Last summer I was diagnosed with a plethora of food allergies.

That diagnosis, thanks to my naturopath, led to a suggested and then successfully completed candida cleanse which in a nutshell meant no dairy, meat (since I had switched to a vegan lifestyle), gluten, yeast, sugar, or alcohol. For three months. Yikes! It’s on my radar to post a follow up to my #rhibootrhi efforts and what life looks like since making so many drastic changes in our house since July of last year but today is all about one meal in particular.

The hardest part of the cleanse and making positive changes in my lifestyle was getting into a routine that made my restrictive eating healthy easier and habitual. But the second hardest part was coming up with breakfast ideas! Since I couldn’t have dairy (I’m allergic to it anyway), am very allergic to eggs, wasn’t willing to do the meat thing after immediately seeing health results once I switched to a plant based diet, had to steer clear of starches, and fruit was off limits for the first two weeks, you can bet my options for morning meals were slim. And a girl can only drink so many non-fruit smoothies!

While my old breakfast used to consist of a Starbucks chai tea latte with whole milk and a butter croissant (can’t make that up), I wanted to make sure I found a meal that magically still offered the same comfort of my old go to even though my old breakfast tradition was slowly causing severe havoc on my insides and outsides. So on went my line order chef hat (ha!) and out of my heart and brain came what I now call Rhi’s Best Breakfast Ever. If I ever open a diner this will be the item marked with a little heart to denote it as a ‘favorite’.

I get a LOT of questions about this breakfast whenever I post it on Instagram. And probably for good reason! It looks really good. And it tastes even better. It’s satisfying, healthy, filling, and so good you would think it’s bad. The only downside to this breakfast dish is the time is takes to cook it but as many readers have noted, if you’re cool with the taste/texture you can cook the potatoes in advance making your mornings a bit quicker.

Another note: you can make many variations of this dish which is probably what’s so attractive about it. Don’t like sweet potatoes? Switch them up for white ones. I actually used to hate (again, strong word but true) sweet potatoes until I realized that when paired with something spicy they are bearable. Love a certain type of veggie not shown here? Throw it into the mix and sautee it up with the potatoes! Love meat? Love eggs? Throw some of those in here too. Really it’s all about making your breakfast yours.

While the possibilities are endless, below I am sharing the way I make my breakfast nearly every single morning!

Rhi’s Best Breakfast Ever

1 to 2 tablespoons, EVOO
1 to 2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced (I can eat a pretty good sized sweet potato all myself but if you don’t have a huge appetite or can score really big sweet potatoes you can get away with sharing one between two people. This also makes a nice big batch of food so it’s perfect for company or brunch.)

1/2 red onion, diced (sometimes I use sweet onions but I prefer the taste and color of the red ones best)

1 jalapeno, diced (keep the seeds for the heat! If you can’t handle the heat scrape them out)

1/4 link of Trader Joe’s vegan chorizo removed from its casing so it crumbles (Andrew tricked me into trying this one day and I’m lucky he did because not only do I think I would have never had the guts to try it otherwise but it’s SO good. It’s one of TJ’s top five most popular products! What I love most about this is there’s no gritty taste or irregular consistency like you find in animal-based sausage or chorizo.)

1/2 ripe avocado, sliced or diced
1 to 3 good squeezes of fresh lime juice
1 to 3 good heaping tablespoons of homemade pico

Salt and pepper for garnish
Fresh basil for garnish
Vegan parmesan, grated for garnish

And for the finishing touch! A scoop of sour cream for good measure (not pictured here but so good).

To Make

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium to large skillet. Add garlic and cook slightly until fragrant and brown, careful not to burn. Toss in the diced sweet potato and stir to coat the potatoes in olive oil. Let cook for a good 10 to 15 minutes before adding in your chorizo (if using). Sweet potatoes takes a very long time to cook so don’t plan on making this breakfast if you want it in front of you to eat in less than 20 minutes (unless you cook them ahead of time and are simply reheating). I usually have a handful of tasks I tend to while my breakfast is cooking since I’m so used to the time investment this dish can take. Stir every once in a while to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the skillet and burning.

2. While the potatoes and chorizo sautee in the skillet, cut up your avocado and arrange on your plate, Top with lime juice, salt and pepper, and add your pico de gallo to the side. You can also chop up the basil garnish and sprinkle that on top of the avocado for an extra little pizzazz! Once the potatoes are nearly cooked entirely through, add in the onion and jalapeno before tossing to mix well. Cover with a tight fitting lid to help steam the veggies down. Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Once everything is sautéed up nicely and you’ve checked the potatoes to ensure they are cooked all the way through, immediately add to the plate with the avocado. Add grated parmesan to the top, and finish with salt and pepper to taste. Top off with the sour cream if you’re adding it. Enjoy!