I love breakfast. I mean, I adore it. I could eat breakfast at every meal if my body would tolerate it, and if there was ice cream on a waffle or something, I would seriously be in heaven.
I have always leaned toward sweet foods, and breakfast is no exception. I have adored making pancakes since I was a kid. (Banana chocolate chip? Yes please!) As an adult, I’ve always had a fun mix or two on hand – buckwheat, gingerbread, pumpkin, etc.
When I go out to eat, not surprisingly, I like to gravitate towards the sweet stuff. Favorites include gingerbread pancakes with ginger sauce, Belgian waffles with ice cream, stuffed French toast…you get the idea. I love an omelet or a fried egg, but those have always been my highlights.
Over the last few years, I’ve made gradual changes in my go-to breakfasts to promote weight loss or maintence. For instance, I went from two slices of toast to one, and I limited the toppings. I went from sweetened yogurt to plain (regular or Greek) and went from less healthy cereals to Kashi or, more often, oatmeal. And I went from eggs (sometimes with veggies) and cheese to more often, just eggs (and veggies), making cheese an occasional treat rather than the norm. These changes seemed to help not only with weight loss but also with limiting the highs and lows of sugar. Less carbs made me feel fuller, much as I didn’t want to admit it. And I became less likely to throw chocolate into breakfast or coffee when I saw that it meant I was fuller longer.
When I made the decision to do the Whole30 AIP, I knew that the toughest adjustment for me would be breakfast. Typical breakfasts for me by this point were usually plain yogurt, cereal and fruit, or maybe a slice of toast and eggs, or oatmeal, and of course I indulged in a crazy sweet breakfast at least once a month. On the Whole30 AIP, almost everything I thought of as breakfast was off limits. No eggs, no oatmeal, bread or cereal. No sugar. No honey in my apple cider vinegar and water drink! Fruit, while allowed, isn’t recommended for breakfast either. No yogurt too, which would make getting probiotics a new challenge for me. (One of the joys of my life has been battling yeast issues for 3 years, so probiotics are key to maintaining balance for me.)
So before I committed, I brainstormed and researched fun breakfast recipes. It would take a brain and body reset, but I knew that with practice, I could embrace my new, not so sweet breakfasts.
The sugar highs and lows of the American diet are crazy. Now I rarely miss caffeine (I can tolerate most tea, but I don’t have it often) and I stay full for 4-5 hours in between meals. Every day.
Here are a few of my current go-to breakfasts. I’d encourage you to try them, even if you don’t have any health reasons too. It’s very healthy food and your body will thank you – and they’re tasty too!
1. Chicken Apple Sausage, Sauerkraut, Sweet Potatoes and a Mushroom Veggie Medley (pictured with a few pieces of sauteed apple thanks to my husband, but know that there was sauerkraut on the side!)
This has become my default breakfast of choice. Sweet potatoes get chopped up small like home fries – or I can slice them thin and dress them like toast with coconut butter and/or cinnamon. I cook them in a skillet but an oven works too. Aidell’s organic chicken and apple sausage is Whole30 approved, but I have found a few other options as well – all chicken sausage and so far they’ve all been very tasty. Last week I mixed it up and went with hot dogs I discovered I could eat! (That’s right. I totally got excited about hot dogs for breakfast.)
For sauerkraut, I stick to fancy organic brands to make sure I’m getting some nice probiotics. I try to alternate brands or flavors each week. Kimchi will also be in the mix, although so far I’ve stuck to three or so brands of saurkraut. Someday I hope to make my own, but it takes a few weeks and I haven’t dared yet!
For the veggie mushroom medley, I’m incorporating favorites but try to mix it up. I know greens are important for those with autoimmune issues, so that’s a staple. A container of frozen spinach is often the basis, but I’ve done fresh kale, frozen collards, Swiss chard and whatever else is around. I absolutely love mushrooms, so I will do shiitake or whatever is around, fresh or frozen and organic when I can afford it. I’ll season it all with turmeric, ginger, garlic or whatever I feel like. I cook the potatoes and veggies around medium in a skillet and experiment until I like where it’s at!
2. Burgers for Breakfast!
I got fancy beef and made very fancy (small) burgers my first week on the diet to help me get excited about breakfast. Some days I would top them with avocado, and I sliced up sweet potato slices to use as buns. Sauerkraut and veggies on the side of course. Burgers for breakfast seem indulgent and they’re delicious! For sweet potato buns, there are tons of recipes out there. I tend to just use a skillet on medium and cook them for 8-10 minutes per side (you want them to get roasted but not super soft) but you can bake them too, like this recipe suggests.
3. Breakfast Skillets
My other go-to breakfast has involved ground beef, sometimes just with onion/garlic/spices and other times mixed in with veggies and sweet potato. This week I tried a Moroccan-inspired skillet and I love it. There are tons of flavor possibilities.
4. “Cereal” for Breakfast
This has become my new once a week treat! It’s not the healthiest or the most filling breakfast out there, but it feels indulgent and delicious.
I still pair it with some meat – either an Epic brand meat bar (check the ingredients first) if I am on the go, or some other meat option.
Ingredients you’ll need:
Freeze-dried fruit – it’s expensive at my local food Co-op ($5.50-$8 for a few servings) but worth it to me. I love bananas and they’re a good cereal shape. Last week I picked up raspberries, my favorite, to mix with the bananas.
Shredded coconut – You’ll probably need a natural foods section for this. Pretty cheap at my go-to supermarket.
Coconut water or coconut milk – Coconut water is much more thin a texture than milk would be in cereal, but it’s still delicious and it’s very healthy and easy to find on AIP. I had to order coconut milk through Amazon to avoid carageenan, and it’s full of fat and calories so I haven’t bothered trying it for this yet. (It would leave me with a partially opened carton…) But I do plan to and I’m sure it will be even more delicious!
Directions: Mix a serving of fruit (or a little less, if you’re like me and want to stretch out the fruit) with 2 TB of shredded coconut and about a half serving of coconut water (not sure how much milk). Let it sit for 10 minutes or so to rehydrate. And then eat and enjoy! I usually eat this on Sunday and I eat breakfast later than usual, anticipating that this light breakfast won’t hold me for 4 hours. More like 3.5.
What do you eat for breakfast? Have you considered tweaking your choices? Any awesome recipes to share with me?
Practicing Persistence 