Welcome!

Post sponsored by Mahatma® Rice. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Poke bowls are a favorite of mine ever since we lived in Hawaii. Nowadays, thankfully, they are everywhere—and for good reason! Mahatma Rice Unites cultures, flavors and traditions. They are easy to make and very healthy. I try to do a couple plant-based meals a week, and a poke bowl is simple to make vegan by adding tofu as the “meat.” Sticky rice is necessary for poke bowls to make them compact, and Mahatma® Short Grain Rice is the perfect sticky sushi rice to make poke bowls. It is also vegan/vegetarian, so it checks off that box for me as well! It is gluten free, has no preservatives, and is non GMO project verified. Use a gluten-free soy sauce substitution for this recipe, and the poke bowl will be vegan and gluten free! I picked up all my ingredients at Safeway. They currently have a coupon offer and it  is also very easy to access via the app.

Ingredients
Mahatma® Short Grain Rice- perfect for making sushi
Tofu
Sliced Avocado
Shelled Edamame
Pickled Carrots
Pickled Cucumbers
Pickled Radishes
Furikake Seasoning
Soy Sauce
Lemon Slice for garnish

Mahatma® Short Grain Rice provides instructions on the package for cooking the perfect sushi rice, which is ideal for a poke bowl. While the rice is cooking (it takes about 20 minutes), I gather and prepare the other ingredients. A whole bag of rice makes about 4-5 poke bowls (depending upon how much rice you like for your meal)! I like that it makes the ideal amount for our family, checking off a couple boxes for our lunch or dinner; it is affordable, healthy and easy to make!

To make the poke dish very flavorful I like to pickle some vegetables.

The tart vegetables are a delicious contrast to the soy sauce. To pickle the vegetables, thinly slice (I use a mandolin, but you could also use a knife to thinly slice if you do not have a mandolin) the cucumber, radish and carrots. Heat up white vinegar with a teaspoon of salt and pour over the veggies. White vinegar & salt are the basic ingredients for quick pickling but you can use red wine vinegar, add pepper and herbs for flavor.  Some use sugar to pickle,  but I skip it. You can quickly pickle for 15 minutes or so (the longer the better) but overnight pickled vegetables is best for flavor. I pickle a bunch at a time so they are just always in fridge, but if I do not have any on hand and need them for a recipe, I let them sit while I prepare everything else.

I also chose to use rainbow carrots (found in the organic produce section at Safeway) because the bright colors make the food look even yummier. Rainbow, colorful food is one of my “tricks” to get the kids to eat healthy. Pretty looking food is not just a trick for children- you eat with your eyes first, so visual presentation is great for everyone!

Once rice is cooked, put the rice in a bowl and you begin to dress up the bowl how you want, one of my girls wants more pickled cucumber than anything, another lovesss the pickled carrots and edamame. There is really no set rule on the amount of ingredients you want to add. Although I usually prepare the bowls for the family, another option is to set out all ingredients and let the family make their individual bowls. Add tofu, avocado slices, pickled carrots, cucumbers, and radishes. Drizzle soy sauce and furikake seasoning (found in Asian specialty aisle at Safeway next to Mahatma Authentic Grains) for desired taste and garnish with lemon slice and edible flower (both are optional) I personally like a lot of soy sauce on the tofu itself.

Enjoy the poke bowl and do not forget to save via the Safeway app!