Favorite Quick-and-Easy Breakfast Ideas

Below are some of my favorite things to fix up for breakfast, things that are quick and easy to prepare.  I hope you will be able to find some new favorites for yourself in this list.  Please take note that where I list oatmeal or granola, I’m referring to gluten-free oatmeal and gluten-free granola. Also, once I discovered I had a problem with copper toxicity, I realized some of these breakfast options needed to be modified to provide more of a balance between copper and zinc.  Some of them also needed to be modified when I discovered an imbalance between vitamin E and iron.  Keep these vitamins and minerals in mind when implementing some of these breakfast ideas. Many of these are highly copper-dominant and/or may contain an excess of either vitamin E or iron.

• Sliced banana with peanut, nut, or seed butter: This one is my absolute favorite and is one of the simplest. I never get tired of it. I usually have it once a week, and I rotate the various peanut, nut, and seed butters I have on hand. I use cashew butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter, almond butter, Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, and Peanut Butter & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter. Just slice a banana over a bowl of your peanut, nut, or seed butter of choice. Stir them together or just spoon a slice of banana and some of the peanut/nut/seed butter to eat.  To modify this for my nutritional balance issues, I stopped using the high-copper nut/seed butters, like the cashew butter and sunflower butter.  I use peanut butter, a banana, iron-fortified bread, and a cheese stick to have a balance between copper and zinc and between iron and vitamin E.  Another yummy alternative is to stir in a packet of Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa with the peanut butter and slice the banana on top of that mixture.  I eat the cheese stick with this combination as well.

• Sliced mango with cottage cheese: I love cottage cheese and can eat it plain. I eat a cup of it in a bowl and have the sliced mango on the side. Of course, slicing it up and mixing it in with the cottage cheese would work just as well.  To make this breakfast more balanced, I now add a high-iron hot cereal like teff or amaranth.

• Gluten-free bagel with avocado or guacamole: Bagels are pretty high in calories, and guacamole or avocado makes a healthier, lower-calorie alternative to cream cheese if you don’t go overboard. However, I love cream cheese on a bagel too!  Now, I stick to cream cheese and fruit with the bagel.  Avocado is high in copper and needs a source of zinc to go with it.  It’s also a source of vitamin E and needs an iron source to balance it.

• Mango “halves” with cream cheese spread on top: This is where you can be more liberal with the cream cheese since mangoes aren’t as high in calories as bagels. I slice a mango down either side of the middle to create two “hemispheres”. I then spread cream cheese on the flat side of each hemisphere. Any extra mango can just be eaten on the side.  I no longer have this meal for breakfast.  Mango is high in vitamin E and really needs a source of iron to go with it.  Cream cheese has no iron.  

• Cold cereal with nuts/seeds and dried fruit added: I love cold cereal, but it doesn’t fill me up at all and can cause a blood sugar spike and crash. Instead of just eating the cereal with milk, I just pour a smaller amount of cereal and add nuts/seeds and dry fruit. I normally just buy plain gluten-free cereals because many of the healthier gluten-free cereals have flaxseed added. This allows me to add whatever extras I want.  When having cold cereal for breakfast now, I check the nutritional information on the cereal and balance accordingly.  For example, when eating a bowl of rice crisps with whole milk, I can do fine by adding a banana and a peanut butter chocolate chip Larabar.

• Oatmeal with nuts/seeds, cinnamon sugar, and/or dried fruit added: This one works really well to take to work because we have a water tank that serves out both cold and hot water. I put the oatmeal and the nuts/seeds, cinnamon sugar, and/or dried fruit into a container to pack in my lunchbox. All I have to do when I get to work is add the desired amount of hot water, wait a few minutes, stir, and eat.  I almost always use pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or chia seeds as sources of vitamin E that balance well with the oatmeal.  I also try to use milk or cheese to add some zinc.

• Smoothie with banana, frozen berries, yogurt, and peanut/nut/seed butter: I came up with this idea when I had some failed yogurt attempts that came out more like milk. Putting it with the other ingredients into a blender to make smoothies was a great way to use it up. I now just use a 6-oz cup of regular plain yogurt, which makes a thicker drink. I also added some chia seeds at one point just to make it a little different.  Now, I stick with this same recipe except that I use PB2 powder instead of peanut butter, and I add a tablespoon of cocoa powder for some iron and copper.

• Gluten-free waffles with peanut/nut/seed butter, fruit, and maple syrup: The peanut/nut/seed butters are healthier and more filling than regular butter, and maple syrup is healthier than the more processed pancake syrup. Just make sure you don’t use too much because a ¼-cup serving contains 200 calories. Pour carefully!  I just stick with peanut butter now when having this meal.  Peanut butter isn’t as high in copper as other options and is actually more balanced between iron and vitamin E.

• Fruit such as pear, apple, banana, etc. with a couple of sausage patties: A good mix of fiber and protein as well as sweet and savory!  Now, I need to make sure I add a good source of copper to balance out the zinc in the sausage.

• Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Muffins: I make these ahead of time as muffins and freeze individual servings to pull out as needed when I’m in a real hurry. Since I’m not dairy free, I use regular morsels and milk in these.

• Sliced cucumber with hummus: Cucumber and hummus pair really well. I like Sabra, Tribe, and Pita Pal brands of hummus.  I add some hard-boiled eggs for extra zinc.

• Plain yogurt with dried or canned fruit, nuts or granola: I usually take this to work. I just put the toppings in a container and put the yogurt container in my lunchbox. At work, I pour the yogurt on top of everything else and stir it all together.

• Fruit Salad:  Put sliced banana, cut apple, and a box of raisins into a bowl.  Stir in the desired amount of mayonnaise.  Dig in!  Just make sure to include a source of zinc!

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