Breakfast…. is difficult.  Especially if you grew up on American breakfasts which are generally a bombastic extravaganza of wheat, sugar, and animal protein.  As a child, my typical breakfasts were some kind of cereal (Lucky Charms were a favorite, as were Frosted Shredded Wheat… and I wonder why I’m allergic to sugar now…) with milk, OR pop-tarts (do these even count as food???), OR toast with eggs, OR English muffin with butter and jam (oh…. ecstasy!)…. etc, etc.  For “special” breakfasts or on the weekend, pancakes, french toast, and all kinds of assorted breakfast fantasies.  I got hooked on oatmeal at some point in high school, probably around the time when I also got hooked on anorexia.  Oatmeal rocks if you’re not <sigh> allergic to it.  So I’ve got no beef (can I really use that expression anymore?  maybe i’ll change it….) — I’ve got no BEANS with oatmeal.  Hahaha!  Beans are definitely more explosively effective than beef anyway.  

OH!  And I totally left out the dairy side of breakfast — yogurt, yogurt, yogurt, or my personal favorite when I was 16 — cottage cheese.

ANYWAY, my point is… WHAT DO I EAT FOR BREAKFAST?????

Well, there’s a whole list.  First of all, forget about breakfast in the way that you grew up with it.  In many traditional cultures in the world, breakfast is simply the first ingestion of food of the day and not some sacred indulgence of funkily-shaped wheat and sugar contraptions.  My question:  What would you eat for lunch?  My answer:  Eat it for breakfast.  I tend to find digesting beans at an early hour a little rough, so I save those for later, but when I’m teaching, I find that a bowl of some grain (millet, brown rice, quinoa) with half an avocado is a great base to start with.  The avocado suits me very well, since it provides me with enough fat to make it to lunch.  My goal is to fancy this up with some veggies, too, so that I’m already getting veggies in my first meal of the day, before the clock has even chimed 7 a.m.  Score!

Here’s my list of breakfasts SO FAR, and I welcome any advice.  Variety is key for breakfast, otherwise you wake up feeling hungry and desperate and that’s no way to start your day.

Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Dairy-free, Vegan, Wheat-free breakfasts:

1.  My favorite all-time mainstay breakfast for a long day or work:  grain (millet, brown rice, quinoa) with avocado and veggies (lots of greens or whatever leftovers you have on hand) ** bonus points for this breakfast is that you can make it ahead and have it ready to go, plus it’s quick to eat

2.  oatmeal (if you’re lucky enough to be able to eat it) — add cinnamon, nut milk, hemp milk, berries

3.  tofu scramble with potatoes and onions — scramble the tofu with onions, diced potatoes, turmeric, and curry

4.  a really good fruit smoothie or a green smoothie maybe with added hemp protein (if you feel like you need it) and bananas (if you are not me and can eat bananas) — honestly, I don’t find smoothies filling when I’m teaching and they make me have to go to the bathroom, BUT they’re great in the summer and on weekends.

5.  Nutty Flax cereal with nut or hemp milk

6.  flax seed crackers with a nut butter (your choice — not peanut)  ** bonus points for being able to eat this in the car!!

7.  granola (see my recipe below) with nut or hemp millk

8.  hummus on toast made from Rose’s bread:  www.rosesbakery.com ** bonus points for being able to eat this in the car!!

9.  my newest discovery…. baked sweet potato or yam with apple butter ** bonus points for this is that you can make it the night before and just eat it cold in the morning.

Here’s a photo of the yam with apple butter that I ate this morning: (the beautiful plate is courtesy of Sonya)

The key to managing allergies is variety and not eating the same grain or bean three times a day or three days in a row.  Hence all of the breakfast choices.  If I know I’m eating millet for lunch, then I might eat millet for breakfast if I’m definitely not eating it for dinner, OR, I’ll choose something else for breakfast.  A lot of these options, except for the smoothies, can be made in a big batch ahead of time and stuck in the refrigerator for later reheating.  Reheat while you’re feeding your cats in my case (or dogs, chinchillas, parrots) and you’re ready to go.  

Enjoy!