Monday: Welcome to Week 1!
This first week we’re focusing on breakfast veggies.
Breakfast is often a missed opportunity to incorporate fruits and veggies that provide essential nutrients for overall health.
You might be thinking: the last thing you have time for in the morning is to prepare an elaborate breakfast.
And that’s so real! But lucky for you, the Rainbow Challenge Course is here to help. This module offers tools, resources, and support to help transform breakfast from feeling like a chore to an achievable opportunity to set yourself up for better satiety, blood sugar balance, mental clarity, and energy throughout the day.
To-Do
1. Read through this week's resources.
Delicious and easy breakfast veggie recipes to help you get started, but we encourage you to be creative and experiment with some of your own.
2. Plan Ahead.
Do your shopping and prep for the week to set yourself up for success.
Monday Resources
Savory
Adding veggies to breakfast isn’t as challenging as you might think! Read below for some quick and convenient recipes to help you add more color and variety to your morning plate:
- Make a hash: A breakfast hash is an excellent way to get in multiple, satiating vegetables. Some of our favorite hash-ingredients include onions, sweet potato, parsnips, cabbage, mushrooms, and leafy greens. Chop them into bite-sized pieces and sauté until tender. Eat with a few eggs, breakfast sausage, or protein from the night before.
- Make use of leftovers: Talk about easy! Using leftovers for breakfast not only saves precious morning minutes but eliminates the need to start from scratch. Simply reheat a serving of the prepared food or add it to eggs or cottage cheese for that oh-so important morning protein.
- Transform your toast: Avocado toast or toast with nut butter is a great breakfast option but let's think about how we can add even more! Sara loves to add pickled red onions, radishes, sprouts, and smoked salmon to her avocado toast but some other great options include sliced tomatoes, arugula, shaved carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, and fermented veggies.
- Keep it simple, salad: Try adding some arugula or mixed greens to your breakfast; both are great under eggs or as the base of a more robust (breakfast) salad.
Sweet
If you prefer a sweet or lighter breakfast, here are some colorful options:
- Greek yogurt with berries
- Sliced apple with nut butter
- Steel cut oatmeal: For an even more convenient option, try this peach and collagen overnight oat recipe from our friend and Nutritionist Abra Pappa.
- Spinach banana pancakes: Don't knock it till you try it! These pancakes (adapted from Lily Payten) are a great way to help kids get in their servings of fruit and leafy greens (and a great option for those veggie-averse adults too!)
On the Go
If you need quick, on-the-go options:
- Cottage cheese with green onions and spices (we love Everything But the Bagel seasoning!)
- Egg bites: Egg bites are packed with protein, healthy fats, and easy to grab when short on time. Our friend Abra has another excellent recipe -- this one even includes kimchi for those added gut-healthy benefits. If kimchi isn't your thing, try adding ingredients like bell peppers, onions, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, asparagus, and carrots to your egg bites.
- Smoothies: Spoiler alert, we'll be focusing on smoothies next week! In the meantime, check out this chocolate smoothie recipe to get you started (adapted from Dr. Kara Fitzgerald). Pro-tip: for extra protein, add in some greek yogurt or your favorite protein powder.