I tend to default to cereals but have recently discovered how full of sugar they are.
Oatmeal pancakes made with oats, high quality dairy, eggs, etc.
Eggs, spinach with stove top oats, milk, berries.
From a nutrient standpoint eggs are a crutch for people removing animal nutrients, so starting your day with them helps.
Cereal wise you could go for weetabix or bran flakes (you can find ones with sugar), add protein powder and nut+berries.
I have recently been making omlette muffins 2 a day with some fruit or bread so making one 12 muffin tray last me the whole week.
-5 eggs-2 dL egg whites-200gr cottage cheese
Cut all the vegetables, mix them and divide equally into the muffin tin. Mix eggs egg whites and cottage cheese and season with salt and pepper. Pour egg cheese mixture over the veggies until it almost fills the wells. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes
I eat tacos most days. I use Joseph’s Wellness Wraps because the small ones only have 30 calories, so I can have two tacos.
I mix it up to keep it from being boring. There’s the obvious scrambled egg breakfast taco, but I also just make tacos that are more like what one would eat for lunch.
Sometimes I’ll make my own healthier vegan refried beans by mashing up pintos or black beans with olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, chipotle powder (or chili powder), and cumin. You can just use whatever taco or fajita seasoning you have in your pantry if you want. I put this in a wrap with fresh pico and spring greens. Add guac or cheese for additional fats.
Sometimes I’ll make a white bean hummus and season it with lemon, oregano, garlic. red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. I add some Greek salad to it which for me is finely diced tomato, cukes, yellow bell pepper, red onion, and a homemade vinaigrette. This all goes into wrap with spring greens or spinach plus a dollop of tzatziki if I have it.
Some days I’ll make an apple cider vinaigrette for a breakfast salad consisting of spring greens, sliced red onion, tomato, chickpeas, shredded carrot, and topped with a fried egg or two. I toast Heiners 35 bread a few times on low and cut them up to make healthier croutons.
I’m a big fan of smoothies. My morning smoothie consists of plant based protein powder, soy milk, one banana, PB2 (powder peanut butter), and half a cup or so of mixed berries. All in all about 30g of protein and 400ish calories. Keeps me over until lunch easily.
In one pan sauté diced peppers of various colors along with onion, greens (I use baby kale), white beans, and za’atar seasoning. (Making your own za’atar seasoning is easy if you can’t find it, but you can also swap for something you already have like blackened seasoning perhaps. Beans, onions, and peppers taste great with everything imo so it’s not a big deal to deviate here.)
Throw your cooked beans-onions-peppers mix into a bowl and top with a fried egg or two.
This recipe also calls for spreading a puréed mix of plain Greek yogurt and preserved lemons onto your plate before adding the beans and veggie mix. It is very tasty and add a nice creamy, salty base. I never have plain Greek yogurt or preserves lemons, so I’ve mashed up cottage cheese curds with some salt and lemon juice as a swap—and it was awesome. You can leave this step out of its too much hassle though.
Leftover black bean or pinto soup with fried eggs on top.
Add a piece of toast, multigrain chips, or tortillas.
I would add diced red onions or spring onions, cheese, diced tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado if already on hand to brighten things up. Maybe a squeeze of lime.
Korean omelettes are a nice change for me.
I sauté peas, diced white onion, green onion, and shredded carrots. Pour a thin layer of scrambled eggs into the pan with the veggies. Once eggs is almost completely set, gently roll it up in the pan.
This part is hard to explain, but you’ll need the ending flap to be sticking out a little bit and facing into the pan. Add another thin layer of egg and once nearly set, you’ll roll the egg log you just made into it, so that it becomes and even bigger egg log. Do this until all egg is used.
Slice this into a few little rolls and serve with rice.
I like to top mine with everything bagel seasoning, sriracha, soy sauce, and maybe some avocado on the side.
Congee (rice porridge) is easy and quite versatile! You can make it sweet or savory. There’s tons of recipes online.
Also, grits are so slept on. You can throw any leftover veggies on top plus fried eggs or veggie sausage. Or make it sweet instead by adding fresh diced peaches, walnuts, and honey.
Cocoa Wheats are a fun childhood classic. Add raspberries, almonds, and Oikos Triple Zero vanilla yogurt for a healthy but decadent breakfast.
When I’m bored and need a new vegetarian breakfast, I google what people eat in other countries. Just pick a random spot in the world and see what they wake up to. Meat is actually a luxury for many in the world (something which is easy for those of us in the first world to forget), so you’ll find mostly meatless options.
I especially recommend searching places that are considered Blue Zones since they eat very little meat. You’ll find a lot of great vegetarian options.
Egyptian recipes, like the ancient medames dish, are usually vegetarian.
Make a healthier version of no-bake cookies by swapping butter with coconut oil and cutting way back on the sugar (or replacing with stevia). It’s just cocoa, oatmeal, and peanut butter, so it would make a nice grab and go treat. Mix it up by adding shredded coconut, finely shredded carrot (you won’t taste it), or dried fruits. This could be made the night before, so it would be effortless in the morning. Add lots of chopped peanuts for protein.
Make a tropical version by cutting the cocoa and replacing the peanut butter with cashew or almond butter. Add shredded coconut, dried papayas, kiwi, pineapple, whatever. Just watch the sugar since there can be a lot in dried fruit. Add some chopped cashews for additional protein.
Cereals tend to be massively nutrient packed, and are generally wholegrains/low calorie. They do tend to be (sometimes) medium or high GI, but are a pretty good choice for a first meal, regardless.
Other good options are things like wholegrain toast with eggs/avocado, wholegrain toast with a nut butter.
If you don’t find eating less traditional breakfast foods at breakfast weird, a microwave cup of rice/quinoa with a small tin of tuna, a bit of mayo and a lot of salad greens is a pretty nice breakfast.
If you like small breakfasts, yoghurt with fruit and a carb (a handful of granola, for example) is a good choice.
I’d avoid heavy fat or protein foods in the morning, they don’t convert very fast to usable energy and can cause digestive distress.
I buy these bean chips that like tortilla chips but are made of only black beans and salt, so very healthy compared to oily and carby tortilla chips.
I use them to make breakfast nachos. I fry eggs with runny yolks to be the “cheese,” and eat them and the chips with guac and fresh pico.