I know, breakfast salad might sound odd at first, but hear me out! The goal here is to learn how to make adjustments that serve your body through your health journey.
My family at one point had to eat AIP+Top 8 free. Then we realized there were reactions happening to many foods that were both Top 8 free and AIP friendly. So we had to restrict even more. It was hard time for us! The two biggest struggles we faced with breakfast time were that all of the sudden ALL of our go-to breakfast options were GONE! Another reason was because we had a very sick malnourished family member that was supposed to be getting 8-10 servings of tolerated vegetables a day . . . that family member was 10. Vegetables were not on the favorite food list! That’s when the Breakfast Salad was born! If you are new to the AIP diet or another restricted way of eating, I am going to keep encouraging you to think outside of the box with me, and realize that FOOD is fuel and medicine, and you CAN eat salad at any meal! Also, remember fruits are nourishment too, just because they taste good doesn’t mean they are bad! Fruits and veggies offer similar nutritional benefits!
Here is the step by step of how I make this recipe!
Salad: For my kids sake I stay away from greens that have a more bitter flavor like Arugula for breakfast salad. I tend to go for more mildly flavored lettuce, like kale, romaine, and iceberg, but use whatever you can tolerate! Strawberries and orange slices are safe options for my family so we choose one or both of those! I chop up both our lettuce and fruits and toss them in a big bowl.
Fruit substitutions: Blueberries, blackberries, apples, don’t be afraid to try whatever fruits you love, sometimes sticking to your favorite flavors when trying something new can make it much more successful!
Dressing: I quickly mix together olive oil, lemon juice (add zest if you want more lemon flavor. Make sure to wash the outside of your lemon before zesting) basil and thyme, and a healthy splash of red wine vinegar
Dressing substitutions: Melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or if you can’t tolerate oils, stick with only juice from your lemon, or even a freshly juiced orange to stick to the sweeter flavor profile we are going for.
Toppings: I usually offer a variety of these options and let my people add their own preferred toppings as they go.
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Chia Seeds
Avocado
Fresh or Dried herbs such as Thyme or Basil
Topping substitutions: If in AIP elimination phase, try toasted coconut and/or avocado as toppings.
I am a huge fan of shaking my salads to mix everything thoroughly so I always use a mixing bowl with a lid and give it all a shake! Transfer to a prettier serving dish if necessary, but I usually don’t!
Breakfast Salad
Equipment
- Cutting board
- mixing bowl
- citrus juicer
- citrus zester or cheese grater
Ingredients
- 1 tub Lettuce greens of your choice we prefer and can tolerate kale, romaine, and iceberg lettuces
- 1 pint strawberries or your safe fruit option ideas listed above
- 4 tbsp olive oil see above for other oil options
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp herbs we use basil and thyme
- ½ freshly squeezed lemon or orange + zest if desired
- ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Slice your berries or fruit, rinse your lettuce greens well, add both of these to your mixing bowl along with your dressing and toppings, put lid on your bowl and mix or toss until combined!
If a salad for breakfast is just not cutting it as far as your appetite goes, try adding some safe protein like chicken to this salad, and a side of sweet potato. You can check out my recipe for sweet potato with pumpkin seeds, boil and mash sweet potato for a side, or if you need something quick we love to use Caulipower frozen sweet potato slices as an additional side to our breakfast salad’s to keep everyone satisfied until lunch!
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