Simple and Delicious Meals to Start Your Day

I will never tire of hearing the term 'simple and delicious' in regard to meals prepped and enjoyed at home. I am a firm believer in the notion of eating your first meal of the day within the first hour or so of waking up to allow your body to turn on its internal metabolic machine. I always do my best to add fresh fruits, oats, yogurt, vegetables, clean proteins, or other healthy options to my breakfasts.

I consider breakfast a great time to eat clean fat to satiate you until lunchtime: eggs, avocados, nuts or seeds, whole milk cottage cheese or yogurt are a few clean high fat options. I do like bacon (who doesn't?), but I only eat it once or maybe twice a week. Most days, I eat soft scramble eggs with a large pile of vegetable sauté of some kind. I want that first meal to hit my plate relatively quickly, so I do what I can to prepare it before I go to bed the night before. My meal options here are truly on the simple side. It is a personal reward to enjoy a nutritious tasty meal to start your day. Go out of your way to set yourself up for success in the early hours of the day.

Eggs are obviously a popular item to enjoy with breakfast. I personally like eggs in soft scramble form. You can try omelet, over easy, fried or however you like eggs cooked. Be sure to season with salt and pepper if you like, or one of your favorite spices to add a layer of flavor. As I mentioned, go out of your way to prep breakfast the day before so once you wake up, get your coffee lined up, you are ready to cook. Eggs in any form take no more than a few minutes, then add a vegetable sauté of your favorite options, whole wheat toast or corn tortillas or multigrain Ezekiel bread, and you will have the desire to start your day in style!

Soft Scramble Eggs, Boiled Baby Potatoes and Vegetable Sauté 

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 1 meal

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

1/3 pound baby potatoes

Few dill sprigs, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces

2-3 leaves of Swiss Chard, stems cut in 2-inch bias (diagonal), tops picked and rough chopped

1/4 bell pepper, cut into 2-inch julienne strips

4 grape tomatoes, halved

2-3 eggs, scrambled

1. Add the potatoes to a small sauce pot, cover with water and add a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes until tender. Poke the potato with a knife, the potato will almost fall off once its cooked. Drain the water, then season potatoes with salt and pepper, add the chopped dill and a light drizzle of EVOO.
2. Prep the vegetables, then heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add a drizzle of oil, then add asparagus, swiss chard stems, and bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chard greens and grape tomato, continue to cook until the chard it wilted. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
3. Warm a non-stick pan over medium heat, add a small dab of butter, once bubbles start to form on the melting butter, add the seasoned eggs and begin to stir. Continue to cook eggs to your liking.
4. Enjoy your simple and delicious meal!

Here is another quick and easy option to get that early nutrition to fire up your day. It is a simple avocado toast topped with peppers and tomatoes with fresh parsley. I like to use Ezekiel bread I find at Whole Foods as the base for this veggie friendly meal. It is super quick and easy to prepare and assemble the toast.

Avocados are one of my favorite things to eat for their taste, clean healthy richness, and ability to absorb flavors. I use a small avocado or half a large, lightly smash it, add 1 clove of chopped garlic, squeeze of lemon juice or vinegar, dress the toast and then top with your favorite sliced vegetable.

Avocado Toast with Peppers and Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 meal

1 small avocado, ripe, cleaned, smashed

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 lemon or white wine vinegar

3-4 mini bell peppers, sliced thin

5-6 mini grape tomatoes, halved

Parsley for garnish

2 slices Ezekiel Bread

1. Smash the avocado flesh with a fork (I like to keep it on the chunky side). Add the chopped garlic, a splash of vinegar or the lemon juice, and season with salt. Taste, adjust, and set aside.
2. Prep the peppers and tomatoes in slices to top the toast. Pick parsley from the large stems and rough chop a few leaves.
3. Toast the bread to your liking (golden brown for me!). Top each slice with avocado smash, arrange the tomatoes and pepper beautifully, top with parsley, salt, pepper and an EVOO drizzle.
4. Enjoy each and every bite of decadent toast!

Another dish I enjoy almost daily is whole milk Greek yogurt topped with berries, granola, honey and mint. It's one of the easiest meals or snacks you can make for yourself, and it packs up nicely in a Tupperware container for traveling to work or out to play.

I focus on getting seasonal organic fruits in their peak of ripeness. I realistically buy 2-3 pints of mixed berries each week at the store. They are full of antioxidants, contain dietary fiber, plus other nutrition-dense benefits. In regards to yogurt, I only buy whole milk plain yogurt. At Whole Foods, I like the Wallaby Brand as well as a new Greek Yogurt I found from Ellenos. I find most yogurts that are sweetened are too sweet. I like to control the amount of sweetness I add to each bowl. I like a honey drizzle or you can use vanilla bean paste, a truly amazing addition to your bowl of goodies.

For the granola, I have come to love the options from the Purely Elizabeth brand I also find at Whole Foods. It is an ancient grain granola, gluten free, crunchy and super tasty. You can always substitute your favorite nut you have at home for the granola. I love cashews, almonds, and peanuts just to name a few. Whether you choose granola or nuts, you are adding nutritional value, flavor and that beloved crunch.

Whole Milk Yogurt Topped with Fresh Berries, Granola, Honey and Mint

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1 meal 

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

1 cup assorted berries or your favorite seasonal fruit

¼ cup granola

1 Tablespoon mint, chiffonade

Drizzle of honey

Pinch of salt

1. Add yogurt to a bowl and top with fruit, granola, mint, honey drizzle, and a small pinch of salt.

I am teaching Cooking For Life: Eating to Nourish Your Body and Mind on September 14th at 11:30am, and I hope you can join us. We are featuring nutrient-dense meals for lunch and dinner, as well as conversations on ways to make everyday foods in healthy ways. One of my recipes for this class is a cashew-based ranch dressing to use on your next garden salad. Hop on the healthy bus with me!