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Sharing a super easy and delicious buddha bowl dressing recipe.

Hi friends! How’s the week going?? It’s been a good one over here. I have a few appointments today and looking forward to a low-key night at home. I’ve been finishing up a round of the EquiLife detox and have been enjoying all of the fresh and colorful foods I’ve been eating.

Today, I wanted to chat a little bit about Buddha bowls and one of my go-to recipes for salad dressings. I make this almost weekly and love having it on hand.

(Sakara is what made me fall in love with Buddha bowls for lunch! Their salads always include a mix of  gluten-free grains, tons of veggies, crunchy toppings, and amazing sauces)

Buddha bowl dressing recipe

Buddha bowls are one of the most versatile and delicious meals you can make. They typically feature a balanced mix of grains, protein, vegetables, and a flavorful sauce to tie everything together. What makes them unique is their vibrant combination of colors, textures, and nutrients. These macro bowls are packed with fiber, healthy fats, and protein, making them a great plant-based option for any meal.

The key to taking your Buddha bowl recipe to the next level is the dressing. A great Buddha bowl dressing enhances the natural flavors of the ingredients, bringing them together into a perfectly balanced bite. Here’s my favorite dressing that will complement pretty much any Buhha bowl combo!

How To Make Buddha Bowls Interesting

Buddha bowls are already packed with variety, but there are a few ways to make them even more exciting! One of the best ways to elevate your grain bowls is by using a delicious Buddha bowl dressing. The right sauce can transform simple ingredients like brown rice, sweet potatoes, and black beans into a next-level meal.

Other ways to make your Buddha bowl interesting include:

Adding a crunchy topping like toasted seeds or nuts.

Using a mix of cooked and raw veggies for varied textures.

Experimenting with different grain bases, such as quinoa, farro, or brown rice.

Including a flavorful protein source like marinated tofu cooked in the air fryer, tempeh, leftover steak, shrimp, or grilled chicken.

What are your favorite ways to spice up a Buddha bowl? Leave a comment below—I’d love to hear your ideas!

Buddha Bowl Dressing Recipe

This Buddha bowl dressing is the perfect balance of tangy, savory, and slightly sweet flavors. It’s simple to make, gluten-free, and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Whether you’re meal prepping or making a bowl fresh, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free option)

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup or honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tbsp tahini

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 tsp black pepper

Splash of sriracha

Print

Instructions

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to go. This will make the process quicker and ensure the flavors are well balanced.

Step 2: Blend or Whisk Together

You can either whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl or blend them in a small blender for a smoother consistency.

Step 3: Taste and Adjust

Give your dressing a taste and adjust as needed. If you want it tangier, add more apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. For a touch of sweetness, add a bit more maple syrup or honey.

Step 4: Store in the Refrigerator

Pour the dressing into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for up to a week. Before using, give it a good shake or stir!

You also might want to check out my superfood smoothie recipes.

What’s your favorite Buddha bowl sauce? Let me know in the comments below! What’s your favorite restaurant or homemade salad dressing?

I love the bottled Primal Kitchen dressings from Thrive Market and this is my go-to Caesar dressing recipe.

xoxo

Gina

Hey hey hey! How’s your day going?? It’s been a wild week over here but all is well.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about cardio dilemmas, and what type of cardio to do after weight training sessions. I feel like there’s a lot of confusion about this, and one of the things that hinders people from doing solo cardio is the fact that they don’t know what to do. It’s SO MUCH EASIER to get it done if you have a plan in place.

What Types Of Cardio To Do After Strength Training

Why do we need cardio? How much cardio should we get in each week??

Cardio (also known as cardiovascular exercise) is not only an effective method to burn fat, build endurance, and increase speed, but it’s also obviously important for heart health and helps build muscle mass. Cardio consists of anything that keeps our heart rate elevated for a sustained amount of time. From this website: “Building cardiorespiratory endurance through regular physical activity allows your heart and lungs to work more efficiently, thereby improving your physical capacity to deal with stress and lowering your risk factors for several chronic diseases. Regular physical activity helps control obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — with a net result of cutting your heart disease risk almost in half, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. By providing weight control, regular exercise also cuts your risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Additionally, building cardiorespiratory endurance benefits mental health by providing a buffer against anxiety and depression.”

There are so many cardio methods in the fitness ocean, but I like to break them down into 5 main categories:

-Steady-state

-Tempo work

-Hill/resistance work

-HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

-Active recovery or NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or what I refer to as “unintentional exercise,” like gardening, vacuuming, walking the dogs, cleaning, etc.)

According to NASM, we need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise per week. The weekly recommendation for resistance training is 2 or more times a week with exercises for all the major muscle groups (minimum of 1 set of 8-12 repetitions for each muscle group). Flexibility and neuromotor exercises (balance, agility, coordination) are also recommended at least twice per week.

Why we should alternate cardio intensities:

It is SO important to not only vary the mode of exercise you do but the intensity of the workload.

The body is a smart machine and gets used to the same demands over time. For example, if you hike a strenuous trail for the first time, chances are that your heart rate will be elevated, your legs will be sore, and you’ll burn a ton of calories. If you begin to hike that same trail, every day, for weeks on end, you may find that it starts to feel easy. Your heart rate isn’t as elevated, it doesn’t feel challenging to you, and you burn fewer calories. Also, maybe you begin to feel a nagging pain in the outer part of your knees from the slight tilt of the trail to one side.

When we alternate cardio intensities and modes, it does a few awesome things:

-It gives the heart a chance to recover and rest. If you’re doing the same crazy HIIT drills every day, it doesn’t give the heart (which is a muscle! An important one…) a chance to rest. This is so important for preventing adrenal fatigue, overtraining symptoms, and burnout. High-intensity workouts are FUN and awesome here and there, but too much exercise at 60% (and up) of your max can cause turbulent blood flow, a precursor for arterial plaque accumulation. This is serious stuff friends. Too much time and intensity can cause more harm than good. (Friends who love Orangetheory as much as I do, this is why I don’t recommend going more than twice a week.)

-You aren’t consistently working the same muscle groups, which can help to prevent overuse injuries. I think if you like dance cardio exercise, this can be a great cardio workout to challenge your brain and also encourage lateral movement since we don’t usually move from side to side.

-You are constantly changing demands, encouraging the body to work harder and avoid kicking it into cruise control. In other words, you’ll get more bang for your buck.

How cardio works in regards to weight lifting/strength training exercises.

Cardio can shrink the body which makes it a great tool for fat loss, but strength training will change the shape of the body. Doing BOTH of these things is a great way to get strength, performance, speed, endurance, and visible muscular gains. Both strength training and cardio burn calories, which can lead to fat loss, but how you combine them can dramatically impact your results.

I haven’t trained clients in about a year, but I’ve always been pretty strategic about how I design individual fitness plans. While I tweak it depending on unique needs, there’s a general mental formula that I like to follow. I’m about to spill all of the beans with you so you can use it in your own routine.

What type of cardio to do after each type of workout:

*Please remember that while I’m a certified Weight Loss Specialist and Personal Trainer, I’m not your personal trainer – even though let’s be real, it would be so fun. Please take this for informational purposes and consult with a doctor before making any fitness changes. These are some ways to do it, but not the ONLY ways to do it. You do what’s best for you, mmm k?

For cardio, base it off what you did yesterday and what you plan to do tomorrow. Had an easy day yesterday? Push it up today! Did you do HIIT yesterday? Take an easier hill climb or steady state. Are you planning on an intense cardio class tomorrow? Maybe skip cardio entirely and do active recovery or NEAT instead. Here’s the thing, too: you don’t need to do cardio every single day. Focus on overall movement instead.

Cardio-only workout routine:

-Steady-state

-Tempo work

-Resistance bands

-HIIT and steady

-Hill training followed by HIIT or easy steady state

Strength workout: Upper Body

Cardio options:

-Easy steady state

-Tempo work

-Rowing or battle rope intervals with your strength workout (to fully fatigue the upper body and get in bonus core work)

-HIIT intervals after strength

-Stairclimbing or Spin bike after strength

Strength workout: Lower Body

Cardio options:

-Lower body HIIT drills (to fully fatigue the lower body)

-Easy hill climb (to work the legs muscles differently)

-Spin bike or Stairclimb

Strength workout: Total Body Circuit

Cardio options:

-Easy steady-state <— this would be my number one choice if you already did HIIT intervals in your strength workout. Steady-state after HIIT can burn more fat, and it feels like a nice break after the intervals

-Tempo work

-Total body HIIT drills

-Spin bike or Stairclimb

-Alternate upper body and lower body HIIT drills

Strength workout: Core

-Anything goes.

If you do cardio after strength training will it destroy your gains?

Not if you fuel properly. In a nutshell, your body will usually burn carbs first, then fat, and finally protein (from your muscles: catabolic state). Have some protein before your workout + some quick-burning carbs if you need the energy, and carbs and protein afterward. (<— I also like to mix some fat into my post-workout for nutrient absorption.) Here is a great post on pre- and post-workout snacks.

Whew. That was a lot!!

So, tell me, friends: how much cardio do you do each week? Do you stick to the same thing or do you constantly change it up?

Oh, and how could I forget! Nothing gets me going like a good workout playlist. Find yours here.

xoxo

Gina

Sharing the details for my newest program, Healing Code, and how you can join. 

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was a great one – Liv had a dance competition, I taught barre, and we met up with friends for dinner last night.

Today I have some exciting news: my new program, Healing Code, is open for enrollment and I would LOVE to see you in there.

Healing Code is everything I wish I would have had when I started dealing with mysterious health issues and autoimmune symptoms.

I spent years searching for answers—exhausted, inflamed, and frustrated with the traditional medical system. I was told to “manage” my symptoms, but deep down, I knew there had to be another way.

I learned that:

– You can’t medicate your way to lasting change.

– You can’t out-supplement, out-diet, or out-exercise chronic inflammation.

– You HAVE to heal the root cause.

– When I finally uncovered the key to lasting health and vitality, everything changed. And now, I want to help YOU experience the same transformation.

I just celebrated one year symptom-free, negative Lupus markers, and have helped so many women experience similar transformations.

Some of the testimonials from current and previous clients:

You can read more about the program and book your strategy call here. The strategy part is important because I can customize the program exactly for you depending on what you need. Maybe you just want a monthly call, access to all of the resources and modules, and discounts on functional lab testing. Maybe you want everything included: testing, supplements, protocols, etc. We can take some time together to create your perfect plan.

You deserve to feel like yourself again. <3

Check out the details here.

If you have questions, I’d love to help. Comment below or send me an email [email protected]

xoxo

Gina