Level up. There’s transformative power in adding cooked elements to a salad. A few roasted veggies, a protein, a bit of pasta or rice, and suddenly you no longer have a listless, one-dimensional salad. You have a hearty, all-in-one meal bowl.

Bowls are better than salads, any day. I find so much more pleasure in the balance of sweet, salty and acidic flavors, and a mix of textures. Veggies are still the star of the show, and you’ll probably eat more greens than if you’d added a side salad to your meal.

For this recipe I added sweet potato, a highly undervalued ingredient in such a mix. Salmon and chickpeas provide savory flair (and texture), while the lemon dressing adds flavor. In a bowl like this, I find it much easier to curb my pasta addiction; it’s a detail rather than the base of my meal, so I get the satisfaction without going overboard.

I’d like to think my preference for combined, multilevel flavors — rather than arranged portions of foods that don’t touch — is evidence of my sophistication. But I have a suspicion that it may simply reflect my own inclination toward chaos. Either way, this bowl offers a lot of perfect bites.

SALMON, SWEET POTATO AND CHICKPEA BOWL

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 pound salmon fillet
• Olive oil or cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3 cups cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1-1/2 cups cooked fusilli (or other shape) or rice
• 2/3 cup fermented or pickled veggies
• >> Dressing:
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a parchment-lined pan, spread out chickpeas, sweet potato and salmon. Spray all with avocado or olive oil spray, or drizzle and rub with olive oil.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over all. Add garlic powder and cumin to chickpeas, then roll them around a bit to coat in spices.

Roast about 10 minutes, then remove salmon to a plate. Depending on how cold the salmon was before you started baking it, you may need another minute or 2.

Check for flakiness and try to remove it from the heat when it’s just a touch underdone. Divide fillet into 4 pieces and set aside.

Continue roasting sweet potato and chickpeas for about 20 minutes. Chickpeas will shrink and toast. Remove from oven and cool.

Make dressing: Place ingredients in small jar and shake to combine.

In bowl, toss cabbage and carrots with dressing and marinate about 10 minutes. Add pepper.

Divide cabbage mixture among 4 bowls. Layer with portion of pasta and top with chickpeas, sweet potato, salmon and fermented/pickled veggies. Admire your work before you stir it all up and enjoy your meal. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 630 calories, 28 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 1,400 mg sodium, 59 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 35 g protein

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com. Her column runs on the last Wednesday of the month. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.