[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] T[/dropcap]he first time I tried going paleo there was one meal I really struggled with.
If you’ve ever had an attempt at eating low carb or going ‘full paleo’, I bet you’ve struggled with this too.
Yep. Breakfast. Breakkie.
Now I think about it, when I went vegan for a week, breakfast was the most tricky then too.
This time, my experiment of eating full paleo for a month, breakfasts have been relatively easy.
Since moving to our little farm last year and getting a flock of chooks (that’s chickens for you non-Australians!), I’ve become a huge fan of having eggs for breakfast.
There’s something so great about having a proper breakfast of poached eggs and some veggies.
I love it.
But even I can’t have eggs for breakfast every single day, so I thought I’d share my fave breakkie ideas for when eggs aren’t an option…
6 Egg-Free Low Carb / Paleo Breakfast Ideas
1. Green Smoothies
I don’t have a high speed blender so I find my green smoothies tend to be a bit fibrous… not exactly smooth! So I haven’t really gotten into this craze. But they can be a brilliant way to start getting some veggies in your breakkie.
2. Coconut Yoghurt
If only I’d known about coconut yoghurt back during my vegan week! I’ve been enjoying a commercial one but if you’d like to make your own, there’s a recipe over here.
I’ve bookmarked a page from the My New Roots cookbook for cashew yoghurt which I’m really eager to try.
3. Chocolate ‘Granola’
I’d forgotten about this recipe until I was doing research for this blog post. Looking forward to whipping up a batch this weekend as a treat for my last days of paleo month!
4. Overnight ‘Chia’
In Summer I do love to soak rolled oats to make bircher musesli or ‘overnight oats’ but you can get great results with chia seeds as well.
For one person, just soak 2-3 tablespoons chia seeds in 2/3 cup coconut milk, almond milk or other milk. Either leave in the fridge overnight or as long as you’ve got. The longer you soak the less crunchy the chia will be. Serve straight up or with fresh fruit such as blueberries.
5. Paleo Toast + Avocado
I’ve been making my paleo bread, which is based on coconut flour (and does contain some eggs!) to have with avocado. Fergal isn’t convinced (he spits it out!). But I do like having it as a quick change from my eggs.
6. Coconut & Almond ‘Cereal’ (recipe below)
This grain-free Paleo cereal mix (pictured above) has been a life saver during my month of eating paleo for those days when I don’t feel like cooking eggs. See below for the recipe…
Need more ideas?
If you’re happy to include some legumes and / or eggs, check out My 9 Favourite Healthy Breakfast Ideas and 6 Slightly Unusual Healthy Breakfast Ideas.
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Coconut & Almond ‘Cereal’
This grain-free Paleo cereal mix was inspired by the lovely Eleanor Ozich from over at Petite Kitchen.
I generally have it with coconut yoghurt and sometimes a handful of blueberries or raspberries. But you could eat it with milk or your favourite dairy-free milk if you prefer a more traditional ‘bowl of cereal’ experience.
takes: about 20 minutes
makes about 2 cups
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons psyllium (optional)
2 tablespoons chia seeds, whole or ground (optional)
1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Spread almonds on a baking tray and toast for about 10 minutes. Stir and cook for another few minutes until the almonds are just lightly golden.
2. Cool the almonds on the tray then toss in the coconut, psyllium (if using) and chia (if using).
3. Store in an airtight container in the pantry for a few months.
Variations
raw ‘cereal’ – don’t worry about toasting the almonds.
sweet – feel free to add your favourite dried fruit. Or serve with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
more! – feel free to double of triple the recipe.
nut-free – replace almonds with sunflower seeds or pepitas or both. Skip the toasting step.
different additives – any whole, chopped or ground seeds or nuts like hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, linseeds, sunflower seeds or pepitas. You could also add rolled oats or oat bran for a more cost-effective cereal but it won’t be paleo any more.
Big love,
Jules x
hi jules! can you recommend a good brand of coconut yoghurt? thanks :)
The only one I’ve come across in Australia is called CoYo Pia
It’s lovely but expensive! The only thing I don’t like about it is its sweeteend with stevia so you can’t use it in places you’d use yoghurt for savoury cooking
Jx
Nudie are making a coconut yoghurt with no sweetener..its amazing
Ah, Jules! I love some of your ideas. I like a good Chia pudding or green smoothie in the summer. I’m not too sure about the cashew yoghurt though as I tried making a cashew cheese once and it really just made me sad!
Not to worry though, I’ll never be convinced to go Paleo as there’s way too much meat for me and not enough dairy ha ha!
We missed you today. See you after the break. Linda x
You know I’ve had some good success with nut cheeses the last few weeks Linda… but it’s really just to get me through the month… I’m with you on the dairy front!
But I’m really loving my cashew yoghurt!
See you soon
Jx
Hi Jules,
I loooove your recipes and several have become family favourites. I also enjoy your writing about what to eat/not eat since you always back it up with research. Therefore I would very much appreciate if you wrote more about this paleo thing. Why paleo?? Why all the hazzle with omitting lots of yummie things like supernice danish rye bread and other things that I consider being healthy too? So if you have the time – please write something about “why paleo. Thank you!
Thanks for the request Lu!
Planning a follow up on my paleo month so will make a note to include the ‘why’
Jx
I love seeing breakfast ideas without eggs – never liked eggs so I always despair of cafes with eggs in every breakfast dish! Thank goodness this is changing.
I am interested in psyllium husks in muesli – I have been making my own chocolate muesli this year and have a big bag of psyllium I would love to use up so perhaps I could just add some of it!
Go ahead and add the psyllium Johanna!
I’m really getting into it at the moment :)
Jx
Being on a feeding tube my dad couldn’t eat this because of his swallowing issues. However, he can eat Cream of Wheat and he loves it flavored. I know it’s probably not called that in Australia. Would you know of an easy recipe where I could make my own and not have to have a bunch of ingredients that are hard to get? When its plain and to get weight on him, I add cinnamon/sugar, real maple syrup and a pat of butter. He loves it! However, I think my mom would love this cereal so I will have her try it. She loves raspberries and blueberries so I would add them to hers. I’m guessing it’s a cold cereal and not like oatmeal. I ask because you mentioned rolled oats which my mom also loves. We aren’t going Paleo anytime soon.
Sorry Gail!
Not familiar with Cream of Wheat.. so can’t really help :)
And yes the cereal above is more of a cold cereal but you could serve with warm milk if you wanted to
Jx
Your breakfast ideas sound good, but they are very low protein. I am not a fan of eggs for breakfast, and don’t do well on low protein, so going paleo would be very difficult. But if I ever want to, I know where to get good ideas… :-)
They may be low in protein Susan but there’s plenty of fat to keep you full for a long time… you might be surprised that you don’t need loads of protein.. but if you’re happy with your current breakkie no need to change!
Jx
Hi Jules
Happy belated birthday and congrats on your baby news! Love reading your paleo posts as I’ve been paleo for around 9 months and am always up for some meal inspiration…especially of the simple kind. Am now interested in giving coconut yoghurt a go. Just a question along the lines of yoghurt making….I’ve seen some recipes for “cream cheese” which simply say to strain out the whey from a tub of full fat youghurt by placing it in cheesecloth and letting it hang over a bowl for 24 -48 hrs. Is this safe from a bacterial point of view?I’m worried that leaving dairy out for so long would cause harmful micro-organisms to grow making it unsafe to eat. Just interested in your thoughts as you mentioned you studied this sort of thing for your uni degree. Thanks xxx
Great question Sue!
No need to worry about making yoghurt cheese.. I usually leave it in the fridge to strain. But if you do leave it at room temp, the low pH (acid environment) produced during the yoghurt fermentation by the lactic acid bacteria actually acts as a perservative and prevents most harmful microbes from growing so nothing to worry about :)
Jx
Borscht is an option. Hot or cold, it is just fine as a breakfast.
And if not going eggless for paleo, add a poached egg. It’s like sour cream for it.