Here’s a really delicious, really simple, really elegant way to be kind to yourself when you’ve had a long day and there are little bits of this and that in the fridge. Seems like there are a lot of days like this lately — which makes it extra important to find easy ways to nourish yourself. The important things to remember here are, first, that you can make this a hundred times and you will never get tired of it because it will never be the same twice, and, second, that steps 5 and 6 are as important as the earlier steps for satisfying both your brain and your appetite.

1. To start, pick a base to fill your bowl with approx 1/2-3/4 cup of either sweet potatoes, roasted veggies, quinoa, brown rice, or even a few spoons of leftover oatmeal if you’re feeling a little desperate.
2. In one corner of the bowl, add a big handful of washed greens, like spinach, kale, herbs (think dill, basil, parsley, mint, etc), lettuce, arugula, microgreens, mixed greens.
3. Chop up a pile of any combination of colorful vegetables, like beets, peppers (red, yellow, orange), carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, or red onion, and add to the opposite corner of the bowl. Whatever combo you can come up with is fine.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of any type of beans, like kidney beans, hummus, edamame, lentils, white beans, chickpeas, or peanuts.
5. Add foods that are rich in nourishing fats, like half an avocado, or a few tablespoons of nuts, seeds, and/or olives.
6. Spoon on a couple teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. If you have a good salad dressing in your refrigerator, that works, too. Just make sure the first ingredient is something like olive oil or avocado oil or tahini, and NOT water or corn syrup.

Hearty appetite!