7 Quick Low Carb Breakfast Ideas

Readers complain they don’t have time in the morning to prepare a diabetes-friendly, low carb breakfast for themselves or for their kids.  They want to eat something that requires little to no preparation. Toast, cereal, and juice are simple solutions, but who wants to start the day with a giant bolus?  So to help you out, we’ve prepared a list of really quick, diabetes-friendly, low carb breakfast foods.

7 Quick Low Carb Breakfast Ideas:

Hard boiled eggs might be the easiest breakfast of all.  You can prepare them ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator.  If you don’t prepare ahead, just boil while you’re getting dressed.

Avocados for breakfast.  We’re serious.  Slice an avocado down the middle, remove the pit, take a small spoon, and eat directly out of the skin.  We like lemon juice and salt with our avocados, but if you’re really in a rush, eating them plain works just fine.  If that doesn’t work for you, check out Wholly Avocado, a 100% avocado snack pack.

Yogurt.  You can get single serving sized containers of yogurt just about everywhere.  The key to buying yogurt is to read the label and make sure there is no added sugar.  Some yogurt has just as much sugar as a candy bar!  We’re big fans of Greek yogurt.  If you don’t like plain yogurt, there are plenty of low carb items you can add: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, nuts, seeds, nut butters.

Cheese or cheese crackers (but not cheese and crackers).  Those individually packaged string cheese sticks are great for kids’ lunch boxes.  They’re also a great thing to grab on the go.  Cottage cheese is another quick cheese choice.  As with yogurt, you can throw berries, nuts, and seeds into your bowl.  If you can spare enough time to use your microwave for one minute, make cheese crackers.  They are absolutely delicious (and addictive).

Make your own cereal.  I do this all of the time.  Put some or all of the following into a bowl: whole almonds, sliced almonds, chia seeds, sugar free dried cranberries, blueberries (any nuts or seeds you like will work), and add milk.  Cow’s milk has more carb than nut milks or coconut milk.  My favorite is almond milk.

Fresh veggies. We’ve long been fans of vegetables for breakfast, but making a salad for breakfast is not necessarily quick.  Slicing a few cucumbers lengthwise, however, takes no time at all. Cucumbers are surprisingly refreshing and might just jump start your day.  Baby carrots are another great breakfast on-the-go idea.  Eat them plain, with the above mentioned avocado dip, or any other low carb dip, like tahini.

Tahini.  Tahini, a paste made from crushed sesame seeds, is highly underrated in the U.S., which is a big shame because it is packed with nutrients and won’t budge your blood sugar.  You can use it as a tip for the above mentioned fresh veggies when you want something fast.  When you’re not in a rush, use it as an ingredient in salad dressing, or eat it with Swiss chard.  We buy our tahini raw and add our own seasonings.  You can also buy it ready-made.

If you’re not in a rush, there are so many wonderful low carb breakfast options, like cottage cheese pancakes or a fresh-herb frittata.  And there’s always bacon or sausage.  The bottom line: no matter when you eat your first meal of the day or how little time you have,  bread and cereal are not your only options.  And speaking of cereal, I watched some old cereal commercials and noticed that back in the day, companies were upfront about the sugar in cereals.  Check out the Sugar Bear, the “Sugar” Frosted Flakes, and the sugar-frosted raisins!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjlupv5KPn0[/youtube]

Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and has continued to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets).

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Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)