Before you write me off completely thinking I’m totally mad talking about a breakfast salad, hear me out.
Breakfast salads are a lovely light option to start the day in warmer weather. So much of it can be made ahead too, so they can be the perfect grab-and-go option for those who take their breakfast to eat later. You can build it exactly to your preferences- all the bits you love and none of what you don’t. Breakfast is an often missed opportunity to increase our plant food intake, and therefore prebiotic fibre, to feed our microbiome. Lastly, when it contains all the bits that often make up a breakfast it definitely hits the “breakfast” vibe from a taste buds perspective.
For the ultimate weekday time saving tips, we recommend doing batching your cook and prep time, and sorting yourself out for several breakfasts in a row. What do we mean by this?
Come Sunday afternoon you could pop some music on and spend a bit of time in the kitchen to save a ton of time later. Boil up some eggs, pop a tray of vegetables in to the oven to roast, make a quick dressing to cover a few days and portion out any greens into individual containers to add the rest to later. We also use batch cooking time to chop vege sticks like carrot and celery for ready snacking or popping in to weekday cooking and will often cook a little extra protein for lunch leftovers through the week.
This isn’t a recipe too follow as such, more an opportunity to get you thinking about breakfast differently. Honestly, there’s no rule that says breakfast has to be cereal, toast or bacon and eggs. Breakfast can be made up on any quality nutritious foods you choose. It can be anything from leftover dinner to a smoothie- it’s really more how we think of it.
I’m hoping you’re beginning to think differently about breakfast now and will give this build your own breakfast salad a go!
A variety of breakfast salads
Build a Salad Base
- Baby spinach, rocket, lettuce
- Wilted greens (served warm or cool), maybe with a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of olive oil
- Blanched asparagus and/or broccolini
- Roasted vegetables- diced sweet potato, potato, roast beetroot, zucchini etc
- Fresh or semi dried tomatoes
- Fresh Avocado
- Cooked bacon
- Cooked mushrooms (delicious with a bit of garlic and thyme)
- Fresh herbs
- Extra salad bits you like- cucumber, capsicum, sprouts etc
Pick a protein
- Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried eggs
- Smoked salmon
- Leftover cooked chicken, turkey, beef or lamb
- Good quality sausages
- Tinned salmon or sardines
- Leftover legumes or whole grains – braised black beans or cooked quinoa etc
- Leftover tofu or tempeh
Optional dressings for some extra pizazz
- A spoonful of homemade pesto (you can freeze a batch in ice cube trays to make it easy to defrost small portions at a time).
- Lemon juice and olive oil
- Guacamole or a fresh tomato and avo salsa
- Fermented foods- a little sauerkraut or kimchi
- A dollop of coconut yoghurt thinned with lemon juice, olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder or chopped herbs
You can even add a fair bit of variety through changing up your combinations as well as adding a bit of fresh seasonal fruit like peaches or blackberries in to the mix.
Want a few specific recipes you can follow? Here are a couple we suggest:
Sunnyside Salad – By Nom Nom Paleo
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About Sandi
Sandi Cooper is an experienced Naturopath working in clinical practice for almost two decades. Her clients love her down-to-earth approach and her naturally caring qualities. Although Sandi is experienced in most areas of clinical practice, she has a special interest in children’s health and nutrition, working with parents to get the best outcomes for their children.
