Start your a.m. on a nutritious note by incorporating veggies into your breakfast.
If you’re on a mission to incorporate more veggies into your diet, we applaud you. For meals like lunch and dinner, it’s easier — preparing a side of veggies or mixing up a quick salad makes sense for those meals. But, for breakfast, the thought of adding greens is unimaginable to some. Salad for breakfast? No thank you. If that sounds like you, there are actually a few fun ways you can eat veggies for breakfast without putting yourself on a green overload first thing in the a.m.
Kicking off your morning with a serving of vegetables is a great way to increase your overall veggie intake and reap numerous health benefits: Vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, folate, vitamin A and C, and dietary fiber.
Here are some easy and tasty ways you can introduce veggies into your morning meal that we promise you won’t totally hate.
Many people like to have eggs in the morning because they’re packed with protein. Upgrade to a breakfast taco instead of plain old scrambled eggs.
After scrambling your eggs as you normally would, assemble them on a corn or flour tortilla, and add some low-maintenance veggies of your choice, like fresh tomato salsa, peppers, corn, or even some fresh greens like spinach or arugula. Breakfast tacos are customizable, so it’s easy to get one or more veggies in when making them.
Try Claire Thomas’ Southwest Breakfast Taco recipe, below, which is full of veggies, plus protein, carbs, and healthy fat.
Southwest Breakfast Tacos
Ingredients
3 corn tortillas
1 egg + 2 egg whites
3 oz. ground turkey sausage
3 tbsp.mashed avocado
⅛ c. canned corn
⅛ c. canned black beans
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Chopped red onion, to taste
Cilantro garnish
For preparation instructions — and more tasty breakfast recipes, plus nutrition information and app-exclusive workouts — download Claire’s CPT Fit app.
Another way to incorporate vegetables into your breakfast is to make a classic omelet. Similarly to breakfast tacos, omelets are easily customizable, and you can add pretty much any additions you want when making one. Throw in veggies like roasted bell peppers, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions — although, of course, the possibilities don’t stop there.
Start your morning on a healthy note with Wioletta Pawluk’s veggie-packed egg white omelet recipe.
Egg White Omelet
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 tsp. olive oil
¼ c. cherry tomatoes, chopped
¼ c. fresh spinach
¼ c. feta cheese
¼ c. kalamata olives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Download Wioletta’s fitness app for instructions, as well as additional recipes, nutritional information, home- and gym-based workout programs, and more.
Not into a savory, salty breakfast? You’re not alone. Smoothies are a great way to get a dose of veggies in the morning while still enjoying something sweet. They’re easy to make and the flavor possibilities are endless. Try adding greens like spinach, swiss chard, and kale to your blender — or even incorporate veggies like carrots and beets to add extra nutrients and flavor.
If you typically do your workouts in the a.m., try Hannah Bower’s Post-Workout Green Protein Smoothie, which is packed with protein, veggies (even… lettuce?!), and electrolytes.
Post-Workout Green Protein Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 medium banana
1 large leaf of romaine lettuce
1 large leaf of kale, center rib removed
¼ cucumber
¼ avocado
Juice from ½ of a lime
½ c. coconut water
½ c. unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
1 serving (20 g) collagen or vanilla collagen and egg protein powder
Pinch of sea salt
Handful of ice
Download Hannah Bower’s fitness app for additional nutritional information, workouts, and pre- and post-natal content. Plus, for more smoothie recipes, check out these healthy smoothie recipes which include two veggie-packed green smoothies.
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