i often make a big pot of collard greens, usually braised with pork necks, and i eat that for breakfast over a bowl of brown rice. i also love potatoes, so i'll cut a potato into fairly small cubes and cook them in a skillet with onion, ground meat (usually turkey), and some chopped up greens (kale, chard, collards, or spinach) and then top it all with a fried egg.

my sister makes an awesome smoothie using a combination of kale, pears, and ginger. it's really fantatastic.

I would definitely second the smoothie recommendation. However, I do question why your nutritionist didn't suggest some ways to get more greens at breakfast. It's easy to say, "Eat more, greens," but aren't you paying her to show you how to incorporate healthier choices into your daily repertoire? It's that her job?

Spinach frittata made on Sunday night and slices reheated throughout the week.

What about V8 style juices? The kind you buy at the store isn't very green-heavy, but you could probably start with a tomato/carrot juice or low-sodium V8 base and puree some spinach or other soft greens into it. I like the spicy kind!

make a veggie egg scramble. saute onions, peppers, spinach or kale, and some walnuts w/ spices, then add in a beaten egg or three, mix until cooked. delicious, though kinda funny-looking.

One of my favorite breakfasts is eggs, toast + a veggie - steamed asparagus, sliced fresh tomato, etc. Almost any green veggies would probably work.

Also, V8/tomato juice.

I really enjoy finely minced broccoli mixed in with scrambled eggs.

Ditto the frittata and juice recommendations.

Herbs are leafy greens too! Pesto in scrambled eggs is awesome, as are other chopped herbs like dill and cilantro. Get a good handful.

You can also do a side salad. Why not? Pretend it's brunch. Some arugula tossed with feta, cranberries and lemon vinaigrette.

Finally, you could also cheat and double your greens up for dinner, and have a different vegetable with breakfast, like red pepper and onion.

(I'm also a nutritionist and agree it's her job to help you figure out ways to make this change do-able. Push her for suggestions.)

PS -- I would like to push harder on the juicing. I make several days worth at a time, and have 8 oz at breakfast. Swiss chard + fennel + carrot is a perennial favorite. Also, gobs of cilantro + cantaloupe + jalapeno can't be beat. Kale is good (1-2 leaves) with beet (1 medium) and an apple. For the leafy greens you really need to throw in carrot, apple or beet to sweeten it up. Greens are extremely potent when juiced!

I do a shot of wheatgrass in juice daily. You can buy it frozen at Whole Foods or concentrated powders are available. The powder is a little more gritty so it is better disguised in a smoothie. The frozen stuff flaws beautiful & really does not taste that awful!

Not exactly spinach, but good green stuff, nontheless.

You could make a kale (or collard/chard) pesto to eat with your eggs (or whatever else). I just made a batch and I've been slathering it on everything, along with a couple shakes of nutritional yeast. I love greens, so I've never had to worry about getting creative about how to eat more of them. Once you start eating them regularly your body will crave them -- I promise!

I'm a fan of Spirulina in my smoothies. I'm not entirely sure that counts but I'm not a big fan of the taste of spinach. Also there's a restaurant down the street from me that makes a killer 'fruit salad' it's got lettuce in it as well as loads of fresh fruit apples, dried cranberries, blueberries, grapes, and almonds. They serve it with Brie and pita bread. It's delicious.

What about that polenta/bacon/greens/fried egg recipe they had on this website not that long ago? I made that several times last winter - super delish! (maybe make with olive oil instead of bacon fat to be healthier)

here's that recipe! http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/recipe-fried-eggs-and-collard-greens-over-polenta-077455

i make a morning bran muffin packed with zucchini, carrots, finely chopped spinach, raisins, walnuts, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and whatever else thats on hand. i have found that it is a great way to incorporate some superfoods into my diet without feeling like I am a rabbit.

thanks for that link, sleeping spot. i think i'm going to try that this weekend!

Fresh herbs (parsley, dill, mint, chives, whatever you like) with crusty bread and cheese.

I eat Thai fried rice several times a week for breakfast. Basically it is leftover rice, any green vegie of choice (usually gai lan, bok choy or broccoli), garlic, thai chiles, black soy and fish sauce, and if I am feeling decadent those little chinese sausages or any leftover protein kind of thing. tasty!

You can also do a thai-chinese dish of greens in coconut milk with bruised whole shallots.

You can also do spinach over polenta.

You can also do sauteed greens on toast with an egg on top.

During my first year of law school, I was looking for a savory breakfast that was fast and nutritious. I ended up making oatmeal every morning, adding in frozen peas and an egg while cooking. At the very end, I'd drop in a handful of arugula and drizzle the entire thing with a tiny bit of soy sauce and sesame oil (the Asian in me). The same could perhaps work with other greens, though maybe they might require more cooking time. Good luck!

My favorite way to incorporate greens into breakfast is a smoothie. Kale or spinach pureed in a blender with some almond milk, a banana, and some berries is absolutely delicious, and despite looking green, it sure doesn't taste green. Recipe that's gotten great feedback is available on my website, and I'm sure there are variations across the web.

Remember that cooking greens destroys MUCH of their nutritional value, so the braising and sauteeing ideas kind of miss the point.

Juicing is great but only if drunk the day OF or a day later, no more than that or it's also nutritionally useless. The nutrients and vitamins in greens are MOST bioavailable to your body in their freshest, rawest form.

I'd ask the nutritionist for suggestions (I agree, that's their JOB!) and also ask if any commercially produced/refrigerated "green" drinks would suffice. I don't know what planet these other posters live on that allow them to have time to COOK things in the morning, but I slam down a Trader Joe's or Naked green drink in the mornings while driving to work. That's about all have time, resources or money for. Good luck!

Doesn't juicing remove most of the fiber? If so, I would see that as a downside to juicing... maybe that would be a vote for smoothies that are blended, or maybe people use "juicing" and "smoothie-making" interchangeably?

Definitely a green monster smoothie (my favorite is spinach, frozen banana, skim milk and a scoop of peanut butter). I also like scrambled eggs with broccoli and some feat, or an asparagus and goat cheese omelet.

I second the made-ahead egg bake idea, but I like to pop it into greased muffin tins so they're easy to freeze and reheat later.

If you'd like to go the raw greens route, I recommend Heidi Swanson's Tuscan Kale Salad recipe (but I prefer it sans bread cubes). Here's the link:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html

It's an amazingly delicious way to eat raw kale, and it holds up so well (doesn't get all sad and wilty like lettuce after sitting in the fridge in its dressing). You could make a big batch ahead of time, put a scoop on your plate in the morning, and top it with a poached or fried egg, yolk still runny. Mmm....

Gen
http://thealchemistblog.wordpress.com

One of the most lovely (and sadly, expensive) things you can treat yourself to is a Vitamix machine. It does not technically "juice" but can macerate it's contents to utter silky smoothness. Lovely for keeping all the fiber in your smoothies. My favorite is spinach, apple, carrot, and ginger with a bit of apple cider thrown in.

At dinnertime, I make a cabbage/carrot/celery salad with a dash of red vinegar and a generous helping of lime. The vinegar and lime will keep it tasting good for a few days. My standard breakfast is black beans, an egg, and cabbage salad (yum)!

i make savory oatmeal:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/when-life-gives-you-pancakes/

you can use broccoli, frozen spinach, whatever greens you like!

Grumble grumble grumble... "Cooking destroys nutrients" is one of those nutrition myths that makes me all grumpy. ("Bacon is unhealthy" and "margarine is better than butter" are two more.)

OK, so the only vitamins that are damaged by heat are vitamin C and thiamin which shouldn't be a concern as they are found in soooooo many foods. Minerals are not damaged by heat, nor are polyphenols. Yes, some nutrients may leak out during cooking which is why boiling is not recommended by the nutrition nazis. But frankly, this is such a small percentage of the overall nutrient content of the food I don't worry about it.

And, if anything, cooking makes nutrients MORE bioavailable because it softens and breaks open the cell walls allowing your digestive system access to the good stuff. Humans can't digest cellulose (the cell wall in plants). So when you eat fruits and vegetables uncooked, you are missing out on a certain percentage of nutrients.

By far the BEST way to break down the cellulose and get all the good nutrients out is JUICING.

True, IDEALLY you should drink juice shortly after it's made. But it's FINE to let it sit for a few days. Yeah, you'll loose a small amount of nutrients to oxidation, etc but it's most certainly better than ANY store bought juice which has been heat processed and is weeks or months old.

If storing juice for a few days is what gets you to drink juice nearly every day, than do that. It's more important to drink juice every day than drink it once or twice a week because you will only drink it when it's minutes fresh.

Ditto for cooking veg. If that gets you to eat them, than cook them! Steam them, boil them, sautee them. I don't care how, just that you do it.

Yes, juicing you do lose some of the fiber but there is still a lot in the juice. You can mix some of the pulp back in if you like. Smoothies do avoid this, but they don't chop the vegetables as finely as a juicer does so you are reducing the nutrients.

But if you like smoothies, than make smoothies. If you like juice, make juice. Figure out what is easy to fit into your life so you DO IT. And don't fuss over "maximums."

I agree that cooking greens makes many of the nutrients more bioavailable, especially iron. Plus eating them sauteed adds fat which helps the body utilize the nutrients.

The idea of a leafy vegetable for breakfast is well, just 'ew', shudder, and - no thank you. However, there's nothing I love more than sauteed green or any color bell pepper and green onions (scallions, including the green leafy part) in my scrambled eggs. I would also embrace asparagus in my scrambles all by itself. Saute the peppers only until they are crisp-tender in butter, and do it in a cast iron skillet quickly to preserve nutrients. I wonder how thyme would taste? Or basil? Parsley should be fine, too. I'd go to the herbs more likely than the salad greens.

No reason to limit yourself to breakfast foods for breakfast. I love a good salad for breakfast, just make sure it has a protein component. I also second the fried rice idea, or a quinoa/veggie mix.

How about a breakfast burrito in a collard-wrap instead of a tortilla? You can make a week's worth of them on Sunday, and store 'em in the fridge. I've used this method for lunch wraps, but I think it'd work great for a bfast burrito, as well.
There's a great how-to at Honest Fare: http://honestfare.com/mastering-the-collard-wrap/

as others have already mentioned, juicing robs you of a lot of important fiber and (over)cooking can rob you of important nutrients, so i suggest a breakfast salad with chopped greens, a boiled egg, some crispy bacon and a light vinaigrette. you can make every thing ahead and then just toss together in the morning.

this is my favorite green smoothie recipe. i usually freeze the kale and skip the ice: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kale-and-Banana-Smoothie/Detail.aspx

Check out Victoria Boutenko's green smoothie books:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Life-Victoria-Boutenko/dp/155643930X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293563222&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Smoothie-Revolution-Radical-Towards/dp/1556438125/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293563222&sr=1-1

Also, the Vitamix blender is the shiz!!! You can buy a refurbished one and save a BUNCH of $$$.

You could add some to miso soup.

Where I used to work, we'd take the oregon chai matcha almond mix, and mix it 3/4 that with a 1/4 vanilla soy in a twenty ounce cup, and blend that with a pound of spinach. You couldn't taste a spinach-ey taste at all, and it added body to it.

You can easily make mini frittatas on Sunday night to eat off all week. Simply fill a muffin pan with eggs, various veggies, and whatever else (goat cheese, feta, hot sauce, olives, etc, etc). Bake them up until the eggs are firm. You have 12 mini frittatas and can have 2 or 3 for breakfast each morning with some toast or fruit.

I love poached eggs over sauteed greens and soft polenta or grits. Or, if you don't want to mess with polenta in the morning, just the eggs and greens with toast is also a satisfying and tasty meal.

I'm also in the savory oatmeal camp. Sauteed greens are great with the much-loved steel-cut oats. Even better with an over-easy egg on top too.

This is Mandy, and I want to thank you all so much for your suggestions! I'm going to print this out or write everything down so I have a list of variety close at hand every day.

I love roasted vegetables at dinner, and one of my go-to mixes uses potatoes and brussels sprouts. I've tried having some of that leftover for breakfast the next morning, and though it took a slight shift in my mind, I've been pleasantly surprised at how well it's worked for me. I'll now be looking forward to trying some more of your ideas. Thanks so much!