Five ways to add biodiversity to your breakfast.

I recently shared my thoughts on how to promote biodiversity in the kitchen and how it’s an easy way for each of us to make a small but meaningful contribution to the planet, and the delight of our palates!

I realise it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to doing this, so I’m going to share some simple suggestions.

It’s possible to add more fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds to your diet easily.  Breakfast is a great meal to start with as you can add new ingredients with minimal preparation.  I’ve prepared 5 suggestions about how to add more plants to each breakfast.

The simplest way you can encourage biodiversity is through your choice of bread.  Selecting a spelt over a wheat loaf is an easy and tasty place to start, as it’s readily available in many bakeries.  It has a slightly nutty flavour, perfect for savoury breakfasts.  Scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms and panfried kale on spelt toast is a great way to start your day.

Sticking with toast, you can promote biodiversity through your choice of toppings.  Australia has amazing native fruits that make delicious jams.  Quandong, finger lime and Kakadu plum jams are all great contenders (support Indigenous owned businesses by ordering them here or here).  Native honeys are also great on toast.  Full disclosure, I’m biased as my parents are beekeepers in Tasmania, so I love Leatherwood and Tasmanian Manuka honeys.

If muesli or granola is the way you start your day, consider adding bushfoods, especially native spices.  Lemon myrtle, cinnamon myrtle and wattleseed are all good additions to add a spark of native flavour to your muesli. 

A great way to really bring diversity to your breakfast bowl is to make your own puffed cereal from your local bulk food store.  Puffed buckwheat, amaranth, brown rice and quinoa make a great base for a light and nutrient rich muesli.  Add in some dried fruit, some nuts and seeds and you’ll be ready to go in the mornings.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of smoothies, but they are a great way to get a variety of plants into your diet.  A smoothie can also make a nice break from cereal and toast!  Adding different plants, seeds and nuts to your smoothie base of banana, milk and berries can really turbo-charge it.  Try adding some cashew nuts (soaked in cold water overnight, or hot water for 10 minutes before), a small handful of kale, a teaspoon of turmeric, or some pitted dates.  In season fruit that’s ripe (or just a little bit past) adds flavour, fibre and sweetness.

These are just a few fairly simple ways to add more plants, seeds, nuts and fruits to your breakfast.  And this is just the start, there are so many more opportunities to add more biodiversity to your breakfast.  Let me know what else you like to include in your breakfast by leaving a comment below.