TikTok's 'Scholar Bowls' Aim To Bring College Students Back To Life
The "Rachael Ray Show," hosted by celebrity chef extraordinaire Rachael Ray, is known to feature viral TikTok recipes and their creators. Social media sensations who have gotten air time on the show include Poppy Cooks for her 15-hour potato and Alexa Loebel making her air fryer salad. And in a recent segment, Ray featured another young creator's recipe that is health-forward and aimed at college students.
TikToker Joseph Abell recently made his way to the "Rachael Ray Show" to demo his viral "Scholar Bowls." Abell is a law student at the University of Southern California who creates fitness and nutrition-focused videos, sharing his passion for food that "makes people feel alive" with his nearly 1 million followers.
Abell's most popular videos feature recipes for protein-packed "meal prep that gets you shredded," like his honey chicken wraps and penne with spicy meatballs. Standing out among all of his posts, though, is his Scholar Bowl video, banking 17.3 million views and 2 million likes on TikTok.
Delicious, nutritious, and 'scholarly'
So what's in Abell's coveted scholar bowls? Veggies — and lots of them. Sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and bell peppers are mixed with fluffy quinoa and your seasonings of choice. With this recipe, Abell aims to show college students that they too can eat well with this easy-to-make yet nutrient-dense bowl.
In his "Rachael Ray Show" segment, Abell chops enough veggies to fill two sheet trays, which he roasts and mixes with a big bowl of warm, cooked quinoa. The volume fills five meal prep containers, covering lunches for the whole week. The original scholar bowl is vegan-friendly, but Abell sometimes tops his off with roasted chicken breast for an extra boost of protein.
Abell's colorful, plant-based bowl is filled with protein-packed quinoa and a colorful mix of fiber- and nutrient-rich veggies, with each serving coming out to 326 calories and 14 grams of protein, 65 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of fat. In addition to being nutritious, the bowl also features affordable ingredients, certainly making this versatile recipe accessible to scholars on a budget.