Going 'Grain free' for November... and some breakfast ideas!
With my health coaching clients one of the questions I'm often asked is "what should I eat for breakfast?"
This is particularly relevant when going through an elimination diet or cleanse since breakfast is typically sugar and gluten laden- both things I aim to avoid in large quantities and particular when cleansing the system.
A 'cleansing' anti-inflammatory diet is often the first place I begin in gaining a better understanding of where symptoms such as poor digestion, skin problems, allergies and a general feeling of 'meh' might be coming from. This is also true in my own life where I sometimes feel my digestive system is compromised. I've mentioned before I think this comes down to stress levels I am working to manage better (there is a huge relationship between the gut and the brain- more on that anther time) however it's always good to change things up a little bit and experiment with different ways of approaching 'diet'. See I use the word diet very cautiously since I see these to be modifications of lifestyle choices and not something to be viewed as restriction or calorie controlling, simply tweaking the types of foods we consume in order to optimise how our individual bodies function.
Within the paleo community grain free breakfasts often rely heavily on eggs but obviously for those who follow a vegan diet this is not an option, so we need to get even more creative, ideally beyond the tofu (partly because soy is a common allergen too) and because that would quickly become boring!
For the month of November I have decided to go 'grain free' to inspire me to get creative for my clients but also to see the impact is has (or not) within my own body.
A quick side note... I will still be including the pseudo grains such as buckwheat and quinoa since they are not technically grains though I do appreciate that those who follow a very strict grain free diet tend not to consume them as they are still related, and they offer so much more versatility!
I will keep you posted on how I get on and update you with recipes as we go, I anticipate breakfast to be the hardest part, hence the title of this post, as I do like a sweet breakfast over savoury, but yes I'm the first to admit that breakfast can be anything at all- why not eat a salad or a stir fry for breakfast? For now, I'm going to focus in ways we can achieve that classic 'breakfast style' fix whilst grain free.
I'd love you to chime in too... have you tried grain free? Do you have any ideas to share?
Feel free to get involved on Facebook page, or post links in the comments below.
Some suggestions from the archives to get going with... (links below the images)
Breakfast crumble crisp (this has oats but could be subbed for buckwheat or quinoa flakes or a nut based granola topping)
Gluten free granola with fruit
Muesli bread (I want to try this subbing the oats)