Breakfast problems

[Herumon]

I am new to this, and I am trying hard to stick to being healthy this time. I am really tired of not feeling ok with who I see in the mirror or photos. So yeah. My first step is loosing enough weight to fit in my new magikarp leggins. They are XXL so it should be an easy milestone. I am currently 73 Kg, and  160cm tall. HOWEVER, and here comes the real problem, I have a diet issue.

 

I don't like coffee and it makes my stomach hurt. Tea is not the thing I can drink every day, and it doesn't really fill me up (nor my stomach nor my heart), and milk....well, I can only take deslacotsed milk (which I can get in argentina, thank god) but I cannot take it without AT LEAST sweetener. So, I am kind of running out of options here on what to have at breakfast. As what comes on solid food...I only like bananas as a fruit. It has more to do with the fact that it is the only fruit that always tastes good here. I can't stand anything citric (hence I did not incude OJ u there. Plus OJ here has TONS of sugar in it). I am stuck with toast and diet cheese for now and I know it is not the best choice.

 

Any ideas of what I can do?

 

Heru

[Sahaja]

I usually lean towards protein for breakfast, It doesn't give that sugar kick that fruit / carbs can.  It also digests a little slower so you don't get that late morning / early afternoon crash.  Yogurt, an egg or two, a handful of nuts, or a can of sardines are my usual go-tos.

[Herumon]

Is it ok to eat eggs every day? how can I eat them? I usually make them sunny side up but that involves butter or oil. Maybe I should try scrambled? (I'll look that up), either way I am not sure about what should I eat. My brother went for sausages each morning but I am unsure about those too. I don't have any cholesterol problems, so that is not the issue. But I rather not have them in the near future.

[turboseize]

Regarding coffee: coffee is not coffee. I drink A LOT of coffee, but there are some that I cannot stand. Basically, there are two kinds of coffee plants, robusta and arabica. Robusta has more caffeine, but also more acid; it has a certain "in your face"-character. As the name says... robust. The other variety, arabica,  has less coffein, much less acid, and a more complex and nuanced taste. Robusta is the more common variety and a lot cheaper. 
The second thing to be aware of is the roast. There are two variables: time and temperature. A low temperature, long term light roast brings a very digestible, smooth coffe - even resembling tea a bit... A darker (hotter) long-term-roast will increase complexity and bring i malt and roast aromes (maillard reaction, remember?). A very dark roast will overemphasize roast aromes. 
And then, of course, there is the possibility to go nuts with temperature and keep roast times very short. That is what manufacturers do for the mass market - you need less energy total and have a higher turnover, so it's way cheaper.

Now, take robusta beans with a very high-temperature/short-time roast, and stomach pain is guaranteed. This coffee will make you awake, but neither will it taste nor will your stomach like it. Take a nice arabica, grown in the Andes, and carefully long-time roasted by a skilled craftsman... that is something entirely different. My wife, too, always said she did not like the taste of coffee nor could she drink it without stomach pain. That was before I showed her good coffee.

[turboseize]

12 minutes ago, Herumon said:

Is it ok to eat eggs every day? how can I eat them? I usually make them sunny side up but that involves butter or oil. Maybe I should try scrambled? (I'll look that up), either way I am not sure about what should I eat. My brother went for sausages each morning but I am unsure about those too. I don't have any cholesterol problems, so that is not the issue. But I rather not have them in the near future.

Contrary to popular belief, dietary cholesterol is NOT linked to blood cholesterol. Eggs are a great source of readily available protein and important saturated fats. You can eat any eggs you find. All of them. 

Scrambled eggs are no bad idea by the way. Mix in some chopped onions and some vegetables, and you can easily increase the fiber and nutrient content of your diet without even noticing. :-)

[Sahaja]

I don't have eggs every day, but from what I've read Turboseize is right about the cholesterol.  I mix up how I fix em, sunny and scrambled are both easy to add to and make em delicious, but both need some oil or fat to cook in.  Hard boiled are the easiest to cook ahead of time and have ready to grab and go.

[Herumon]

Thanks a lot. I will try eggs and vegetables. I do like veggies when they are mixed with something else  About the coffee, I'll try it, in the meantime I guess I am stuck with milk :/

[calanthrophy]

Another idea (though it takes a little more time) is sweet potato hash browns. Chop the potato up into tiny shoestrings and cook it in a pan with some olive oil. Top it with cinnamon.

 

[Sahaja]

Try to mix it up too, the best way to make sure you get all the nutrients and minerals you need is to keep the diet varied.

[Herumon]

How about carrot cake or banana bread? (with low carb ingredients of course) or any other kind of...thing that ca be done as a whole and then eaten through the week?

[Herumon]

Also, are vegan ingredients helpful? Say, if I use vegan butter or cheese or...whatever.

[Sahaja]

Bananas and Carrots are sugar sources, and I'm not sure how you could make low carb bread.  There wouldn't be much protein in them either.  They would be better than skipping breakfast, but not as good as a healthy protein.  Yogurt and nuts are easy, eggs need more work but if you need to make em ahead of time hard boiled are perfect, Sardines... well some people will just never like sardines, but if you do they are amazingly good for you.  You could try some home made protein bars (most store bought ones are really expensive, loaded with sugar, or just plain nasty) to make ahead too.

 

Vegan choices are ok if you're vegan, otherwise they're mostly substitute foods that often taste worse but cost more.  I prefer to look for normal, but healthy foods.  The less canned, soaked in sauce, or loaded with salt and sugar, the better.

 

I will make one concession to the vegans, a lot of food that you would usually fry in butter or fat is amazing if you fry it coconut oil!  Eggs, fish, chicken, even veggie tempura, yumm yumm!

 

I tried this recipe for some homemade protein bars, they were decent:

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/89736-decent-low-sugar-home-made-protein-bars/

 

[Herumon]

Thanks, and thank you for all your help  I am already trying my best to ignore sodas and sweet drinks, but I don't want to make the parting too hard.

[calanthrophy]

On 10/5/2016 at 5:09 PM, Herumon said:

How about carrot cake or banana bread?

These are desserts, not breakfast.

 

On 10/5/2016 at 5:53 PM, Sahaja said:

Vegan choices are ok if you're vegan, otherwise they're mostly substitute foods that often taste worse but cost more.

Yup.

[RedStone]

One of the things I like to do is have a bunch of breakfast options handy. I make muffin tin omelettes in the oven and freeze them, they heat up easily and are easy to customize and add veggies to. If you eat dairy, cottage cheese or greek yogurt are both great sources of protein, and a slow burning fuel like oatmeal is a good way to get things going for the day. (Even low carb means some carbs. Just a matter of having the best kinds.)

 

Natural fats like quality oils are not a bad thing, just keep them to a minimum.

 

So far as liquids go, nothing really beats water. You can add "enhancements" like lemon or cucumber or even a few berries to give it some flavor without added sugar, just let it sit in the fridge over night.

[Herumon]

1 hour ago, ~RedStone~ said:

One of the things I like to do is have a bunch of breakfast options handy. I make muffin tin omelettes in the oven and freeze them, they heat up easily and are easy to customize and add veggies to.

 

 

I didn't know you could freeze eggs...do you heat it in the oven or the microwave? Eggs are my to go now for breakfast, and even if I try to prepare them each morning these would be awesome for when I am short on time

[RedStone]

I wrap them in foil in individual portions and heat them up in the micro then toaster oven. Super easy! And you can put in all sorts of different things. I love broccoli, sundries tomato and Gouda

Sent from somewhere in the universe

[zeroh13]

On 10/5/2016 at 6:53 PM, Sahaja said:

Bananas and Carrots are sugar sources, and I'm not sure how you could make low carb bread.  

You can. Not with bananas or carrots though. Most low (net) carb breads call for almond flour and/or flaxseed, which is pretty expensive. I've also seen a few recipes that use a lot of eggs. And some that use cheese. They aren't healthier for you than regular bread, so I wouldn't recommend them unless you are on a low-carb diet and really miss bread products.

 

On 10/5/2016 at 6:53 PM, Sahaja said:

Vegan choices are ok if you're vegan, otherwise they're mostly substitute foods that often taste worse but cost more.  I prefer to look for normal, but healthy foods.  The less canned, soaked in sauce, or loaded with salt and sugar, the better.

I assume by substitute foods you mean the fake meat and dairy products that are on the market. A healthy vegan diet will generally limit or completely avoid those packaged foods.

 

On 10/5/2016 at 6:13 PM, Herumon said:

Also, are vegan ingredients helpful? Say, if I use vegan butter or cheese or...whatever.

It depends. The vegan versions are not automatically healthier than their equivalents. And some may actually have more preservatives and other added ingredients. Personally, for something like eggs I just use cooking spray.

 

Of course, vegan ingredients like fruit, veggies, nuts & seeds (in moderation), and beans are pretty good additions.

[turboseize]

On 8.10.2016 at 9:04 PM, zeroh13 said:

 

 

I assume by substitute foods you mean the fake meat and dairy products that are on the market. A healthy vegan diet will generally limit or completely avoid those packaged foods.

[/quote]

True. 
 

On 8.10.2016 at 9:04 PM, zeroh13 said:

Quote

 

Of course, vegan ingredients like fruit, veggies, nuts & seeds (in moderation), and beans are pretty good additions.

They are of considerable value to omnivores, too... ;-)

[turboseize]

OT: what the hell went wrong with the quotes? I cannot leave the quotation field with my cursor, be it by mouse or by arrows, and if I try to break up the format by typing code myself it doesn't work?
Is this a bug or am I just getting old?

[Athaclena]

Eggs are a great go to.  I also don't see anything wrong with complex carbs.  You CAN make healthy whole grain muffins with carrots, bananas (or other fruit - this might help the flavor of the locally available berries), zucchini, etc.  Here's an Oatmeal Blueberry Muffin recipe that can fit the bill: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins

 

Speaking of - Oatmeal isn't a bad option as long as you don't TOTALLY load it with sugar

Some of the sweet breakfast thing is cultural.  I believe I saw in your first post that you are in Argentina.  My husband is Cuban and he has a voracious sweet tooth - and can absolutely do pastries for breakfast every day if I let him (I can't - I need protein  )

[turboseize]

Oatmeal is great! 13.5g of protein per 100g, and the carbs are very long-chained with a low glycemic index ( = long lasting energy). Add some fruits for vitamins and taste + some dairy protein (soak in milk or youghurt or mix with turd) and you have a fast, healthy and cheap breakfast.

[NoHumansAllowed]

Breakfast suggestion :

 

Meat ( Red meat or eggs for example )

Bunch of nuts

Fruits

 

Mix them , don't eat the same meat,nuts or fruits 2 days in row. Personally 1 day I eat something like Steak,Peanuts and Strawberry and the other day I would do something like Eggs, Almonds and Kiwi.

 

Eating too much of the same thing can create an food intolerance, especially with eggs and nuts

 

Avoid as much as possible man made food ( Frozen food, Muffin , Bread , etc...)I still eat bread because I freaking like it, but I do it in small portion