Breakfast Salads Start the Day Right

Breakfast salads — yes, they’re a thing — are loaded with nutrients and energy that we need to start the day. What’s more, eating a salad for breakfast paves the way for healthier eating throughout the rest of the day. When we start the day feeling light and free, without the weight of carbs and sugar on our bellies, good things can happen.

Breakfast salads are the new rage in healthy eating — and for good reason. Packed with essential nutrients, salads have none of the carbs and sugars that make us sluggish. They are powerful energizers that kickstart the day. But what goes into a breakfast salad? Discover surprising breakfast salad ingredients and recipes right here.

Salad for Breakfast? You Bet!

Depending on the ingredients used, salads are high in vitamins, fiber, protein and healthy fats, all of which give us the fuel and energy we need to face the day. Let’s take a closer look at how each of these powerhouse ingredients ramps up energy and keeps us going throughout the morning.

• Vitamins - Vegetables and fruits are packed with nutrients, including potassium, folate, vitamin A and vitamin C. Potassium helps maintain healthy blood pressure, while folate helps the body create more red blood cells. Vitamins A and C help keep us healthy and help us fight off infection.
• Fiber - A diet high in fiber keeps us feeling full and may help us lose weight. It also lowers cholesterol and keeps our digestive systems regular.
• Protein - Low-fat proteins, such as poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts and seeds, contain B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc and magnesium. These are vital for a host of bodily functions, including the formation of red blood cells and muscles, as well as the function of the nervous and immune systems.
• Healthy fat - Healthy fats, such as omega-3s, are crucial for brain function, lowering cholesterol and supporting heart health. They can even reduce inflammation. Healthy fats are found in nuts, seeds, eggs, oils, peanut butter and avocado.

There’s no doubt that salad for breakfast is a healthy way to start the day. But what all goes into a breakfast salad? Surely it's not just like a lunch salad, is it?

Simple Breakfast Salad Recipes

The key to making a salad from a pre-dinner appetizer to a full-on hearty breakfast is to select the right ingredients. Using a wide variety of unique and surprising ingredients will ensure that you’re getting as many nutrients as possible while keeping your taste buds happy. Here are two ideas:

• Blueberry Love - Top some greens with blueberries, pomegranate, chopped almonds, and a raspberry or lemon vinaigrette for a zingy treat.
• Better than Eggs - Throw a few raisin-bread croutons, orange slices and granola on tasty greens, and top it all off with some quinoa.

The truth is, there’s no wrong way to make a breakfast salad. Make a list of your favorite fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and salad dressings, and see how you can combine them to create a breakfast salad that will have you jumping out of bed in the morning.

Sounds Weird?

If you’re inwardly groaning at the thought of getting up each morning to chop up salad ingredients, stop worrying. You don’t have to prepare a salad each morning to make them a part of your breakfast routine. By preparing salad ingredients ahead of time and keeping containers of chopped fruits and veggies in the fridge, you can easily throw together a nutritious salad in the same amount of time it takes you to pour a bowl of cereal. Remember to store salad ingredients in separate containers for peak freshness and taste.

Eating salad for breakfast offers many health and mind-boosting benefits. They’re also easy. Prepare a bulk salad at the beginning of the week to eat from each morning or meal prep small to-go salads for each day of the week. But starting the day with greens and some salad fixings may make us less likely to make poorer choices throughout the day, so it's a win-win-win, and we need all the wins we can get.

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