Substitute Teaching, Part 3: Breakfast — 'Wait, I can eat that?!'

Ah, the standard American breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, coffee. Perhaps you prefer Belgian waffles with sugary strawberries and whipped cream — with coffee. As a kid, I was a HUGE fan of IHOP's chocolate chip pancakes, which I probably enjoyed with milk. And whipped cream. And more chocolate. Yum!

Cleaning up your nutrition means saying goodbye to some of your old breakfast favorites, but honestly, you won't miss toast after a while. Fortunately, eggs and bacon are still on the menu! Juice is a no-go because of its unnaturally high sugar concentration, but coffee is okay.

Oatmeal, French toast, and pancakes are right out.

Or are they?

Breakfast Sub #1: Nutty "Oatmeal"

My nephew Evan is 6 and has a LOT of food allergies. My sister-in-law makes this delicious "oatmeal" for Evan and his little sister Jillian, and my kids love it too. Note that it has both fat and natural sugar, so I don't recommend eating the whole batch — but it's an amazing breakfast treat on those chilly Tucson mornings!

Nutty Paleo "Oatmeal" (serves 2)

• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup walnut or pecan pieces (or another nut of your choice — they all work!)
• ½ ripe banana
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon, or more — I load this up
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of ginger
• splash of coconut milk

Throw it all in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Top with more coconut milk or cinnamon. Enjoy!

Breakfast Sub #2: French Toast

Norma's French toast with strawberries is divine, and it can be made with zucchini banana bread or paleo "bread". Slice, soak in a mixture of beaten eggs, cinnamon, and a little coconut milk, and cook on a griddle or in a frying pan until golden brown. Top with sliced fruit. If you must, use real maple syrup — but avoid imitation syrup, which is just high-fructose corn syrup!

Breakfast Sub #3: Pancakes and Waffles

Pancake and waffle batter allows some options. You can use almond flour, coconut flour, or a mix. I find that coconut-flour pancakes puff a bit better and almond waffles can be a tad tough, but I recommend experimenting to figure out what works for you. Almond meal is available at Trader Joe's; coconut flour is online or at Whole Foods.

Coconut Flour Pancake Batter (serves 3–4)

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp honey (optional)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp sea salt
• coconut oil

Mix the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, and honey (if you must), then add and mix in the dry ingredients. Brush a hot pan with coconut oil and cook like regular pancakes. Top with sliced fruit. I like to mix sliced bananas and blueberries into the batter, along with nut pieces, but that's up to you!

You can also put this batter into a waffle iron to make waffles. Top with fruit — or with chopped grilled chicken and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Nom nom!

Alternatively...

Almond Flour Pancake Batter #1 — mix wet, mix dry, combine, cook like a regular pancake.

Dry:

• 1½ cups almond flour (not almond meal)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼–½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Wet:

• 3 large pastured eggs, room temperature
• 4–5 tbsp full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp raw honey (or less; optional)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup fresh fruit (optional)

Almond Flour Pancake Batter #2

• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup water (consider soda water for slightly fluffier pancakes)
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg and some cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• coconut oil
• fresh berries

Same drill — mix wet, mix dry, combine, cook like a regular pancake or waffle, and top with fruit. Or chicken!!

You can find lots of other paleo pancake and grain-free recipes online. Suffice to say, you have plenty of options to skip the wheat flour and still have BREAKFAST. Enjoy!