Very-Veggie Breakfast Bowl - Iowa Girl Eats (2024)

This past weekend Ben and I wenton a double date with friends andgot to talking about how to eat and live healthier in our 30s. Ben just hadthe1 year anniversary of his heart scare,and the other couple isturning 30 this year, sowe were discussing how we’re taking better care of our bodies by eating more vegetables in particular.

In the Midwest it’s very common to have a protein, vegetable, and non-vegetable starch like bread or pasta at every meal. Not wrong, not right – it just is! That said, we wondered what would happen if – gasp! – wedidn’t eat a starch with each meal (trust me, we talked about more riveting topics than starches allnight!)Starches can be hard to work off, are typically devoid of nutrition, and often served as filler. TrulyI feel like I servea starch with dinner more out of habit than anything else. How nuts is that?

I took it as a personal challenge to provethat it’s not only easyto increase your daily vegetableintake, but not miss the empty calories of unnecessary starches. Oh, andlike it too (no easy feat!) How about serving a baked sweet potato instead of a side of pasta at dinner? Pairing a bowl of soup with salad instead of a roll at lunch? Or skipping a muffin formy Very-Veggie Cauliflower Hash Brown Breakfast Bowls in the am instead?

Riced cauliflower which, despite its name, makes anexcellentreplacement for hash browns, issizzled up then topped with eggs scrambled with greensand mushrooms, a dousing of salsa or hot sauce, anda generous dollop of Lazy Girl’s Guacamole. Plant-based (though if you want to add bacon I’ll totally look the other way!), gluten and dairy-free, filling, but most importantly so, so satisfying. This breakfast is the definition of feel good food.

Cauliflower rice is definitely having a moment right now. Like, there’s nothing it can’t do. Except be wine. That’d be nice! Anyway, it’s so versatile, and not only do we use it in place of actual ricearound here, like in my Cauliflower Fried Rice+ four recipes at the end of this post, but it also makes an awesomereplacement for hash browns. Nothing against the humble potato, which is of course a vegetable and undeniably delicious, but good hash browns require a ton of oil or butterto make them breakfast-worthy. Cauliflower on the other hand? Just a tiny drizzle will do ya, plus you reapthe dozens of nutritional benefits that come along with eating this super food.

There are several options for making and/or procuring cauliflower rice: send the florets throughafood processor fitted with the grating blade, grate the head on abox grater, or purchase a bag of cauliflower crumbles from the store – Green Giant and Trader Joe’sboth have product I know of.

I’ll be straight up and tell you that cauliflower rice doesn’tget crispy like hash browns, butthe experience is similar. It’s all about the visual with this dish, and once the cauliflower is sauteed,it’s a dead ringer for its potato counterpart.

Best of all? This mealis super easy to throw together and although I’m labeling them “breakfast bowls” I’ve eaten this dish for every meal of the day. Vegetable power, baby!

Start by adding a drizzle ofextra virgin olive oil to a 10″ skillet over medium heat. Add 4oz sliced mushrooms then saute until they release their water. After the liquid hasevaporated (there should only be a little,) season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper,saute until the mushrooms are golden brown, and then remove to a plate.

Add another drizzle ofextra virgin olive oil to the skillet then turn the heat up to medium-high. Add 1-1/2 cups cauliflower rice, season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper, then saute until crisp-tender, 4-5 minutes.

Remove the cauliflower hash browns to your serving bowl then turn the heat back down to medium and add the mushrooms back into the skillet along with 1 chopped green onion and a handful of a baby spinach blend, or baby spinach. Saute until the greens have wilted, then add 2 eggs that have been whisked and scramble.

Scoop the scrambled veggie eggs onto the cauliflower rice then top with a big spoonful of salsa and myLazy Girl’s Guacamole, aka 1/2 avocado mashed with lemon or lime juice, garlic powder, and salt. ???????? Pair with a cup of coffee, cold OJ, or big cup of water to jump start your day the healthy way – with VEGETABLES! Enjoy!

More Cauliflower Rice Recipes

Low-Carb Bacon-Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder

Low-Carb Cauliflower Cream Cheese Soup

Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers with Parmesan-Garlic Cauliflower Rice

Sweet Chili Coconut-Lime Grilled Chicken with Coconut-Lime Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower Fried Rice