I was always a kid that loved to eat my vegetables. I was vegetarian for almost 8 years through middle school and high school and eventually began eating meat again. While I still eat meat to this day, I do not HAVE to have it with every meal. I have never been someone that was into diets or limiting what I ate, and still am not, although recently I had to make a very vast change to my daily diet and cut out gluten, soy, corn and dairy for health reasons.

Originally, I thought cutting four things out of my diet would be extremely difficult. While it is challenging for certain food categories like breads , I learned that there are still tons of options out there for me. I recently found a cookbook that I love, One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane (if you have not checked out her podcast, you NEED to here!) that incorporates a lot of “good for you” veggies (ex. not just lettuce which has 0% nutritional value) in yummy ways.

I recently made Murnane’s “Breakfast Potato Bowl” and it really knocked my socks off (and my meat eater fiance who stated that it was “actually very good!”) While it may not sound like much, the flavor is great and it will leave you feeling satisfied. I was not originally planning on sharing the OPP cookbook, but thought it was a great resource for those that are veg based or have dietary restrictions. All of Murnane’s recipes are 100% gluten + dairy free and can easily be modified if you have other dietary restrictions.

I decided to make this on a whim this past Saturday morning and did not have potatoes so I substituted white yams.  I also did not have some of the veg listed below in the official recipe, but threw in zucchini, tomatoes and whatever was in my fridge.  This dish can also easily transform into a Mexican food style bowl with the addition of a blob of salsa on top + whatever your favorite toppings are.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it for yourself:

Breakfast Potato Bowl from One Part Plant

Olive oil

2 medium large potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes)

1 orange or red bell pepper (seeded and diced)

1/2 onion (diced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

sea salt and pepper

dash of paprika

1 cup of cooked black beans (drained and rinsed- I used cannellini beans!)

2 cups spinach

Optional toppings such as avocado, sprouts, salsa, hot sauce, etc!

Heat a generous pour of oil in a large pan. When the pan is hot, add potatoes and cover for 10 minutes until the potatoes begin to soften. Stir every few minutes. Add veggies, onion, garlic, paprika + salt and pepper and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the veg is soft and potatoes are cooked through. Add beans and spinach until the spinach begins to wilt.

Put a generous scoop in a bowl and top with avocado, sprouts + whatever your heart desires!

To share a little bit about the OPP mission, One Part Plant encourages those interested to incorporate one plant based meal a day into their daily routine. Jessica Murnane does not tell you what you can and cannot eat, she just makes it fun to cook in a healthy way.

You can pick up One Part Plant for yourself, here!

-Al

*This book was not gifted to me + this post was not sponsored, just something I genuinely love and wanted to share!