Resolve to eat more deliciously this year

Happy New Year from your neighborhood First Watch restaurant

Whether you’ve resolved to eat healthier, cleaner, more calorie conscious, gluten-free or keto this year, there’s one place to find delicious and healthy alternatives. At First Watch, they start bright and early each morning preparing exceptional ingredients to deliver fresh breakfast, brunch and lunch made to order.

Farm to fork freshness

There are so many inventive and intriguing dishes to explore at First Watch. Corporate Chef Shane Schaibly is always keeping things fun and fresh, farm to fork. Everything here is made from scratch, in house, from their French Toast batter and baked goods to veggies sliced and juices squeezed Fresh. Every. Day.

“Having the fresh food focus just feels right. It feels good to me,” says Amanda Lehmann, First Watch Director of Operations.

Amanda can be found cooking, hosting and guiding her staff in best practices at any time in her numerous First Watch locations (two in Springfield, one in Joplin, one in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri; and three in Northwest Arkansas).

“Serving people is the best part about working for First Watch,” Amanda notes. “I love being in customer service.”

Hit refresh

A great way to start a healthy meal is with a refreshing concoction from the First Watch juice bar. Check out the Cranberry Crush juice, a tangy blend of cranberry, Fuji apple, lemon, cane sugar and cinnamon.

Or choose Purple Haze, a refreshing and magical blend of lemon, cane sugar, butterfly pea flower tea and a hint of lavender.

Or perhaps a little Morning Meditation (orange, lemon, turmeric, organic ginger, agave nectar and beet) or Kale Tonic (kale, Fuji apple, cucumber and lemon.) You can even boost your juice with a wellness shot of vitamins B3, C & D, zinc, echinacea and elderberry.

Healthy options

There are so many delectable reasons to visit your neighborhood First Watch restaurant, including loads of healthy eating choices. Of course, you are always welcome to swap out toast with fresh, seasonal fruit, choose egg whites for your omelette, substitute gluten-free toast. And the regular menu offers wholesome options galore.

Take for instance the Healthy Turkey Omelet, an egg white omelet with turkey, house-roasted onions, tomatoes, spinach and Feta cheese. Served with First Watch’s whole grain artisan toast and all-natural house preserves.

Or, try the A.M. Superfoods Bowl— coconut milk chia seed pudding, fresh bananas and berries, mixed berry compote, housemade granola with almonds and their whole grain artisan toast with almond butter and Maldon sea salt.

Get your day off to a good start with the Sunrise Granola Bowl—non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt layered with fresh, seasonal fruit and their housemade granola with almonds. Served with a freshly baked muffin of the day.

Or, get going with a bowl of First Watch’s steel-cut oatmeal, made to order with berries, fresh sliced banana, pecans, low-fat milk, brown sugar and a freshly baked muffin of the day.

For a protein boost, try the First Watch Power Wrap—egg whites, turkey, spinach, house-roasted Crimini mushrooms and Mozzarella in a sun-dried tomato-basil tortilla. Served with fresh fruit and a side of housemade pico de gallo.

Keep it lean with the Tri-Athlete: an egg white omelet with house-roasted Crimini mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and green chilis. Served with housemade pico de gallo, whole grain artisan toast, all-natural house preserves and fresh fruit.

Or, do Avocado Toast the First Watch way: thick-cut whole grain artisan toast, fresh smashed avocado, EVOO, lemon and Maldon sea salt with two cage-free basted eggs.

Food Ethos

At First Watch, they welcome each season with ingredients and flavors inspired by the position of the sun. And right now, that means a menu featuring special recipes infused with warm and inviting spices.

Take for instance, their Pork Green Chile Hash.

Pork Green Chile originated in Mexico but is now a big staple in the American Southwest. There are many variations of this dish, with some regions utilizing milder peppers and others opting for spicier chillis or the incorporation of tomatillos. The First Watch spin on the dish uses shredded carnitas flavored with bold, fire-roasted green chile sauce, seasoned and marinated in garlic and citrus, and slow-cooked for crave-worthy texture and flavor.

This limited-time offering is made with hand-shredded pork shoulder tossed with freshly seasoned potatoes, Monterey Jack, fire-roasted green chile sauce and lime crema. Topped with two cage-free eggs cooked any style, housepickled red onions and cilantro. Served with warm wheat-corn tortillas and freshly cut lime.

Or for another warm and spicy treat, indulge in the Barbacoa Breakfast Burrito—savory braised beef Barbacoa, scrambled cage-free eggs, fresh seasoned potatoes, black beans and Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Wrapped in a grilled whole wheat tortilla, covered with red chile hollandaise and topped with lime crema, housemade pico de gallo, fresh smashed avocado, Cotija cheese and cilantro, it’s the perfect hearty start to a busy day.

Pour me a cup

For their signature drip coffee, First Watch wanted a truly special roast, so they ventured to Colombia to find the richest beans and to personally meet the female farmers—the Mujeres en Café— who grow them.

The First Watch team visits and learns from that community, and gives back in ways like improving their schools and investing in their future; and they get some of the world’s best coffee in return.

With each visit to a First Watch restaurant, you’ll be greeted with a smile and a whole pot of their signature, award-winning Project Sunrise coffee to start your day off right. “Better Coffee. Better World.” That’s the Project Sunrise promise.

Start your new year off right with an oozing egg yolk moment, brunch cheers and a million dollar morning at your neighborhood First Watch.

Questions about this or other dining features? Contact Karen Rice at 479-571-6474 or krice@NWADG.com