Three Throw-Together Breakfasts

My invention using the frozen waffles I was making for my son:
toaster waffle, topped with avocado, a fried egg, honey, and hot sauce.

I’m really into it, and not pregnant at all!

Really wish the adjective “healthy” could be removed – food isn’t inherently healthy or unhealthy – applying a binary judgement can be really triggering for those in recovery from an eating disorder. Love the recipes, let’s change the language around food!

This post came with perfect timing. Wondering what on earth to feed my three-year-old for lunch, voila this blueberry concoction. We used PB; it was still good. I ate it for lunch two days in a row. Thank you!

One of my favorite savory breakfasts is radish toast!
I thinly slice a sizable handful of radishes and pile them on top of toasted sourdough (or whole wheat) slicked with salted butter (plus flakey salt on top if feeling fancy). A plant-derived fat (or radish green pesto??!) would also work in place of butter. Lots of delightful crunch and lets me eat vegetables first-thing in the morning, yum.

brussel sprouts roasted in ghee is my latest fave thing

These recommendations are coming at the perfect time–I’m about to have my second baby and one thing I remember from the first was how hard it was to keep myself fed with healthy, wholesome (yet yummy) foods so that I could fulfill my duties as a new mom/milk machine, all while holding a newborn who did not like to be put down. I’m going to keep these in my back pocket for those mornings when I want a full belly and full boobs.

Because I have gestational diabetes I have to watch my sugar and carb intake. I typically rotate between two eggs and toast, peanut butter toast with nuts and drizzle of honey, or protein pancakes/French toast. If I am having something that’s too sweet or carb heavy I’ll top with Greek yogurt or eat a side of eggs.

can you also please tell us what the Brussels sprout recipe is!? sounds amazing

I made a significant habit shift at the end of December: I started eating steel cut oats every morning. I was never an oatmeal fan, but I had some rolled oats left over from making granola and I was in a real dietary funk. I had put on covid weight (eating out of boredom, joylessly overeating, consuming mac n’ cheese, pizza, unhealthy, non satiating stuff). I wanted a change. I wanted to feel strong and healthy.
Four months later, I’ve trimmed 4 inches from my waist and I am vegan. This was not an expected result but as I started eating oats every morning, I started researching ingredients and experimenting with cutting out dairy (I had already cut out meat in November).
Now, I make a batch of steel cut oats at the start of every week and heat up a bowl each morning, adding toasted sesame seeds, hemp hearts, flax meal, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, raisins, dried figs, cinnamon. I feel amazing and don’t need to eat again until dinner time (usually at 4 pm or 5 at the latest).
The key to this shift was not being rigid. I experimented with cutting out dairy and found I didn’t miss it and I felt better, stronger, more satiated with my oats and seeds and dried fruit and for dinner, lentils, beans, veggies from my CSA box.
I am seeing articles recently, talking about prepping for getting “busier” again. I refuse to accept that I have to short change my health and quality of life to go back to a “normal” that I don’t entirely agree with.
Slowing down, learning how to cook, learning about foods, learning how to listen to my body is a gift sheltering in place gave me. I can’t and won’t unlearn these things.
I will keep moving forward, not looking back. :)

The Oh She Glows cookbook has a savory oatmeal lentil bowl that has been on heavy rotation for me lately – and it’s great with a poached egg on top if you need more. I always find that eating breakfast jump starts my metabolism so the earlier I eat, the earlier I’m hungry again, but this sticks to my ribs to get me to a reasonable lunch time: https://www.lydiamendel.com/blog/2017/12/1/savory-lentil-oatmeal-recipe

Thanks so much for the vegan recipes! The blueberry toast looks divine. Cannot wait to try! And they’re all so kind. :-)

To switch up the breakfast “go-to” items, I love to experiment with ways to use chia smash from Oswald Co. (female-founded brand, right in NYC!) No added sugars, 4 natural ingredients, it can be put on almost anything (swirled into yogurt, mixed into salad dressing, drizzled on pancakes/waffles, or the classic pb&”j” combo). Seriously, check this stuff out!!
https://www.theoswaldco.com/
IG: chiasmash

I struggle with breakfast, but lately, I’ve been sauteing a mountain of spinach in a little olive oil and garlic powder and eating it on an English muffin with a runny egg and some Sir Kensington’s Gochujang Everything Sauce, and having a sumo or some other kind of fruit on the side. Trying to find ways to get more greens in, especially in the morning! :)

Also, I have to say, these Joy the Baker cookies make a killer breakfast: https://joythebaker.com/2021/02/the-almond-flour-banana-bread-cookies-i-always-have-in-the-fridge/

I LOVE getting a glimpse at what other people eat for breakfast – so much inspiration! We do oatmeal a lot, I like to boil my rolled oats and then drain the thick starchy water in a sieve, adding almond milk after it is cooked to make it creamy again. I mix in maple syrup, almond butter, ground flax, cinnamon and a pinch of salt! Sometimes a bit of coconut oil or ghee too. Everyday my 4 year old eats half of an everything bagel topped with butter and nutritional yeast, and a kefir drink. I’m not mad about it!

This post inspired me to have leftover roasted asparagus and mushroom with a bagel and plain cream cheese topped with za’atar seasoning. SO good.

I’ve been having a hard time with meal prep the last month or so since quitting a terrible job. For me it has been buttery frozen blueberry waffles (I buy whole grain) and two morning start vegan sausages. I do one tiny blurb of syrup and it is filling and comforting. I have literally eaten this almost everyday for nearly two months….I’m fine. I will probably break this streak once it’s warm enough for a smoothie, but right now in the PNW it will be cold and gray into June/July.

My 4 and 1 year old LOVE the oat smoothie my husband created. Frozen berries (heavy on the raspberries), couple bananas, pre-blended rolled oats, milk of choice, ground flax.. blend and voila! We make a big batch on Sunday and see how long it lasts us. The 4 year old can sometimes talk us into a few semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.

I am so predictable its always 1 egg preferably from my chickens, maybe on toast if I am craving carbs.
I joke that my meals are all very healthy (premade quiche and a simple salad for lunch, meat and veg for dinner etc.) but my snacks not so much. So by 10.30am I am ready for a sweet treat (normally a home baked good like a cookie or brownie) or a handful of nuts. Life is short I am going to eat that cookie for a pick me up if I need it and not feel guilty.

Please keep posting vegetarian & vegan recipes, much appreciated! (and love that your daughter has brussels for breakfast :) )

I began following the autoimmune protocol diet almost 2 years ago to get my Hashimoto’s as in check as I can, and at first I struggled to figure out a good breakfast for weekday mornings- I am TERRIBLE at both food prep and waking up early, and usually eat my breakfast about 2 hours after I get to work, during our daily morning meeting. What to eat when you can’t have gluten, dairy, soy, grains, eggs, and so many other things?? My happy solution is an avocado sprinkled with salt. Sometimes I add a banana or some blueberries, but just the avocado is perfect. It’s filling, the good fat keeps me from getting hangry before lunch, and my skin looks fantastic! It’s turned in to a little bit of a joke at work, but who cares!

A nearby grocery store sells big bowls of berries that last me a week. I start with a small (berry) bowl of them, then something carb-y, toast or a small bowl of cereal. One thing I started doing in middle age is mixing cereals together. Anyone else?

Kelly LeVeque’s Fab 4 smoothies! There are zillions of ways to do them, but all contain Fat, Fiber, Protein and Greens, aka, The Fab 4. They keep the blood sugar train steadily humming along (instead of the spike and crash roller coaster) and I find I crest down gently into hunger around lunch time instead of going crazy hangry and eating everything in sight. Following her Fab 4 light structure has changed my relationship with food and with my body because now I understand the science! So grateful and recommend her books to anyone!

Savoury breakfasts are the best! Leftover roasted veg + eggs is my favourite. But on school days I always do the same routine to keep thinking to a minimum: steel cut oats with dried cranberries, and fried eggs all around.

I’m obsessed with matcha smoothies in the morning. 1 cup frozen spinach, 1 tsp matcha, milk of choice (almond), sweetener of choice (always a banana, sometimes also a date or a tsp of vanilla protein powder), and nutritional boosters if you desire (flaxseed, chia seed, frozen cauliflower, etc.).

Also, for parents of young kids, we’ve discovered 2 ways to reduce sugar but keep breakfast easy. Take one of the packets of oatmeal (we like the Trader Joe’s apple cinnamon flavor) and add the same amount of rolled or instant oats and some extra water. Same with yogurt. One cup of super-sugary Trader Joe’s yogurt can satisfy my crew of 3 because I cut it with plain yogurt.

I drink plain kefir a lot for breakfast because I often wake up not wanting food but needing to consume *something*. If I do feel like real food though, right now I’m really into Van’s gluten-free toaster waffles with crunch almond butter and a little honey, highly recommend!