Veggie Breakfast Bowls
I just read a report released from the CDC in 2022 that 1 out of 10 Americans eat enough fruits and vegetables. Only 10%. Oof. The current recommendation is 1.5-2 cups of fruit per day, and 2-3 cups of vegetables. In my opinion, I think we should be eating more than just 2 cups of vegetables per day, so it’s definitely concerning that most people are not even getting the bare minimum.
I’m constantly working with my clients on finding new, different, and tasty ways to incorporate more vegetables into their diet.
One way is to make a breakfast bowl, with a starchy vegetable base, some nonstarchy veg, and a protein. There’s a million and a half ways you can throw this together, so I wanted to share some ways to make this happen, and a sample recipe I made this week! What I love about this concept for breakfast is that it’s filling, it’s warm for those cold winter mornings, and you can make a huge batch at the beginning of the week and just heat up in the morning if you need a quick breakfast.
Alright - so let’s jump into how to make your own breakfast bowl. Below are the main components you want:
Choose a starchy vegetable: roasted sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash (make it easy for yourself and buy frozen cubed butternut squash), acorn squash, spaghetti squash, beets, turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, plantains, beans (black beans, pinto, chickpeas, etc.)
Choose a main non-starchy vegetable (or mix some of them together): kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, eggplant
Choose a protein: eggs, ground poultry/beef, steak, chicken breast, cheese, Greek yogurt (strive for 20-30g total of protein with whatever option you go with)
Optional sauces: guacamole, green goddess dressing, salsa, homemade tahini dressing, hummus, tzatziki, homemade avocado chimichurri
Optional add-ons: green onion, diced tomato, salsa, microgreens such as broccoli sprouts, olives
Here are some loose examples of how to pair the above foods together:
Breakfast taco bowl: black beans, sauteed/roasted bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, ground beef, cheese, avocado, and Greek yogurt as your sour cream. Top with green onions and salsa.
Mediterranean breakfast bowl: chickpeas or white navy beans, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, olives, feta cheese, tzatziki or hummus, 2-3 HB or fried eggs
Fall breakfast bowl: roasted butternut squash, sauteed/roasted brussel sprouts, ground turkey, toasted pecans and homemade tahini dressing
Now let me show you what I made this week that I’ve been loving!
Sweet Potato Sausage Breakfast Bowl with Avocado “Chimichurri”
what you need:
2 sweet potatoes, diced
bunch of kale, destemmed and shredded
1 lb breakfast sausage
directions:
roast the sweet potatoes at 425 until desired consistency, probably around 25-35 minutes. toss halfway through cooking.
while the sweet potatoes are roasting, cook the breakfast sausage in a pan, until cooked all the way through. remove from heat, drain most of the fat from pan, and pat dry with paper towels
saute the kale lightly with some of the remaining fat in the pan, enough for the kale to soften but not get super wilted
make avocado chimichurri (ingredients are in blog post linked above)
when everything is done cooking, add the desired amount of kale, sweet potato, and breakfast sausage to your bowl, and top with avocado chimichurri!
I hope you enjoy making some fun breakfast bowls as much as I have, and let it be a tasty way for you to start your day with more vegetables!
If you need help approaching better health, especially as we approach the New Year, don’t hesitate to schedule a free 20-minute discovery call. This gives you the chance to share your goals and what you’ve got going on, and to see if we would be a good fit for each other!