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Willi Galloway says breakfast is the most important meal of the day because skipping it makes it “impossible” to make the daily recommended intake of vegetables—between 2½ and 3 cups per serving at around five servings, though the Perch Furniture founder personally aims to get seven servings herself.
“I was sitting at my kitchen table eating a piece of toast and a boiled egg, which was my go-to breakfast,” she says. “I was looking out at my garden, which was bursting with zucchini, and I thought, why don’t I ever eat vegetables at breakfast?”
Through her new cookbook Veggies for Breakfast: 100 Delicious Plant-Focused Recipes for Healthier Mornings (Sasquatch Books, 224 pages, $37), Galloway wants to inspire people to cook with veggies, not just get their fill at restaurants. She has two launch events coming up for her second cookbook: a dedicated appearance at Vivienne Culinary Books on Sunday, Nov. 2, and as part of the craft food fair Gobble Up on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Redd on Salmon.
Galloway published her first book, Grow, Cook, Eat: A Food Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, in 2012 and released a second edition earlier this year, but says she found herself wondering what to do with her harvest. Not everyone has room or time for a veggie garden, naturally, so Galloway recommends getting fresh produce from the grocery store when farmers markets are out of season (the Woodstock neighborhood’s Sunday Market is her personal favorite). If eggs are in your diet, Galloway recommends pasture-raised over free range, even with a higher price tag.
“They are so much more beautiful and delicious,” she says.
Veggies for Breakfast has recipes that use more than 30 different kinds of vegetables, presented in a range of experience levels. One of the blended breakfast drinks, for instance, arrives just in time for cooks wondering what to do with their jack-o’-lanterns. “The pumpkin pie smoothie is a universal favorite,” Galloway says. Her favorite recipes are the Cacio de Pepe Savory Oatmeal (see excerpt below) and Mix and Match Ricotta Toasts. Galloway promotes protein-rich ricotta in the latter recipe because of its savory and sweet pairings potential, and its gentle but rich flavor. Galloway recommends topping ricotta toast with raw or roasted tomatoes, shaved carrots, or—for a sweet start to the day—blueberry compote. “It’s a really easy way to make yourself feel like you’re having kind of a fancy brunchy restaurant-style breakfast at home,” she says.
If her rainbow of vegetables and bright orange egg yolks seems like a nutritional dream come true yet out of reach, Galloway shows how using local, seasonal ingredients and making time to prepare a restaurant-quality brunch and breakfast at home is possible. Despite how organized the cookbook is—to say nothing of the gorgeous photos illustrating her work—Galloway insists she’s not a planner. However, she’s instituted a habit on the weekends that sets her up for the next several days.
If you’re too busy to slice, dice and otherwise prep veggies—a common concern she understands–Veggies for Breakfast includes tips on how to get ahead with grouped tasks to maximize time and prioritize a more comprehensive breakfast. She does all of her chopping ahead of time, and makes her Mediterranean sheet pan vegetables on Sunday for frittatas, savory oatmeal or other bases. She’ll precook eggs and a grain—which rotates depending on the overall menu for the week, seasonal pairings and vibes, though lately Galloway prefers oatmeal—and reheat them during the week. Galloway motivates herself with audiobooks that she plays after she hits up the farmers market. She says turning veggie prep into a book break makes the whole ritual fun.
“If you have vegetables prepared in your fridge, you will eat them,” she says. “It’s a very nice thing you can do for your future self.”
The book’s last-minute options work well for anyone eating healthy in a time crunch. Galloway recommends avocado toasts, overnight oats, and any of the smoothie recipes. The most versatile vegetable in her arsenal? The sweet potato. Galloway says baking some for an hour at night leaves them suitable for various purposes—such as a side with eggs, an ingredient in her waffle recipe, roasted with other veggies, or mixed into her salmon hash, other egg dishes or even with yogurt—all week long.
“Eating out right now is really expensive,” she says. “[Cooking] helps me stay within my food budget and give forethought to what I want.”
SEE IT: Willi Galloway at Vivienne Culinary Books, 2724 NE Alberta St., 503-575-2866, viviennepdx.com. 11 am Sunday, Nov. 2. $10–$27. Willi Galloway at Gobble Up Portland at The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon St., gobbleupnorthwest.com. 10 am Saturday, Nov. 8. $3.03, free under 12.
Cacio de Pepe Oatmeal
by Willi Galloway
This dish was inspired by the cheesy, peppery, delicious Roman pasta dish, cacio e pepe, and is my absolute favorite way to eat oatmeal. Start by toasting the steel-cut oats in butter, cooking them until tender , and then stirring in a handful of cheese and a generous grind of pepper. Spoon some Roasted Cherry Tomatoes over the top, and you are guaranteed to get your day off to a wholesome, yummy start.
Recipe (makes four servings)
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats (such as Bob’s Red Mill or McCann’s)
- 2 cups water or broth (chicken or vegetable)
- ½ cup lightly packed finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1 1⁄2 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt
NOTE: If you can’t find Pecorino Romano, Parmesan cheese makes a fine substitution.
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the oats until they are glossy and evenly coated with butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oats are fragrant and slightly toasted, 2 minutes.
Pour in the water, raise the heat to high, and bring the oats to a fast boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender and creamy, 7 to 9 minutes. If the oats have a crunchier texture than you’d like, add a few tablespoons of hot water and keep cooking until they soften to a tender bite.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese and pepper. Taste, and add salt if needed. If you want the oats to have a slightly looser texture, add 1 tablespoon of hot water at a time until they reach the exact consistency you like.
Veggies for Breakfast: 100 Delicious Plant-Focused Recipes for Healthier Mornings by Willi Galloway. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted by permission of Sasquatch Books.
