Warm Rice & Roast-Veg Bowl
By Mira Sefton
protein +
EggsSalmonChicken breastCalcium & vitamin D +
Canned salmon (with bones)Sardines (with bones)Fortified oat milkOmega-3 fats +
SalmonSardinesCanned tunaA soft, warming bowl of white rice and peeled roast veg with garlic-infused oil — gentle, mild, and easy to share with the family.
Roast-veg bowls usually start with the things a pouch finds tricky: onion, garlic bulb, red onion wedges, a big pile of skins and seeds. This version keeps the warm, cosy feeling and quietly swaps the harder parts out.
You're peeling and cooking everything soft, leaning on courgette, carrot and kumara, and getting all the savoury flavour from garlic-infused oil instead of garlic cloves. The oil carries the taste without the fructans (a carb that ferments quickly and can mean wind), because fructans don't dissolve into oil.
It comes together in one tray plus a pot of rice. Most people find a warm, soft bowl like this sits easily — but as always, you know your own gut best, so start with a modest portion.
Ingredients
- 300 g white rice (basmati or long-grain)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1 medium kumara (about 300 g), peeled and diced
- 2 courgettes, peeled and sliced thick
- 1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into strips
- 3 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika (not smoked, if that's gentler for you)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Green tops of 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- A small handful of fresh coriander or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Squeeze of lemon (optional, to serve)
Method
- Heat your oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Line a large baking tray.
- Peel and chop the carrots, kumara and courgettes, and deseed the capsicum.
- Put the carrots and kumara on the tray first — they take longest. Toss with 2 tbsp of the garlic-infused oil, the cumin, paprika and salt.
- Roast for 15 minutes.
- Add the courgette and capsicum to the tray, toss, and roast for another 20-25 minutes, until everything is soft and lightly golden.
- While the veg roasts, rinse the rice until the water runs clearer, then cook it as you normally do. Keep it soft.
- Spoon the warm rice into bowls and pile the roast veg on top.
- Drizzle with the last tablespoon of garlic-infused oil, scatter over the spring onion greens and herbs, and add a small squeeze of lemon if you like.
Gentler swaps
- Capsicum too much? Leave it out and add extra carrot or some peeled, diced potato instead.
- Kumara feels heavy? Swap for peeled white potato, which many find lighter.
- Lemon stings? Skip it — the garlic-infused oil gives plenty of flavour on its own.
- Want more protein? A little poached chicken or soft-cooked white fish folds in gently.
- Smaller portion first time? Have a half bowl and see how you feel before going back for more.
For the family
Cook once — your gentle version, plus how to pep it up for everyone else.
The base here is built to share: soft roast veg, fluffy rice and that garlicky oil are a crowd-pleaser for everyone.
Cook the whole tray gently as written. Serve the reader's bowl first — rice, veg, a drizzle of oil, herbs.
For the rest of the family, set out the bold extras on the table so they can load up their own bowls: sliced raw red onion, a spoon of chilli flakes or hot sauce, a scatter of toasted seeds, crumbled feta, or a dollop of garlicky yoghurt. They get the punchy version; you keep yours mild; same tray, same pot.
Scores are modelled estimates, not medical advice. Everyone's gut is different, and tolerance changes over time. Reintroduce foods one at a time, and follow your own medical team's advice.