Many people rely on cereal or toast for breakfast. These are typical carbohydrates and without them breakfast could be a joyless way to start the day. No doubt many people spread preserves over their toast, which adds to the sugars in their diet.
But what if there are ways to feast in the morning without worrying about elevating blood sugar levels and risking illnesses like obesity or type 2 diabetes? With a ‘low carbohydrate, healthy fat’ diet that is easy.
When you begin the day with a proper breakfast that contains few carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels will be stable. But to keep cravings away you have a good combination of protein, vegetables or berries, and most importantly, ‘healthy fats’. Proteins can be from foods like eggs, bacon, yogurt, salmon; healthy fats can come from nuts, cheese or seeds.
For a great porridge, mix in chia seeds. These tiny seeds are very rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and will easily supply the daily omega-3 requirements. They are high in protein and low in carbohydrate.
Pour milk over two heaped tablespoons of chia seeds and let them swell overnight. Alternatively, do that for half an hour before you get ready for work. Stir, add a handful of frozen berries, then simply transfer to a bowl and microwave for a minute. When ready, add cream or yoghurt and enjoy.
If you like smoothies, avoid all commercial sugar-packed ones by preparing your own. Here are a couple of ideas:
- For a nutritious green smoothie, blend together two of handfuls of spinach or kale, a quarter avocado, a slice of melon and 50 grams of walnuts. Then add 100 ml coconut milk, two tablespoons of Greek yogurt, and two teaspoons of almond or hazelnut butter. Blend again, then add 100 ml of unsweetened almond milk and water to achieve the desired consistency.
- In a blender, whiz up 75 grams of frozen berries with 3 tablespoons of cream, 3 tablespoons of coconut cream, 3 tablespoons of water, and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
For a great ‘sugar-free’ Full English breakfast that gives a great start to the day, you get the frying pan out. There is no need to grill, so this will not take long to make. Use coconut oil or butter from grass-fed cows as the frying medium.
Warning: Never use olive oil as that becomes toxic when heated. Never use commercial polyunsaturated oils as they contain unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids. Only fry food in butter or coconut oil because these are the only healthy saturated fats that are stable at frying temperatures.
For this recipe you have 2 eggs, 3 slices of bacon, one sausage made of 80 per cent meat, one flat mushroom, and a couple of sliced tomatoes.
Simply fry until ready. Not only will this breakfast keep you full, it tastes delicious.