“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
I’m fairly certain that I have endorsed salad and other “non-breakfast foods” elsewhere on my blog. But if you missed it, here it is again. I can and will happily eat most anything.
I like to start my day with healthy & delicious food. Getting a head start on the day’s vegetables isn’t a bad idea either.
Today, I had one of my favorite breakfast salads, including an ingredient I’ve never used on salad. Actually, I haven’t used a lot of chia seeds, but I am trying to incorporate them into our food more often. Not sure I can get into the gelatinous texture that chia provides when allowed to sit and gel, but they were great on my salad.
You’ll need a fork and a spoon for this dish-a fork for the salad on top, and a spoon to scrape up the delicious yogurt at the bottom of the bowl. The yogurt mingles with your dressing, and any other flavors that make their way downward.
You can build a breakfast salad any way you like, including adding an egg on top, which I didn’t do this time, but it is delicious. This is the salad I created this morning…
Yogurt on the Bottom Breakfast Salad
Nancy’s Whole Milk Plain Organic Yogurt- a few spoonfuls, no more than 1/4 cup
Salad greens-I used curly green leaf & baby beet greens
Onion- thinly sliced pole to pole {my favorite cut for salad}
Tomatoes- I used cherry tomatoes from my lanai garden
Avocado- as much as you like
Fresh herbs- I used tarragon, dill & cilantro from my lanai garden
Fruit- I used 2 dried plums {a.k.a. prunes}
Freshly ground salt & pepper
Red wine vinegar {or your favorite vinegar}
Extra virgin olive oil
Plop a few spoonfuls of yogurt at the bottom of your bowl-if you put too much, it can overwhelm your salad.
Add greens, onion, tomatoes, avocado & fresh herbs. Season with freshly ground salt & pepper. Drizzle red wine vinegar and olive oil over all. Garnish with a few prunes, admire your creation & enjoy with toast, or a Ry-Vita buttered with organic pasture butter and tea as I did.
I’ll begin with a few “ifs” before I tell you about one of my favorite breakfasts. If you are among those who can only eat “breakfast food” for breakfast, consider making this for lunch or dinner. Personally, any good food qualifies as potential breakfast food, though I have never warmed up to cold pizza, which seems to have quite a following. If your mornings are chilly, cold, freezing, and a hot and hearty breakfast is what you require, put this one in your pocket for spring and summer. If you enjoy plain yogurt, healthy and delicious, and teeming with live active cultures {so good for you!}, consider using it as a creamy component for your breakfast salad’s dressing. Yes, I said breakfast salad. I love getting a head start on healthy eating by enjoying a breakfast that includes vegetables {and I much prefer savory flavors to sweet}. Using yogurt in this way is something I came up within the last 3 years or so. I came up with it partly because I have always loved eating falafels with plain yogurt, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lemon {so delicious!!}. The other thing that got me thinking about plain yogurt as part of a vinaigrette is that my Aunt Debbie, who is so close in age that she is more like my sister, mixes in a little plain yogurt when she tosses a green salad, in addition to an oil and vinegar based dressing. Adding plain yogurt is a great way to enjoy creamily dressed salads without feeling like you’ve gone over the top calorie-wise, not that there isn’t a time or place for that. I love going over the top every now and then! Anyway, this is somewhat of a blueprint, rather than a recipe. Put it together however you like, with whatever vegetables you have on hand. It will be great and your body will thank you for starting the day off with delicious healthy food.
Breakfast Salad with Creamy Dressing
Put some plain yogurt in the bottom of your bowl. Top with lettuce, fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, quartered artichoke hearts, thinly sliced fresh jalapeños and thinly sliced onions. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with red wine vinegar & extra virgin olive oil.
Notes:
I use Kirkland artichoke hearts packed in water. If you have oil packed, I suggest patting off as much of the marinade as you can with a paper towel.
Use whatever plain yogurt you like, but make sure it has live active cultures for the health benefits. Any level of fat is fine, although whole milk yogurt can be a bit rich with the olive oil. We like Nancy’s Organic Yogurt.
Use whatever kind of vinegar you like and have in your pantry, but not too much. . .just a few splashes.
Use good extra virgin olive oil, but not too much. . .just a drizzle.
Fresh herbs are always a great addition!
We buy the sun dried tomatoes in olive oil at Costco. I have never been a fan of the herbs in these tomatoes, because they taste too strong to me. I recently discovered a way to prep these tomatoes which I think makes them taste better. I put the quantity of tomatoes I think I’ll use over the course of the week in a bowl, then cover them with boiling water. Let them stand for 5” or so, and then drain them on a paper towel. Blot them to get most of the moisture off & store them in a jar or other covered container.
Do not be tempted to put too much yogurt in the bowl, as it will be too soupy. I put about a 1/2 cup at the most.
I do not mix everything before I eat it. It is just like a regular green salad when you start eating, but then you get some of the yogurt and it becomes a salad with a creamy dressing.
I think I have mentioned before that vegetables are my favorite food, with green vegetables being at the top of my favorites. Some may think it odd, but the taste of green rocks, in my book. On occasion, I enjoy having vegetables for breakfast, just to get a head start on healthy eating for the day. Disclaimer: I am writing this after consuming a not so healthy lunch at a little Mexican place in Kahului. The wet chicken burrito was very good, and I would order it again. As I was thinking of the wonderful salad we would have for lunch, which was going to involve grapefruit, among other tasty things, my husband informed me that he can only eat our usual healthy way for so long, then he needs something a little heftier, like Mexican food. So off we went to Amigo’s. At least I walked/ran 4 miles this morning, before the rains came. Anyway, I have been wanting to try Deb’s {Smitten Kitchen} soft cooked egg, and I finally decided to give it a try.
Soft boiled egg on sautéed kale
The only experience I have had with soft cooked eggs was quite a long time ago. My mother-in-law used to make them for my husband when he was young, and he has fond memories of eggs prepared this way, so we made some. Although they were certainly tasty, they were also certainly a pain to crack open and eat before they got cold. . . I never made them again. My mom used to hard cook an egg and then smash it up with butter, salt and pepper; I loved that and still make it every now and then. The reason I wanted to try soft cooked eggs again, in spite of my not so positive experience with them, was that Deb’s way of eating them does not involve carefully slicing off the top part of the shell and scooping the egg out with a spoon. She actually releases the egg from its shell; I can do that! Deb serves her eggs up with toast, butter and cheese {!!!} and cooked spinach. I will do that as well, but this time I kept it simple~sautéed kale with a smashed soft cooked egg on top. I didn’t take the time to make toast, but of course that would be a delicious accompaniment, as would potatoes {!!!} of some sort {I love our creamy, locally grown potatoes!}.
Kale, a couple handfuls per serving, washed and dried well
Extra virgin olive oil, about 1 tbsp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sherry vinegar
Eggs, 1 or 2 per serving
Fill a 1 quart {or larger} saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, gently lower the eggs into the water. Set the timer for 6 minutes if you intend to eat the eggs immediately. If your eggs will be waiting around for a few minutes before you eat them, set the timer for 5 to 5 1/2 minutes; the eggs will continue to cook in the shell while waiting to be cracked. See Deb’s photographs on Smitten Kitchen to check out the difference between eggs cooked different amounts of time. When the timer dings, gently rinse the eggs under cold water, just so they will be easier to handle. Peel the eggs and set aside.
While the eggs are cooking, heat up the olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold your kale. When the oil is hot, add kale and toss it around so that it will cook evenly. Season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper while you are tossing it about, so all of the seasoning is not sitting on one leaf of kale. The kale is best, in my opinion, when lightly sautéed, as opposed to being completely cooked down. If it is cooked too long, it can get that canned greens taste, which isn’t the best. Taste a leaf and take it off the heat when you think it tastes great. Sprinkle the kale with some sherry vinegar to taste.
Put your sautéed kale in a bowl or on a plate, top with the peeled egg. Smash the egg, and season it with salt and freshly ground pepper. Crumble some soft fresh goat cheese over all & enjoy.
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
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