One thing you may not know about Mayim Bialik—actress, New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, and mother—is that she’s working tirelessly to make this world a more vegan-positive place. Earlier this year, after wrapping up the series finale of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory—in which she played the role of nerdy neurobiologist Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler—Bialik turned her attention to a venture outside of acting: Bodhi Bowl, a vegan fast-casual restaurant in downtown Los Angeles that she co-owns with Chef Ali Cruddas. The two-year-old eatery aims to inspire people to choose a healthier, greener, and more compassionate lifestyle with its nutrient-dense bowls, salads, and sandwiches. Because VegNews loves to know what vegan celebs are munching on, we caught up with Bialik to find out her go-to meals when dining at her very own eatery.
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1. The Gautama Panini or Wrap
The Gautama can be ordered as a panini or wrap and is made with a choice of BBQ tofu or seitan, plus ranch cabbage slaw, pickles, and herbed red onion.
Bialik says: “My absolute favorite thing at Bodhi Bowl is the Gautama. I like it as a wrap, and my sons like it as a panini. It has three of my most favorite things: pickles, onions, and cabbage. Add to that the BBQ seitan and dressing and it’s creamy and complicated—but not too complicated—and I could eat it three times a day if you let me.”
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2. The Genko Panini or Wrap
The Genko can also be ordered as a panini or wrap and is made with tempeh bacon, tomato, avocado, vegan mayonnaise, and romaine.
Bialik says: “A close second for a wrap is the Genko, which is basically a BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato). But the tempeh bacon is perfect and it’s not trying too hard to be a BLT. It’s just delicious.”
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3. The Grain Bowl
The Grain Bowl is one of many breakfast bowl options and is made with a base of quinoa, coconut milk, and cinnamon, plus a choice of three toppings, such as banana, strawberries, granola, walnuts, pecans, chia seeds, hemp seeds, or peanut butter.
Bialik says: “The breakfast bowls are awesome and I tend to like quinoa bowls with fruit and nuts and healthy chia and flax seeds. Simple, fresh, and an excellent option for vegan breakfast since a lot of times we don’t have a lot of options.”
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4. The Karma Bowl
The Karma is made with a choice of brown rice or soba noodles, plus sweet chili tofu, edamame, grated carrots, green onion, cucumber, crispy wontons, almonds, and sesame-ginger dressing.
Bialik says: “As for the lunch bowls, it’s kind of like being asked to pick my favorite child … they’re all so amazing. I love the Karma bowl with soba noodles best, I think. It’s all of the best parts of an Asian chicken salad: crunchy, sweet, salty … and the dressings at Bodhi Bowl are, I think, what sets it apart from so many sandwich/bowl places. This dressing is so good!”
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5. The Lotus Bowl
The Lotus is made with a choice of brown rice or quinoa, plus jerk tofu, black beans, kale, avocado, pineapple salsa, and avo-citrus dressing.
Bialik says: “I like the Lotus because it’s got the jerk tofu and kind of a Caribbean set of flavors going on with the pineapple and beans and avocado citrus dressing. Yum.”
Nicole Axworthy is the News Editor of VegNews and author of DIY Vegan who has been a fan of Mayim Bialik since her Blossom days.
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Story updated July 22