Healthy breakfast ideas: 15 ways to eat more fruits and vegetables

If you want to lose pounds and maintain a healthy weight, focus on increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat. This strategy is more impactful—and more likely to become a lifelong habit—than trying to completely cut out other foods that you love. 

Fruits and vegetables are key to a well-balanced and healthy eating plan. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer and other chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables also provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health.

So let’s start with breakfast. How can you eat more fruits and vegetables at breakfast? Here are 15 healthy breakfast ideas to try:

1. Add veggies to an omelet or scrambled eggs.

Substitute some vegetables for one of the eggs or half of the cheese in your usual omelet or scramble. Experiment with onions, peppers, tomato, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, and carrots.

2. Try a smoothie.

Whip up a convenient to-go breakfast in the blender using fruit and yogurt or milk. Get tips and your first recipe to try.

3. Sandwich ’em in.

Add sliced tomato and avocado to an egg sandwich.

4. Add veggies to potatoes.

Sauté some onions and peppers into hash browns.

5. Stir fresh or frozen fruit into pancake batter.

Serve with berries or sliced bananas on top as well.

6. Top off cereals and more.

Add fruit to oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, yogurt, or a toaster waffle. 

7. Get creative with cottage cheese.

Slice a cantaloupe in half and scoop out the seeds. It’s now an edible bowl you can fill with cottage cheese! Or simply mix your favorite fruit into a more traditional cup of cottage cheese.

8. Mash and spread avocado.

Use mashed avocado on toast or an English muffin instead of butter.

9. Mix in pureed fruit.

Blend fruit into cream cheese to top a bagel. Note: this isn’t the same as using fruit-flavored cream cheese. Purée real fruit for the healthy version. 

10. Broil fruit.

Broil grapefruit halves or sections as well as pre-cut oranges.

11. Open a smart sandwich.

Make an open-faced sandwich of cottage cheese and avocado on whole grain toast or an English muffin.

12. Make a fruit roll-up.

Start with a whole wheat tortilla, spread peanut butter, and add fresh or dried fruit. Bonus: this one travels easily for mornings on the go.

13. Prep egg-and-veggie muffins.

Fill muffin tins with eggs and veggies. Bake once and enjoy all week, or place some in the freezer to warm up on hectic mornings. Get recipes.

14. Keep fruit handy.

Keep a bowl of cut, ready-to-eat fruit in the fridge to enjoy as a side with your usual breakfast.

15. Grab fruit and go.

Apples, bananas, and plums are nature’s fast foods—fresh or dried. They’re mess free in the car, too!

Show us your ideas

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Did you know?

Students who regularly eat a good breakfast score 17.5% higher on standardized math tests, have better attendance, are more attentive, have fewer behavior problems, have higher graduation rates, and are more likely to be at a healthy weight than peers who do not. Find out what schools can do to help students start the day with a healthy breakfast in our guide, Healthy Students Achieve More.