Refresh Your Morning Routine with a Winter Breakfast Hash

With the promise of breakfast you may be thinking of muffins or pancakes. And a name like “breakfast hash” could certainly conjure piles of potatoes. Yet for most of us, when the clock strikes midnight New Year’s Eve, we realize that the time has come to lay the customary end-of-year indulgences to rest and start the new year off fresh. After all, the first days (or even months) of the new year are just like breakfast – opportunities to begin anew. Can you feel the thrill of it? I can!

A CNN poll released several years ago showed that over 50% of us lay caution to the winter wind when it comes to our holiday season eating. Sadly, some of us will feel the gluttony right in our guts – not necessarily with weight gain, but with the digestive disturbances that can come with these seemingly festive allowances. So it’s no surprise that for many of us with the new year comes a desire to refresh our breakfast routine.

Functional Nutrition meets seasonal ingredients for a nourishing breakfast hash

These past few weeks, I’ve been taking a new twist on my usual breakfasts and loving it. Talk about a fresh start! While a green smoothie might meet my summertime breakfast needs, I often crave something more hearty and less chilly for my winter morning meal. My current favorite takes inspiration from a memorable trip to a far off land. I’ve come to call it my Winter Breakfast Hash and it has gotten me all excited for the first meal of the day in this first month of the year because it’s opened a new world of nourishing breakfast possibilities. Plus, just like my green smoothie, breakfast hash has allowed me to check several servings of healthy fruits and vegetables off my list as part of my refreshed morning routine.

Winter Breakfast Hash your way

My Winter Breakfast Hash is designed to be adaptable and can be made different each day. During the warmer months mine often begins with the base of a Middle Eastern vegetable salad, which consists of fresh chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. However, as those vegetables aren’t always available in the colder months, I’ve been experimenting with other options. Some of the different ingredients that have gone into my hash as of late, which I hope will inspire you to create your own daily sunrise surprise include: 

• chopped cucumbers

• chopped tomatoes

• roasted eggplant

• shredded carrots

• pitted olives

• chopped apples

• chopped walnuts

• sultan raisins

• medjool dates

• pomegranate seeds

Not all together and not every day, but all dressed and roughly mixed with pourable tahini. The dressing-like texture of pourable tahini works splendidly to turn the cornucopia of seasonable ingredients into a heavenly hash. If sesame tahini doesn’t suit your fancy or your immunity, try liquefying any other nut or seed butter of your liking to a pourable texture or use a yogurt of your choosing to dress your hash.

Winter Breakfast Hash

Winter Breakfast Hash combos to jumpstart your creative engine of possibilities:

• orange, pomegranate, spinach, arugula, fresh herbs and chopped walnuts

• quick sautéed kale and cabbage ribbons, shredded carrots, apples and raisins

• roasted Brussels sprouts, chopped hazelnuts and shredded beets

• roasted cauliflower, arugula and juice-sweetened cranberries

• chopped apple, radish, roasted onions and Romaine chunks

• baked or small-chopped raw kale, grapefruit chunks and avocado

• roasted sweet potatoes, spinach, pine nuts and apples

Feel free to stir some honey or cinnamon into your pourable “cream” or go savory with some sea salt and garlic. Two of my favorite additions that I discovered are pomegranate syrup for my sweet tooth and turmeric oil for my more tangy taste buds. The possibilities are endless, and you will undoubtedly come up with your own winning combo. Don’t forget you can add a whole grain (quinoa, millet, etc) or a source of protein (salmon, bacon. egg) to your bowl. 

Now it’s your turn to get creative and get chopping. Don’t worry about perfect slices, dices, or chops. Just make it rough, easy, and delicious. That’s my ticket to healthy eating – quick, simple, and yummy. You can even get a smorgasbord going for the family. Leave piles of chopped goodies on the cutting board and let each person fill their bowl as they choose.

Make this hash and this year your own – starting with a nourishing breakfast that suits your taste buds and sets the tone for success.

Happy New Year to you! May it be filled with splendor and good health.

By: Andrea Nakayama, FxNA Founder & Functional Medicine Nutritionist

Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.