Salad for breakfast might sound strange, but don’t knock it until you try it. Cindy Burke recommends prepping the vegetables the night before to minimize the time it takes to pull together breakfast in the morning; read the author’s inspiration for this salad on her Culinate blog.

Steps

1. The evening before you plan to serve the salad, peel the cucumber. Cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut the cucumber lengthwise into eight equal strips and then into medium dice. Place the diced cucumber into two salad bowls.
2. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut into medium dice; add to the bowls.
3. Chop the ripe tomatoes (or, if it’s early in the summer, substitute a handful of halved cherry tomatoes) and add them to the bowls.
4. Add a sprinkle of salt to the vegetables if you like. Add the flaxseed or olive oil to each bowl, then add the rice-wine vinegar (not too much — remember, this is for breakfast). Toss the diced vegetables with a spoon.
5. Next, tear a handful of greens into bite-sized pieces. Place the greens on top the diced vegetables, but do not toss with the greens yet (the oil and vinegar will wilt the leaves).
6. Crumble a little soft goat cheese on top. Finally, sprinkle toasted sunflower seeds over everything.
7. Cover and refrigerate the salads overnight. In the morning, take the salads out of the fridge.
8. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and gently set the eggs into the water; cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Once the eggs are cooked, drain the hot water and peel away the shells under cool running water.
9. Plop an egg on top of each salad, cutting each in half with your fork so the yolk can ooze out a little, then add a grind of black pepper. Toss and serve.