Many people believe that a sweet or starchy breakfast provides lasting energy for the day because carbs and sugar are how we get our energy, right? And most people think of vegetables as a lunch or dinner food, but adding them to breakfast can have HUGE health benefits. From improving blood pressure to stabilizing blood sugar, even to losing weight, starting your day with veggies is a smart move backed by science.
The Problems with a Typical American Breakfast
Most American breakfasts are high in sugar and refined starches: pancakes with syrup, sugary cereals, bagels, toast with jam, or pastries. While these meals give an initial dopamine boost and quick energy, they cause a rapid glucose spike. This triggers an insulin surge, which clears excess sugar from the blood, leading to a crash. The result? Fatigue, cravings, and unstable blood sugar levels throughout the day. Studies show that breakfast-induced glucose spikes can also make lunch and dinner spikes worse, promoting metabolic dysfunction over time.
How Vegetables Help Lower Blood Pressure
Vegetables are packed with potassium, fiber, and nitrates, all of which support healthy blood pressure. Here’s why:
- Potassium helps balance sodium levels in the body, reducing strain on blood vessels.
- Fiber supports heart health by lowering cholesterol and promoting better circulation.
- Nitrate-rich vegetables like spinach, arugula, and beets help widen blood vessels, improving blood flow and naturally lowering blood pressure over time.
How Vegetables Help Control Blood Sugar Spikes
When you eat carbs alone, like toast or cereal, blood sugar spikes quickly. Adding fiber-rich vegetables slows down digestion and the release of glucose into the bloodstream, preventing sharp increases. Pairing protein, healthy fats, and fiber with carbs can help keep energy levels stable and prevent crashes later in the day. So to sum it up, eating vegetables at breakfast leads to:
- Slower Digestion & Blood Sugar Control: Fiber-rich vegetables slow down carbohydrate absorption, preventing rapid glucose spikes.
- Blunting the Glucose Response: Studies show that eating fiber, fat, and protein before or with carbohydrates can reduce the overall glucose spike by up to 30-40%.
Here are a few graphs to show you what I mean:
If you take a breakfast that is almost all carbs (bread, jam, fruit, milk), totaling around 87g carbohydrate. However, there isn’t enough protein, fat, or vegetables to slow down that glucose absorption. All those carbs together, without much balance from other food groups, will spike glucose fast, and high.
If you take that same breakfast, and replace the cream cheese and jam with vegetables and a banana, glucose will still spike, but because your digestion is more efficient with the vegetables onboard, the spike will come back down pretty quickly. There still isn’t enough protein in the meal, and there’s a little too much carbs (75g) with the 3rd toast, banana, and milk all together.
But if you remove the fruit and the 3rd toast, and add a couple eggs instead, this meal becomes lower carbohydrate (just 45g), and higher protein! Much more balanced. And look below: no spike!
Eating vegetables with breakfast can prevent these glucose rollercoasters from happening, help you feel more full, and digest the food easier!
How Vegetables at Breakfast Help You Lose weight
But if improved blood pressure and glucose is not a good enough reason for you to add veggies to your breakfast, maybe helping you lose weight will be the game changer. Veggies also help:
- Increases fullness: Fiber and water in vegetables keep you full longer, reducing overall calorie intake.
- Reduces cravings: Stable blood sugar means fewer cravings for sweets and junk food later in the day.
- Lowers caloric density: Vegetables are low in calories but high in nutrients, allowing you to eat a satisfying portion without excess calories.
- Improves digestion and metabolism: Eating vegetables adds a lot of fiber to the meal, which bulks up in your intestines, and helps pull the other food through the digestive tract along with it.
“For every portion of carbs or protein you eat, you should probably consume a similar volume of vegetables to help digest those slower-digesting foods.”
-Nina Ghamrawi, MS, RD, CDCES
Easy Ways to Add Veggies to Breakfast
- Green shakshuka – Eggs poached in a spiced tomato and spinach sauce.
- Veggie breakfast burritos – Scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a whole wheat tortilla. PLUS: Make your burritos ahead of time, and freeze them, like this recipe suggests!
- Avocado toast – Topped with tomatoes, microgreens, or sautéed mushrooms.
- Veggie quesadillas – Stuffed with cheese, spinach, and sautéed onions.
- Mexican-style breakfast burritos – Filled with eggs, sauteed nopales (cactus leaves), and salsa.
- Middle Eastern fava beans (foul mudammas) – Mashed fava beans with olive oil, lemon, and topped with diced tomatoes and parsley.
- Indian/Pakistani breakfast – Roti with veggie chutney, yogurt, and zesty cauliflower.
- Crustless veggie quiche- mix together several finely chopped veggies and fresh herbs of your choice, a couple tablespons of whole wheat flour, and a touch of baking powder to help it all rise!
Make It a Habit
Adding vegetables to breakfast doesn’t have to be complicated. A little planning and creativity can turn your morning meal into a nutrient powerhouse, setting you up for better blood pressure, stable energy, and improved overall health.