Paleo Breakfast

[Ancestral Foodie]

Well I like your idea Swedish Fish, but I don't think it is Whole30 compliant, because the protein element is missing. I guess you could force yourself to eat a boiled egg before it, so that it counts and then enjoy the pumpkin part! Thanks for the tip!

[AmyS]

In response to AmyS - you have to have it for the protein - the choices are only eggs or meat as far as I know - nuts, avo's or coconut don't count as a protein source.

The thought of having leftovers, or a lunch/dinner for breakfast really make me feel rather sick. I'm fine with having those things for those meals, just not for my first meal. I like something that is nice, easy to digest and fills me up. Not heavy like meat meals or cooked eggs. The reason they don't appeal is because of the dense protein. Obviously this is great for lunch or dinner, but breakfast I don't want to feel like eating a full-on meal. I just want something in a bowl, preferably with fruit!

Ah, you were saying that either eggs or meat, eaten as required for Whole30, are not appealing to you first thing in the morning. Got it! As a long time eater of dinner leftovers for breakfast (my apologies), I missed that.

You know, I think Kirsteen, one of our moderators, went through something very similar to this. I can't recall what she did to bring herself to the point of eating breakfast (since I was busy chowing down on dinner leftovers at 7:00 a.m. ) but maybe she'll chime in here with her Breakfast-Saving Tips. If she doesn't you could message her. She came to Whole30 from a high raw veg diet, so it was a pretty big change, and she understands a lot of things that might blow right by, err, those of us who like pot roast first thing in the morning.

[Ancestral Foodie]

Thanks AmyS - lets hope Kirsteen can help here, although she may be a little upset that I've been eating grass-fed butter and making breakfasts with paleo ingredients that are easy to eat & digest, rather than being a main meal eaten first thing in the morning!

That's why it's so hard; everyone seems to love the idea of eating left overs or a big dense meal of bacon/sausage/steak/chicken with veggies & a fat, but it is my idea of hell. All my life I've loved breakfast; even when I go to a posh hotel where I've already paid for breakfast, I take my own food - I just like my own breakfast and even top notch restaurants can't provide anything worthy of eating, as I just don't want anything cooked with heavy protein!

[AmyS]

Thanks AmyS - lets hope Kirsteen can help here, although she may be a little upset that I've been eating grass-fed butter and making breakfasts with paleo ingredients that are easy to eat & digest, rather than being a main meal eaten first thing in the morning!

That's why it's so hard; everyone seems to love the idea of eating left overs or a big dense meal of bacon/sausage/steak/chicken with veggies & a fat, but it is my idea of hell. All my life I've loved breakfast; even when I go to a posh hotel where I've already paid for breakfast, I take my own food - I just like my own breakfast and even top notch restaurants can't provide anything worthy of eating, as I just don't want anything cooked with heavy protein!

Nah, nobody's gonna be upset. Promise. Most of us have stuff about Whole30 that makes us wanna pull our hair out and scream. Heh.

Also, note to self: when neither party is on a Whole30, travel with Carlah and appear at her doorstep at breakfast time!

[Ancestral Foodie]

Ha ha thanks!

Another blow this morning, I just read the ingredient "organic dextrose" in the breakfast sausages that I had bought (& was cooking up). The packet says different to what it said online and as I was already cooking them up, I've eaten them.

I figured I'm going to have to start this thing again, so I might as well use this time as "learning" and trying new things until I can come up with something that works for me and fits the Whole30 template. Plus I'll certainly know what foods I can have on it. Perhaps the Round 2 attempt of the W30 will be a smoother ride....

[bookluvingbabe]

Did I post this before?

Have you tried smoked salmon with avocado?

Also, I can't eat when I first get up. Not going to happen, unless you want me to puke. (The only time I can eat when I'm first up is it is like 4 am. Then my body wants a little protein. Who knew?) But if I give myself 60 to 90 minutes, I can easily have a decent breakfast.

[Kirsteen]

Hi Carlah, believe me I do understand the breakfast issues and no no-one's angry that you had butter and dextrose in your sausage (well actually I'm hopping mad at the dextrose, but at the manufacturers, not you). Yes, when I first started W30, I-hated-breakfast I hadn't eaten it since I was old enough to skip out to school without my mother catching me. Recently I'd had a few years of doing Fast5 where I only ate between 5 - 10 pm and a couple of years as a raw vegan so my first meal of the day was either a green juice or a green smoothie. I was also emotionally attached to my juices since I was still undergoing cancer treatment. I read everything I could about W30, was convinced and was planning everything quite happily 'til I came to the phrase 'breakfast within an hour of rising' for ***** sake, I was nearly derailed there and then.

My early attempts at breakfast were not always within the hour but I did try my best, I also know I didn't eat enough in my first breakfasts, i had to work up to that. We're lucky over here we can get compliant cooked meats, M & S does thinly sliced cooked beef that's simply beef and salt and some of their Wiltshire cooked ham is compliant. I don't know why but the fact that it's thinly sliced made it easier to eat. I would have a couple of slices of meat and cucumber sticks, wrapped in lettuce leaves and dipped in home made mayo. I also like king prawns like this and chicken (chicken I had to cook, I can't find any compliant cooked chicken) also smoked salmon (Lidl's is fine, I haven't found any other without sugar)

I also made 'muffins'. I'd fry chopped onions, mushrooms, peppers, whatever I had, add cooked ham or bacon put it in muffin cases, pour over eggs beaten up with a tablespoon of almond meal to help hold them together and baked. I did a batch of these and could either eat them cold or heat quickly in the microwave. I liked the fact that I could literally pick them up to eat. I also had egg mayo on lettuce, tuna & green beans before I graduated to scranbled egg, sausages (from local organic shop) to more meat & veg breakfasts.

I'm not going to say it was a dawdle but it did get easier over time and I did find it made such a difference. I can actually see now how it sets us up for the whole day and how it resets our hormones. Now I actually wake up hungry and don't want to nibble all evening, as for what I eat for breakfast now I've joined the Amy school, I get really upset if my dinner doesn't give me enough leftovers for breakfast and I never in a million thought I could ever be like that.

As for the canned pumpkin, I found it in Whole Foods (we now have one in Glasgow) and was distinctly underwhelmed by it. I was so excited to find it I bought 6 tins, 5 of them are still sitting there

I'm glad you're going to do a whole clean W30. You've had a bumpy ride so far but don't ever look at it as a failure, just celebrate how much you've learned and try to find something you can stomach for breakfast I agree that when you read so much it can be easy to forget things which is why I like frequently going over the official guidlines. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/5-the-official-whole30%C2%AE-program/

[Ancestral Foodie]

Thanks Kirsteen; plus I'm so glad to realise you're in the UK too and perhaps we can swap food products, as it appears to be a lot more difficult over here and not as much support!

I am going to give the muffins a go - almond meal is ground almonds right? My job for this weekend!

I'm going to finish up what I'm doing now (almost the W30) until Easter, then have a relax for 4 days and will embark on my REAL W30 on the 1st April. Good month to do it, as only 30 days, so when I make it to May, I'll be chuffed!

Thanks so much....

x

[Pea]

Thanks for the muffin idea! I think I might try making some with green onions, chives, smoked salmon bits and eggs. Question, though: is the almond flour necessary? I think I'd be better off without it. (Autoimmune issues)

Thanks!

Pea

[faymao]

Hi Carlah!

I wanted to let you know that I've read through this whole thread, and because you had a couple issues, you've helped me avoid the same ones. It's the exceptions to the rules that would have tripped me up, and the meal plan reminders were great.

Thank you for having such courage and grace to deal with your mistakes on a public forum. Because you did, I feel confident and have learned more. I'll be starting in a couple weeks, and you've been a great help.

Cheers.

[Kirsteen]

Thanks for the muffin idea! I think I might try making some with green onions, chives, smoked salmon bits and eggs. Question, though: is the almond flour necessary? I think I'd be better off without it. (Autoimmune issues)

It's absolutely not necessary. I used it the first time because I was worried about everything holding together but I've frequently made them without it and, as you've seen, you can toss in whatever you like. good luck with it.

[Carlaccini]

Since you are a cereal fan - have you considered soup for breakfast? With maybe some savoury granola on top? You will still need the protein part of your meal but it could work......

Other ideas for breakfast - crab cakes or salmon cakes. Smoked salmon over a salad.

Stuff I feed my husband - had a carrot soufle recipe that is reminescent of a savoury-ish pudding. I can't remember if there are eggs in the recipe or not - I think so. Again you could top it with some savoury granola if you wished.

Personally I like egg muffins in the morning. They are easy and the variations on them are pretty endless. I am currently in love with a southwestern buffalo chicken version. Initially it was a pumpkin, spinach, proscuito version.

[Reyna Brown]

I'm not sure how making "muffins" is ok and pancakes are not? Savory or sweet your still transforming ingredients. I think this is perfectly fine, personally, but I'm a bit confused. I really liked the sweet potato pancake idea! I would mash the banana, sweet potato (or pumpkin!), 2-3 eggs and add minced veggies (sweet bell pepper, Vidalia onion), make several "pancakes" and THEN fry up in coconut oil. Maybe top with some unsweetened apple sauce, cinnamon and slivered almonds or coconut cream. This meets the criteria in the meal planning template! I don't think it's paleo-fying. I think it's being creative with the template you've been given and finding ways to make the most of your Whole30. Thoughts??? I'm on Day 7 and I love my meat and eggs or leftovers but O too wouldn't mind changing it up. Especially when my family is home on weekends.

[Kirsteen]

I'm sorry if you misunderstood, I use the word 'muffin' just because they're made in muffin tins as that makes them easier to hold. They're actually individual frittatas. They're in no way trying to recreat a muffin or substitute for a muffin.

[Megan H]

Hi Carlah, I really admire your commitment to doing this properly. I have been a cereal girl for breakfast all my life and have had to adjust hugely for Whole30. (I would often have cereal for lunch or dinner if I was too lazy too cook). I love breakfast so much that I wasn't interested in eating leftovers from dinner at 7am. To me, breakfast has and always will be a different meal for me. I can't fall in line with the "Meal 1" idea. But in saying that, in deciding to do W30 I knew it was going to be eggs or meat for breakfast and that was just going to be something I'd have to deal with. I try to have a few egg-free days and my other go-to is ground beef cooked up with peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato and baby spinach. I cook it in some ghee to get the fat content or add slice avocado on top. I find the ground beef to be easier to deal with than having steak or chicken etc. You also might find cooked salmon easier to handle than smoked. I'm on day 32 and will be doing a whole52 after taking a few days to get the meal templates right and finding some unpleasant surprises in some products I was using. What's worked for me is 1) knowing it's not forever and 30 days in one 365-day year in a lifetime of hopefully 80-odd years is not a long time to be skipping cereal for breakfast and 2) if something comes in a jar, container, wrapped in plastic etc I triple check the ingredients. I'm talking tea, vinegar, meat, oil, nuts, crushed garlic, spices...ANYTHING! I buy completely unprocessed meat (no bacon or sausages) just to ensure that I haven't mis-read something or in case the butcher doesn't know exactly what's in it. Good luck for your re-start.

[Jessica Reagan]

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in! I started my first whole 30 in February. I was completely against the whole breakfast idea. In fact it made me kind of angry. I didn't want to have anything to do with breakfast and the fact that everyone was insisting that I, who obviously was just fine with drinking coffee in the morning and is allergic to eggs, needed to eat breakfast, irritated me. More than the giving up food groups and booze, the breakfast thing made me want to chunk the whole thing out the window. I thought smoothie would be the perfect solution.... oh wait, they aren't approved.... Still angry.

However, I had committed myself and I wanted to feel this "magic" for myself. I bit the bullet and started making sure I had some leftovers for breakfast. First couple of weeks were rough. I felt so nauseous and my stomach physically hurt and cramped up after forcing myself to eat breakfast, I thought "I can't do this". The next day I'd make myself do it all over again. I really hated it.

Then day I didn't get sick and I noticed I wasn't hungry after dinner anymore. I had more energy and I felt better. I kind of got excited. I started making steak or home made sausage with sweet potato hash browns and piles of roasted veggies for breakfast. I didn't always hit the "within an hour" mark, but within 2 for sure. It got easier the longer I did it. I started making sure I had prepared things for easier breakfast options. Seriously how can you get mad about steak for breakfast? YUM! When I went off my Whole30, I didn't keep up with the breakfast thing. Went back to drinking coffee and skipping first meal. Guess what? I have less energy. My meals throughout the day are more sporadic and l make more poor food choices. I notice that my sleep schedule is starting to get messed up again. UGH! All that work!

I'm starting another Whole program. Going to do 45 this time! And when I finish, I'm going to stick to breakfast! It really makes a world of difference for so many factors.

Give breakfast a chance!

[Xandra]

There's always white fish, such as cod or halibut, for breakfast. It bakes quickly in parchment paper. I season it with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bake at 425 for 10-15 mins. Put that on a serving of butternut or acorn or spaghetti squash, along with coconut oil or avocado and some tomatoes and you have a good breakfast that doesn't feel too heavy.

[Jessica Reagan]

Thanks for this thread. I'm starting Whole30 on April 1 and like Carlah, I have never liked eating animal protein for breakfast. Growing up, my mom would hand us a granola bar and some milk and send us off to school. We're Italian, and that's a typical breakfast for us. The idea of any meat leftovers for breakfast is revolting to me. This thread has given me some good ideas for ways to incorporate protein that I think I can handle, and even enjoy.

Started a thread for April whole 30'ers. Hope you can join us! Would love to hear about your breakfast journey. It's a struggle for me as well, so we can support each other!

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/8292-april-whole-30-group/page__pid__83305#entry83305