The following is a guest post written by Dennis Scott Carruthers, in which he shares seven of his favourite recipes for fast and easy paleo breakfasts. These recipes are sure to help us start off our New Year and post-holiday with healthy eating habits to keep our bodies nourished and healthy through the Winter season.
One of the most powerful ways that you can set yourself up for success through out the day is to eat a healthy, clean Paleo breakfast. While many Paleo breakfast recipes attempt to use Paleo ingredients to make a version of a traditional breakfast food, like pancakes, I find that the healthiest, most satisfying Paleo breakfasts are ones that take a different approach. Instead of trying to make mock-ups of grain-based dishes, I create breakfasts that are slightly different, but delicious in a whole new way. Here are seven of my favorite recipes. They are easy, quick and convenient — exactly how breakfast should be.
1 Apple
1 Bunch green grapes
1 Clementine
2 Tbsp flaxseed (ground)
Chop the fruit into uniform, bite sized pieces, and add in the flax seed. Did you know that each morning, we wake up dehydrated? This breakfast will give you plenty of hydration. It also delivers valuable vitimines, minerals, and fiber. The flaxseeds add a nutty crunch to the dish, which is much more satifying than eating pure fruit. If you like this recipe, try preparing the fruit in advance in a larger batch, so that it is ready each morning.
1/2 Cup steamed spinach
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chicken sausage (cooked, chopped)
This stir-fry can be made in five minutes. Remember Popeye, the sailor who grew bulging muscles by eating fist-fulls of spinach? I, too, find that spinach makes me feel stronger and healthier through the day. I usually buy frozen spinach in the convenient steam packs, which are made to be tossed into the microwave. Once I’ve steamed it once, I use half and keep half of it in the fridge for the next day.
Toss spinach, oil, sausage, and sunflower seeds into a frying pan and heat it, stirring once or twice. Once everything is heated through (this just takes a few minutes), put it into a bowl and add a touch of salt and pepper.
1/2 Banana
1/2 Cup frozen berries
1 Tbsp raw almondbutter
2/3 Cup almond milk
Smoothies are great for commuters. If you have a blender, try making a smoothie in the morning and taking it on your drive to work with you. The key to a healthy smoothie is to make sure you include protein, and try to limit the sugar and carbs. Almondbutter is an excellent source of protein and healthy fats.
2-3 Eggs
3 Bacon slices
1 Cup raw chopped kale
First, start by cooking your bacon. While it cooks, whip up two or three eggs. Once your bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan, and discard the excess oil. Chop the bacon. Toss your kale into the pan, and let it soften. Next, layer in your bacon and eggs. Cover and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the egg solidifies.
2 Small apples (or 1 large apple)
1/4 cup chopped dates
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Toss the chopped apples, dates and spices into a food processor. Blend until roughly smooth, and then scoop the mixture out into a bowl. Top with your favorite nuts, seeds, or berries. Try chia seeds, flaxseeds, pecans, and walnuts for a protein and omega-3 fatty acids boost.
3 Cups raw chopped kale
1 Tomato
1/2 Breast of chiken
1 Tbsp olive oil
Start by cooking your chicken. This breakfast recipe is most convenient when you have some left over chicken to work with, or if you have taken the time to cook a few chicken breasts for the week, ahead of time. Next, saute your kale in olive oil. Toss in the cooked chicken and tomato. Let the kale and chicken steam in the juices of the tomato for a few minutes, until everything is soft and moist.
Do you have some leftover roasted veggies in the fridge? Try reheating them in a sauce pan, and then topping them with a fried egg. This might seem outside of the norm for a breakfast dish, but you’ll feel so full and energized that the strangeness of it won’t matter.
When you are committed to the Paleo diet, you realize that many of your traditional views on food have to change. Breakfast can be so much more than the cereal and bagels we grew up on. Explore new recipes for paleo breakfasts and notice how you feel!
Author bio:
D. Scott Carruthers grew up with a passion for food. In college, he started a food blog which became a big hit. He was offered a column with the local paper, and eventually published a successful cook book.