Normally it will be 3 to 6 eggs fried in bacon grease.
Sometimes I'll just count my coffee as breakfast with a large amount of coconut milk in it and 400 to 800 calories worth of heavy whipping cream.
These days I drink a small bottle of Isopure (a protein drink) and a bowl of Buckwheat cereal.
Dan
I've been on a grain-free diet for a few months now but did not know about flaxseed.
I just bought some ground flaxseed and made a hot cereal with coconut milk. It was fantastic and certainly will make a great addition to breakfast, especially in the winter.
Thanks for the suggestion! Despite loving the grain-free diet, I had been looking for a replacement to hot cereal because I missed the texture/eating experience.
Eggs are my current mainstay for breakfast. I vary my cooking methods day-to-day and typically add eat some kind of vegetable or additional source of protein with them.
Two organic eggs, fried in intense garlic flavored oil, sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper and a dash of salt. Topped with chopped cilantro or basil, half an avocado (when I have it), a few drops of habanero sauce. Sometimes with strips of roasted poblano.
After decades of avoiding eggs and eating oatmeal for breakfast, I am glad to be eating something I really like. Hope this eating habits remain healthy for the rest of my life!
p.s.: my only problem is with lunch and dinner. There is only so much fish I can eat and not eating meat and poultry limits my options severely.
fwiw, both Kellogg brothers lived to be 91
Just a few observations. Just observed French & Swiss eating breakfast. Many people have a cup of coffee and a pastry. That is it period. They don't seem to have a weight problem relative to the USA. I am sure there are many reasons for this, but their breakfast works fine in this regard.
Seems to me that Bacon is not a healthy food for many reasons. First it has nitrates in it and if you buy the nitrate free version it can be salty with NaCl. Second, when you cook it up it is almost always well done because it is so thin. There is a relation between processed meets and well done meats and Cancer. Bacon is both of these. Finally, Bacon may have high content of oxidized cholesterol since it is heated through at a high temperature. It is a pity that things that taste so good can be problematic.
I'll cook a big casserole or curry on the weekend and have the leftovers with a couple of scoops of full fat greek yoghurt for breakfast through the week.
Always enjoyed the Malaysian breakfasts when I travelled there. Nasi Lemak - a curry, a fiery sambal (usually squid, hard boiled egg, peanuts, cucumber, dried fish and coconut rice. Just forget the rice and peanuts and you have a very healthy and tasty breakfast
PEOPLE...
greens... KALE in particular, with eggs, is an awesome low carb breakfast food!!
start cooking your kale the way you might cook oatmeal. Put water on to boil, salt it, trim and wash and chop the kale and cook it about 10 min. Then cook your 3 eggs and bacon, whatever.
My mainstay is eggs (omelets, fried, scrambled, or soft-boiled. I used to eat a lot of ground flaxseed cereal, but it made my thyroid go into a tailspin. For those of you with hypothyroidism, beware that flaxseed is a goitrogen -- go easy on it.
Talk of food never fails to provoke plenty of heartfelt comments.
Thanks, all, for the great breakfast food suggestions.
Many of the questions, e.g., about frying, cured meats like bacon, etc. are advanced glycation-end-product issues, something worth discussing in future.
Since you, Dr. Davis, seem so convinced meat eaters are so acidotic that it could cause disease, I would really love to see the human studies that definitively prove that fact.
BTW, every morning I make sure to eat a large piece of wild caught Alaskan salmon broiled and drenched in grass-fed tallow or ghee, with a large, cold vinaigrette salad usually with chopped kale, broccoli, mustard greens, red pepper, and tomato.
My standard breakfast recently on alternate days: 6 slices of bacon cooked first, then the remaining mixed together and cooked in the bacon grease: 6 eggs, 4 oz. cheddar cheese, 8 oz. pico de gallo, 1/2 pint blueberries.
You can eat anything for breakfast. It is true that the poor lived on oatmeal (porridge or otherwise prepared, without salt...must have been terrible but if you can't afford anything else, what choice do you have) an homemade "beer" but at the same time the rich breakfasted on all sorts of cooked meat (google for medieval eating...). So eat anything you fancy and eat doesn't have to be the same every day. I only eat when I am hungry so after last night's Indian dinner I will give breakfast a miss today.
I'm sure that the folks who mentioned bacon for breakfast are talking about the nitrate-free version.
I live in Austria and I have been following your blog for the past two years! It has become part of my common sense health strategy. Thanks for that! Here, a typical breakfast consists of a roll with butter and jam and some coffee. My breakfast, however, consists of first drinking half a liter (one and half glass) of water followed by a cup of espresso, some miso soup and sea-weed plus steamed vegetables with lots of extra virgin olive oil / sesame seed / pumpkin seed or flaxseed oil and leftover salad or home-made humus or guacamole spread over thin organic corn waffles. 2 or 3 times a week I also add my favorite namely tasty Japanese Natto (fermented soybean), which I sometimes even make myself when time allows 
Oh, I have a weakness though for great Austrian beer and organic potato chips, which I crave in the evening but that apparently has not affected my normal weight at all. I have also followed your other advice and take 1000 mg of EPA/DHA in fish oil capsules every day and ever since I discovered your website over 1,5 years ago. I am convinced that it is the fish oil that finally cured my annoying extra systoles (skipped heart beat that I had experienced for a number of years)! Mark
We have been having Almond Flour waffles for breakfast for over a year. They taste as good as regular waffles, even the kids like them. The recipe is from Drs Michael and Mary Ann Eades, I first saw it on theit TV show. It is also in their Low Carb CookwoRx Cookbook.
My experience with skipping breakfast as part of a daily 16 hr fast has been nothing but positive. I eat around 12-1pm, dinner at 6 and then eat cottage cheese or eggs about 8pm. I've been doing this for 3 months daily and now consider it "what I do".
I make a concoction of full fat yogurt (from pastured cows, if possible), fruit (usually blueberries), flaxmeal, nuts or seeds, cinnamon, dried unsweetened coconut, coconut oil, dried grated orange peel, and usually some other spice (nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc.). Practically everything in it is a "superfood", and it's quick, easy and good.
"what's wrong with bacon"
"McDonalds or Wendy's hamburger without buns (no chips no soda!)."
May well be nothing inherently wrong w/ bacon or burgers but jeeze, Louize, what ever happened to quality control in you diets? Local farm bacon could be a great alternative to the commercial stuff, depending on how it is made. Think nitrates/nitrites, food dyes, added sugar... So John R, good for you!
Same with the eggs. Regular store eggs loaded w/ drugs, hormones, stress toxins from the birds etc...
As for the burgers, read this:
http://www.alternet.org/story/144904/
Yummy! Ammonia-Treated Pink Slime Now in Most U.S. Ground Beef
You're not going to believe what millions of Americans have been eating the last few years (Thanks, Bush! Thanks meat industry lobbyists!)
And of course there is that pesky mad cow issue in commercial meats...
How about a little healthy discrimination in sourcing your food? Eat whatever diet suits your physiology but use clean and wholesome ingredients!
My breakfast everyday is a can of sardines, a hard boiled egg, and a largish amount of kale or cabbage which I stir fry in coconut oil.
My two cents: TWhat's the BFD about breakfast? I used to have chonic heartburn that ended when I quit having oatmenal for breakfast. Nowadays I don't eat breakfast but keep nuts at the office in case my stomach starts growling.
kevin
My breakfast before going to work consists of scrambled eggs and bacon followed by a low carb whey protein shake mixed with a tbsp of MCT oil, coconut milk and coconut oil. I feel buzzed and really alert for at least 7-8 hours with those circulating ketones.
Acidic? I heard protein is healthy for bones (2010 DrGreger) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK_5j0MKswY&feature=youtube_gdata
Why the discrepancy?
"Over the years, a heavy emphasis has been placed on calcium and bone health, especially for women, even though men also experience bone loss, albeit at about half the rate of women." Is it because they eat more meat/protein (and also iron as a consequence)?
Breakfast is usually a whey protein shake made with coconut milk, almond milk, or whole milk yogurt. If I don't have time for breakfast, I'll grab a couple of sticks of string cheese, and always have nuts at my desk. Leftovers also make a good breakfast. And egg cups, beaten eggs with your choice of veggies & meat, cheese, and seasonings, baked in muffin cups, kept in the fridge and heated as needed, or eaten cold if you like them that way.
Breakfast for me is BIG bowl of mixed leafy greens (steamed) mixed w/ about 3/4 cup cooked beans of some kind and about 1 oz mixed raw nuts/seeds. Piece of fresh or frozen fruit for dessert.
Have you made any contacts with cardiologist practicing in Germany who subscribe to the practices advocated by you?
The doctors I have visited up to now are all
pretty much in the grip of big pharma. When I mention my high (700) Lp
value they just shrug -- no pill
available for that...
I start out with a big bowl of pasta followed by the starchiest potatoes I can find...Just kidding; I could not resist.
In all seriousness, I am new to the page (about one month) and have learned much from the good doctor and from others. Many thanks. I usually have a medium-fat yougurt (sometimes Fage) with either strawberries or raspberries, or leftovers from the night before.
Low carb veggies and meat for breakfast.
I cook up a large stir saute of vegetables that I can use throughout the week and vary the meat.
Cup of green decaf tea with some coconut oil.
My blood sugar stays low and I don't get hungry for many hours.
Homemade eggnog - raw eggs whisked into cream with a touch of vanilla and stevia. Finish off with freshly grated nutmeg.
All the "anti-carb" seems to be about grains here... Where do legumes fit in? Much lower glycemic load and more nutrients, resistance starch, etc... Would love to get Dr. Davis' take on this
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"Bacon is not a healthy food"
I'm sure there are better choices than store bought conventional bacon; but to worry about nitrates, etc is a little over kill.
There's more nitrates in vegetables than there are in bacon or other processed meats. If you look, there are brands that are sugar free too. It would seem more important to know whether the source pigs where solely grain raised.
Great post doctor! Can you do one on "take-to-work" type lunches?
Thank you, Dr. D, for another great post.
Wow, look at all these comments! I've gone 1 week now without wheat carbs. I haven't noticed the change in energy yet, although, I have trouble going to sleep now. I haven't had any withdrawal yet.
On the positive, I also haven't had the extreme "full" feeling I usually had after eating a meal.
For breakfast I've been frying an egg in a tsp of coconut oil and find that to be satisfying until lunch. I'm not really missing the raisin bran.
Another benefit to this is how much salt is in bread. I have to keep my salt to a minimum thanks to my cardiomyopathy and so not having bread has helped with my salt intake also.
One more week to go in my experiment. I think it'll be easy to continue though.
Here's the ultimate breakfast shake.
5~6 raw med to large egg yolks from pastured chickens.
60 grams of heavy cream. Low temp pasteurized or raw. Non-homog.
30 grams organic coconut milk or 15 grams of coconut cream.
30 grams of organic blueberries.
Couple ice cubes and a little water. Blend in a bullet blender.
Pound one of these down with a bunch of bacon or grass fed steak and you won't be hungry for awhile. Plus the flavor is killer.
2 hard-boiled pastured eggs and a smoothie consisting of 3 TBLS ground flaxseed, a banana and 8 oz. of orange juice. Yes, I know, a lot of sugar, but I can't stomach smoothies made with milk. Despite a modest amount of fruit later in the day, I consume no other sugar. Seems to work well.
"There's more nitrates in vegetables than there are in bacon or other processed meats."
As I understand it, the problem with nitrate in bacon isn't the nitrate itself but the nitrosamines that are formed when the bacon is cooked.
I am impressed--and surprised--at how many who left comments on their breakfasts have gravitated away from traditional breakfast foods and towards the notion of breakfast a another meal, no different from lunch or dinner.
The idea of having lunch or dinner for breakfast has worked extremely well. I was surpised at how many others have intuitively found this out, too.
"The idea of having lunch or dinner for breakfast has worked extremely well. I was surpised at how many others have intuitively found this out, too."
To be brutally honest, I discovered this long ago eating left over pizza for breakfast. Not such a healthy start but the seed of the idea for me...
I discovered that eating carbs at breakfast stunk when I was pregnant with my second son this past winter. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to change my diet to control it...as it turned out I had to severely limit my carbs or my blood sugars would sky rocket!! Breakfast for me was always eggs, meat and cheese! The first week on the new diet I lost 6lbs...of course my midwife got mad at me (seeing that preggers ladies shouldn't be losing weight!) so I was told to start adding olive oil to everything and use butter to cook those eggs!! To my great surprise I didn't gain a thing the rest of my pregnancy and I felt great!! So great that I decided to continue my low carb eating into my regular routine, i.e. non-pregnant life! The only carbs I eat now are from veggies and fruits. I do have the occasional piece of whole wheat bread at lunch time (homemade) but that's about it....well maybe the occasional weekend beer too!
I've been low carbing for 7 years, and although I long ago lost 75% of my body fat I have long been stuck with the last bit. Recently I decided to try skipping breakfast in favor of just brunch and dinner, as I am not very hungry in the morning. This has had no ill effects (and is very convenient), but has caused the weight loss to kick back in again after years. So your general conclusion does not appear to apply to all.
Hello Dr. Davis,
you mentioned ground flaxseed as a hot cereal.
Is the reason for heating it up to eliminate the
hydrocyanic/
hydrogene cyanide/
prussic acid (should be all the same...)
I`m not sure about the right english term, in Germany it`s "Blausäure".
Would you reccomend to heat it up because of this?
Thanks and best wishes
Eggs, scrambled with various veggies or topped with raw milk cheese and some chopped tomato accompanied by nitrate-free bacon or sausage from the pig we sourced from a local farmer. Barring that, I will have leftovers from dinner, or a cup of cottage cheese with some raw nuts and fruit if I'm in a hurry.
You're supposed to saute bacon over low heat, not fry it, until it is brown and crisp. It will take longer, yes, but taste better and be better for you.
In a previous post I suggested that Bacon and Sausage and other processed meats are linked to Cancer. They are also possibly linked to cardiovascular problems:
Here is a reference for the latter:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20479151
The researchers in this study think that the harm may be from the salts. NaCl, Nitrites etc.
But I think it may be more than this. I think that curing meats and cooking them well done also adds risk because it turns the fats and cholesterol in the meat into something different from there natural state. There is something else here like oxy-cholesterol or byproducts of cooked cured meat that may be adding to the problem.
After reading about much research on these subjects, I believe meat may get a bad rap in many studies because of the way it is processed and prepared and not because it is inherently bad.
Flaxseed cereal is best made as a mix, for texture reasons, as well as taste. I mix equal parts golden flaxseed meal and whey protein powder, then add a bit of unblanched almond meal and/or unsweetened coconut, or coconut flour. Makes the texture more like conventional hot cereals. Keep you mix in the fridge, just put some in the bowl, add boiling water to make the desired texture. Use cream, half n half, almond milk, coconut milk, if you want. Berries are good, too. I also like whole milk yogurt with berries and chopped nuts. And, I've even eaten leftover soup for breakfast. A good eye opener.
How about wheat-free bread, such as rye bread or pumpernickel? It goes well with cheese.
Is it healthy?
The comments here have been great! Lots of great ideas for a milk and cereal guy like me to try. I love the idea of breakfast soups! What are some your favorites? Should I just break out the Campbell's Thick and Chunky?
-- Boris
Hey Bill -
I love canned mackerel in olive oil. Also canned wild salmon in olive oil.
And as for the acid/alkaline issue, Dr. Eades did a great blog on this a while back basically stating that there is no need to worry about the supposed acid load of meat due to something I forget. I'll see if I can locate the blog and send it your way.
I have been eating only some fruit for breakfast for about 6 years. I feel much fresher and full of energy. I eat another fruit during the day and I only get hungry towards the end of the working day. No sign of getting fat, on the contrary, but that is also because of what and how much I eat as whole.
People are used to eat a lot and as often as possible. I do not feel the physical need to eat 3 times a day a substantial meal. And my day program seems not so fixed around meals.
I usually have pastured eggs and bacon for breakfast. Yum yum yum.
But as someone with a clear case of hypothyroidism, I have been avoiding soy products, because soy is a known thyroid disruptor. I usually enjoy very much what you have to say, but if so many of your patients have thyroids that are off to some degree, why recommend soy milk?
I wake up at 4am every morning here in Phoenix, to stay on an East Coast Schedule. A cup of organic tea with organic stevia at 4am, and by 9am, if I am hungry after 5 hours of conference calls with India and Atlanta, 2 Babybel cheeses, or a slice of Dutch Gouda, and 4 slices of bacon if the Babybels don't hit the spot. Most days of the week, I'm not hungry until 11am or noon.
Before I went low carb, I used to eat a bowl of Cheerios or Special K every morning, thinking that meager protein would hit the spot. But that was 13 months and 45 lbs heavier ago.
As I browse the internet it amazes me how every blog or forum you visit is a success story. Whether it's high carb, low carb, high protein, low protein, low or high fat and on and on. The followers all swear by their method. Does everything work then? I think it boils down to what works for "YOU." Everyone is different and we each need to tweak our diets to meet our individual needs. But remaining "middle of the road" I have to say that avoiding extremes in either direction is key.
When I see some of the food people are eating I can't believe it. I couldn't survive on such small amounts of food. I get hungry quick and always have no matter what I eat. Lots of meat, lots of fiber, carbs, protein, it doesn't matter. In an hour I'm hungry again. Yet I'm thin...5'10" 169 lbs and fit.
I eat around 3000 cals per day (yesterday was 3,255 calories,420 g carbs, 94g fat, 150 g protein)
For breakfast I eat 1/2 cup organic rolled oats (I soak them with an acid medium overnight) 2 tbsp ground flax, handfull of raisins, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. I have been eating that for years. A few times per week I add an egg (free range). I eat quinoa daily as well as brown rice (which I soak). Sweet potatoes 2-3 times per week. 1 lb of free range chicken per week in 3 to 5 oz portions and 100 % grass fed ground beef 2 to 4oz once per week. A protein shake with 8 oz raw milk and banana daily. 1/4 cup walnuts and 20 almonds per day. Lot's of fruit and veggies too. My last bloodwork showed LDL 63 HDL 40 (working on that) Triglycerides 67, CRP below 4.
I've been eating up to 2 cups of brown rice and 1/2 cup of beans to try and add a few lbs but I still stay the same and when I workout I lose another 3 lbs. I think my metabolism is very high.
We're all different and we need to address our needs as individuals. I tend to require a lot of food. I'm 53. But what I eat is clean and my body utilizes all of it.
Someone pointed me to your blog when we were discussing wheat free diets. Great information. I've been off and on the paleo diet for about 6 months. Once I get all the wheat out of my body (I heard it can take up to 90 to get it all of your body) I feel great. If I fall of the wagon, I feel like crap.
Hi Dr. Davis,
Wow, what a list of ideas! Since I'm a lactose intolerant vegetarian, all of these meat and cheese ideas just don't work for me.
For breakfast I have:
3 Tablespoons of organic cashew or almond spread on organic red cabbage leaves or 3 tablespoons of organic peanut butter on organic celery. Along with organic jasmine green tea with 1 teaspoon of honey. My blood sugars after are under 100 without the tea with honey or under 110 with the tea with honey. I always have 16-24 oz of water with each meal as well.
Or I have one box of Japanese non-gmo natto with 2 fist fulls of nuts. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or (I do eat seafood) I have 4 oz of canned wild salmon or sardines. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or 1 cup of organic garbanzo beans with homemade sugar free balsamic vinaigrette. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or (I can tolerate some goat dairy) I have 1 cup of goat yogurt with fresh organic raspberries or blueberries, or black raspberries. (Blood sugar under 100)
I've found that berries and red grapefruit I can eat without my blood sugars going over 100-110. I tried a nectarine and my blood sugar went up to 160!!! I just keep checking my blood sugars when I add new foods to figure out what my body can tolerate.
Thank you for the idea of purchasing the glucometer! It has helped tremendously! I try to keep my blood sugar under 100 most of the time and, hopefully, not over 110 to prevent my liver from spewing out all those low density lipoproteins.
After 4 months of changing my diet completely, I bought a candy bar yesterday on a whim and it tasted terrible!!! I can't believe I ever ate those things! It was so intensely sweet that it was off the Richter scale! I think I'm cured of my sugar addiction now!
The only sweet I do is the honey in my tea in the morning. I just can't get used to drinking the tea plain.
Thanks for all of your important insights Dr. Davis! You're a life saver...literally!!! What good karma you're creating for yourself with your blog!
Peace, Meredith
"3 Tablespoons of organic cashew or almond spread on organic red cabbage leaves or 3 tablespoons of organic peanut butter on organic celery. Along with organic jasmine green tea with 1 teaspoon of honey. My blood sugars after are under 100 without the tea with honey or under 110 with the tea with honey. I always have 16-24 oz of water with each meal as well.
Or I have one box of Japanese non-gmo natto with 2 fist fulls of nuts. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or (I do eat seafood) I have 4 oz of canned wild salmon or sardines. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or 1 cup of organic garbanzo beans with homemade sugar free balsamic vinaigrette. (Blood sugars under 100)
Or (I can tolerate some goat dairy) I have 1 cup of goat yogurt with fresh organic raspberries or blueberries, or black raspberries. (Blood sugar under 100)"
It is no wonder your bg stays under 100, you are only eating around 300 calories at a time! What happens if you eat a real meal? I find I need near 900 calories 3X/day to just barely maintain my weight...
My favorite breakfasts, most coming in at under 20g total carb: http://ornery-geeks.org/text/diabetes/breakfast.php
Pancakes made from peanut butter and/or ground almonds (I suppose any nut butter would do) in place of flour, and put an extra egg in the mixture and a scoop of low carb protein powder if you have it and mask the nutty taste with vanilla and a little sweetner. Make it with cream/water instead of milk. They look like "real" pancakes and, when fried in butter, produce the most intense ketosis (in me at least) so great for loosing weight. I had low carb oce cream on mine. But I'd had chocolate and cream, low carb "jam" or "syrup"... possibilities are endless.
Way better than any coconut flour pancakes I've tried. Forget those.
I am absolutely impressed at the variety of paths many commenters have ventured down in the name of healthy breakfasts.
It tells me that foods like corn flakes and bagels turned off our creativity for truly unique and healthy foods. I truly am in awe at the range and variety of foods being suggested when we eliminate the sugar-, corn-, and wheat-based foods that previously dominated our first meal.
I have lost 30 lbs so far eating chocolate cake for breakfast...using almond flour and flax. They are delicious--I have to hide them from my family or there won't be any left for me.
M
Oh, the recipe link for anyone who is interested:
http://kickingcarbs.blogspot.com/2010/09/updated-low-carb-chocolate-cake-for.html
Eat black beans with scrambled eggs or tabasco or sliced avocado or chopped onions or.... they're great! They fill you up and keep you going til lunch and you only need 1/2 cup or so.
lovely blog.....it's liek a sea of info.....but i am lost as I am a biggg wheat eater and now I don't know what to eat and what not to eat all day if I want to avoid wheat.......and yes as for my age and height I am about a pund and a half over weight.....but coz of other health probs I am experiencing I am a bit lost and depressed,.......plz plz advise
Sagehill Jenny
8/14/2010 9:58:39 PM |Ummm, what's wrong with MEAT for breakfast??? Out west in cowboy country, steak and eggs are common. If I'm particularly hungry, I'll have a small flattened hamburger patty topped with a fried egg; or a porkchop, or even a nice little steak.
And eggs, in a multitude of ways, of course; I especially like egg muffins/mini-quiches. Haven't yet managed to think of fish or chicken as breakfast, for some reason. lol
If I'm not particularly hungry, coffee with heavy cream and a Tbsp coconut oil often holds me over until lunch.