
This turmeric falafel bowl is vegan soul food in a bowl! Fresh greens, earthy beets, and sweet dates compliment the spicy falafels and umami filled dressing.
“With dishes as tasty as this turmeric falafel bowl I could definitely go vegan!”
True words I spoke to my husband today. But then we had a good chuckle because he knows how much I also love fine European cheese, and going out for a special steak dinner.
So no, while I don’t foresee myself ever excluding myself from animal products entirely, we do eat a lot of vegan meals in our house. I don’t need the vegan label to reap the benefits of this diet!
One such benefit of the vegan diet is this lovely buzzword: G U T. H E A L T H !
You hear about it all the time now so you might be wondering: “is my gut health up to snuff?… should I be asking my doctor for a gut checkup? How on earth can I even tell if my gut is healthy?”
I’m going to be you and your guts’ new best friend because I’m here to answer those million dollar questions! Lucky you, I’ll do it for free!
One component of a healthy gut is the diversity of micro flora (ie: bacteria and yeast strains) present in your gut. The current consensus is that a wider diversity = better gut health.
And a recent study revealed a VERY
easy way of identifying people who have a wider diversity…..
Those with a wider diversity were the people who ate a wider diversity of plant foods!
THAT’S IT!
It didn’t matter whether someone ate an entirely vegan or an omnivorous diet, what mattered was the number of different plant foods eaten over the course of a week! Those who ate more types of plants had healthier guts!
Lucky for us the researchers left us with a specific minimum number of plant foods to aim to eat in a week. And that number is 30!
Why This Turmeric Falafel Bowl is a Smart Choice
With this turmeric falafel bowl recipe you’ll start your week off strong with a grand total of 14 plant foods! You’re nearly halfway there!
- Spring mix greens (actually, with the mix you’ll probably end up with 3-4 varieties!)
- Beets
- Dates
- Chickpeas
- Onion
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Turmeric
- Sesame Seeds
- Canola oil
- Black Pepper
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Chili Pepper
Looking for other recipes that feature turmeric?
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations!

Turmeric Falafel Bowl
Ingredients
- Spring mix
- Beets cooked, cooled, and peeled *see note 1
- Dates cut into quarters
- Falafels *see note 2
- Savoury Turmeric Salad Dressing
Instructions
- This recipe hardly requires instructions: simply layer ingredients in individual bowls, stir, and eat!
You can feel free to adjust ratios, but this is what we enjoyed:
- 2 cups spring mix
- 1 small size beet
- 5 dates
- 3 palm-sized falafels
- 2-3 tbsp salad dressing
Notes
- For convenience, I love these vacuum packed beets! (affiliate link)
- The recipe I’ve linked to includes eggs so they wouldn’t be vegan but I also really love the boxed mix for falafels from Trader Joe’s!
I really enjoyed the mix of everything in this recipe. The falafel and the salad dressing were so easy to whip up in the blender, making this a fairly easy meal. I never would have thought of putting these things together. Thank you!