How And Why We Should Be Eating More Vegetables For Breakfast

Let's catch up with the rest of the world.

We’re here with a friendly reminder: the average person is supposed to eat two and a half to three cups of vegetables a day, according to My Plate.

For some people, that’s an easy feat. For others, hitting that goal can be little trickier. Here’s the easiest way to reach that vegetable recommendation without any trouble: start first thing in the morning.

Most American breakfast options are loaded with sugar ― like our beloved maple-syrup topped pancakes and even our breakfast cereals. And sugar, as most of us know, does not provide us with any nutritional value. In fact, it can cause or contribute to anxiety. Who wants to start the day off like that?

The American Heart Association recommends women consume no more than 100 calories daily from refined sugar, 150 calories for men. If you drink one medium Caramel Swirl Frozen Dunkin’ Coffee with Cream, which has 129g sugar, you’re already getting over 500 calories from sugar. So if you’re starting your day that way, you’re already off to a bad start.

Considering the fact that only nine percent of Americans eat enough vegetables, it’s time we all got serious about upping our veggie intake. If you add vegetables to your breakfast, you can get a jumpstart on the day. And it’s easy enough to do, too, not to mention absolutely delicious.

Other cultures around the world incorporate vegetables as a regular part of their morning meal. Turkey regularly eats cucumbers, tomatoes and olives in the morning. And Israel has a chopped vegetable salad at the breakfast table. There’s no reason America shouldn’t do the same.

Here are the recipes you need to get started:

1
Broccoli Melt With Fried Egg
Naturally Ella
Get the Broccoli Melt with Fried Egg recipe from Naturally Ella
2
BLT Shredded Kale Salad With Greek Yogurt Ranch
How Sweet It Is
3
Garlicky Spinach Cornmeal Crepes
Naturally Ella
Get the Garlicky Spinach Cornmeal Crepes recipe from Naturally Ella
4
Endive And Fava Tartine With Herbed Ricotta
Alexandra's Kitchen
5
15-Minute Spinach Burrata Omelet With Avocado Salad
How Sweet It Is
6
Turmeric Chickpeas
Naturally Ella
Get the Turmeric Chickpeas recipe from Naturally Ella
7
Southwest Mango, Kale And Quinoa Chopped Salad
Half Baked Harvest
8
Maple Oatmeal With Sweet Potato
Foodie Crush
Get the Maple Oatmeal With Sweet Potato recipe from Foodie Crush
9
Grilled Corn, Tomato And Avocado Salad
How Sweet It Is
10
Green Shakshuka
The Healthy Maven
Get the Green Shakshuka recipe from The Healthy Maven
11
Grilled Corn and Feta Egg in a Hole Avocado Toast
Half Baked Harvest
12
Cabbage Pancakes
Alexandra's Kitchen
Get the Cabbage Pancakes recipe from Alexandra's Kitchen
13
Cream Baked Eggs With Asparagus
Naturally Ella
Get the Cream Baked Eggs with Asparagus recipe from Naturally Ella
14
Sweet Potato Hash Egg Skillet
Naturally Ella
Get the Sweet Potato Hash Egg Skillet recipe from Naturally Ella
15
Veggie Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potato
How Sweet It Is
Get the Veggie Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe from How Sweet It Is
16
Sesame Roasted Asparagus, Egg and Bacon Salad
Half Baked Harvest

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article miscalculated the calories from sugar for the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee drink as 32.25 calories; the correct figure is over 500.

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