Breakfast will never be boring again if you’ve got some basics on hand to make a beautiful bowl of goodness to fuel you through the morning. My Green Veggie Alt-Grain Bowl is loaded with nutritious, delicious ingredients and only takes a few egg-prepping minutes to make in the morning, noon or night.
Read on to get all the deets and the healthy alt-grain bowl recipe.
What I like about making “bowls” for breakfast, or any other meal for that matter, is the flexibility to personalize as I see fit. My main goal is to get 20 to 30 grams of protein, loads of fresh veggies and a bit of whole grain (maybe 1/3 to 1 cup cooked, exact amount depending on my activity level for the day). But other than hitting these loose macro benchmarks, the exact ingredients I use and the way I layer the bowl up are all up to me – it’s not as much “recipe” as it is “creative assembly.”
Today’s Green Veggie Alt-Grain Bowl is packed with arugula and broccolini, but feel free to substitute any leafy greens and green vegetables you prefer. Also, to keep life speeding along in the morning, I almost always use a grain meal prepped from earlier in the week – okay, okay, or leftovers! This bowl features a quinoa-split pea “alt-grain” combo (quinoa is a seed and split peas are legumes) and comes from a big batch that I’ve made ahead and frozen (with the same game plan as my How to Meal Prep Quinoa). Since split peas take a just a little bit longer to cook than quinoa, I throw them in the pot first to get a 20 minute head start.
You might wonder why only one egg on top of my Green Veggie Alt-Grain Bowl, since one large egg only has about 6 grams of protein. That’s because the lentils, quinoa and even vegetables add to the protein count. I ran the macros on this bowl (including the 50-cal per serving Avocado Cilantro Greek Yogurt Dressing from Litehouse Foods that I drizzled on top) and it has 380 calories, 20g protein, 39g carbs, 12g dietary fiber (awesome!) and loads of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients (see recipe notes below for all the details).
And curious about the avocado rose? This is the first time I’ve made one, and it wasn’t that hard. The trick is to get a “perfect” avocado — ripe enough to taste good and be flexible to bend into shape, but no so ripe that peeling and slicing turns it into a mush mess. Of course, the quickest and easiest option is to just slice your avocado into bite-sized chunks!
Have you ever made an avocado rose? What is your favorite grain or alternative grain to put int a bowl? Please share in the comments! – XOXO, Jennifer
- 3/4 cup cook grain or alternative grain (I used quinoa-split pea blend) can use rice, beans, potatoes, whole wheat couscous, zoodels, etc.
- 1 large egg
- to taste salt and pepper
- 3 spears broccolini or other crunch green veggie like broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.
- 2 ounces arugula or other leafy green like spinach, kale, collards, lettuce, etc.
- 2 teaspoons roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or pistachios, sunflower seeds, etc.
- 2 tablespoons Avocado Cilantro OPA dressing by Litehouse
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Place pre-cooked grain or grain substitute in bowl along with broccolini, loosely cover and steam in microwave for 90 seconds.
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Meanwhile, bring small skillet to medium heat and cook egg, sunny side up, to desired level of yolk “doneness”. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Remove bowl from microwave, push contents to one side, and fill remainder of bowl with arugula.
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Add sliced avocado, pumpkin seeds and egg on top. Drizzle with dressing.
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Note: I used a combination of quinoa and split green peas that I meal prepped by simmering ½ cup dry split peas in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes and then adding ½ cup of quinoa and simmering together for another 20 minutes. Season to taste, cool and place approximately ¾ cup in freezer container, repeat for total of 4 ¾-cup servings.
