and Thomas won’t let that happen.

I am the oldest client at JKC at 79 years, soon to be 80. I started training at JKC July 2021. I started at JKC because two of my three sons Justin and Michael and their partners Andrea and Keir and one of my doctors recommended JKC. They all train at JKC Now my wife Linda trains at JKC too. My third son Jonathan lives in Kingston. There is a congenial community atmosphere at JKC. People are introduced to each other. There is effective personal training at JKC.

I started at JKC in January of 2014 and I’m 67 years old. When I had my Initial Assessment, I knew – almost immediately – that Jon knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I was overweight, out of shape, and in serious need of someone, like Jon, who could get me back on a fitness/conditioning routine that suited me, my age, my less than acceptable physical condition, my sometimes intermittent RA, and my need for a structured, consistent and yet flexible training and conditioning program that would work for me.

Fundamentally, if I made a choice at all with respect to JKC – it was to continue to come back each week. I have not been in a lot of gyms. To be honest, they used to intimidate me. What makes JKC different is their approach to each and every one of their clients. Jon and Thomas – and now Craig – tailor each training regime to the particular needs of each client. That ensures that the training regime will suit each client upon the start of training and changes as the client improves. It adjusts for any physical setbacks such as injuries and it adjusts for success. It is just that simple.

It is also the consistent encouragement that comes from Jon, Thomas and Craig. That voice that comes to you while you are in the middle of a particularly difficult set – rear-foot elevated split squats comes to mind immediately – that says “good job” or “keep it up” or “just a couple more reps.” To know, in that moment, that you are not alone and the trainer is paying attention to what you are doing. That is priceless for me.

After my children were born, I was completely out of shape. I had been active before my first pregnancy in 2008. I saw a post on social media about a charity event that was hosted at the gym. It prompted me to check out the JKC website. I was immediately impressed by the professional content and decided to give it a try. The professionally crafted and uniquely tailored work outs, as well as the sense of accountability and commitment that they foster. I have not missed a workout since joining – contrary to other experiences I have had when purchasing gym memberships. The flexibility of booking and rescheduling workouts, made easy by an online app, also contributed to my success in meeting my fitness goals.

I enjoy every session, working out with Jon, Thomas and Craig, as well as the “JKC Community”. Anytime someone achieves a personal best, I enjoy the celebration and support everyone gives each other. For me, I fondly remember achieving personal bests on bench press, chin ups and the sled push, in particular.

I started training at JKC in 2016 because I’ve always had upper back issues that became aggravated through work. I sought out other training and physio, but experienced little to no results. A client of mine happened to be coming to JKC for a similar issue and highly recommended it. I have had great success and haven’t looked back! I always feel like I’m getting programs tailored to my needs and I’m never bored. I’m 30 weeks pregnant now with my second child and have been able to workout through both pregnancies here at JKC. Even on my least mobile days, I felt safe to workout because my programs were specifically modified for my needs.

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