Salad for breakfast?  Why not, my trainer says that before a workout, you should have a ton of protein and adding veggies doesn’t hurt.  I did look on the Internet for breakfast salads and there were some really great ideas.  Deciding to move forward with my own idea, I knew that my salad had to include an egg or two, some additional protein, and one of my favorite things on the planet….lightly wilted spinach enhanced with some lemon, garlic and balsamic vinegar.  OK pretty but not pretty enough, red is one of my favorite accent colors and I just happened to have half a red pepper left over from another recipe.

Bacon makes my mouth water but I tend to avoid it, so I decided that smoked turkey would be a great substitute and the dish would still have a nice hearty flavor.  To my surprise it worked beautifully.  If you’re a hardcore bacon fan, by all means go with that instinct and let me know what happens.

Warm Spinach Breakfast Salad

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/2 sweet onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I like spicy)

1/2 large red pepper chopped

2 large portobello mushroom caps chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

4 oz smoked turkey torn into small chunks

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1-2 poached eggs

1/4 cup of parmesan or cheddar cheese grated

Carmelize the onions and garlic in the olive oil (medium heat about 1-2 minutes).  Add vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and pepper and stir into onion and garlic mixture (about 1 minute to blend flavors)

Add red peppers and cook until tender adding mushrooms while the peppers are still crisp.  Allow both to cook until tender but not mushy.  Add turkey and allow to warm.

Add fresh thyme and stir so that it’s evenly distributed.  Add spinach and allow leaves to wilt but not become mushy.

Top with a poached egg and grated parmesan or grated cheddar cheese.

This salad is colorful, nutritious and above all tasty!  Three of my favorite things in a dish!

Any special healthful breakfast recipes you want to share….I’d love to hear them!