Green eggs and…hmmm.
Over the last few months, a number of you have written in to ask me what I eat for breakfast. Good question! Though “raw till dinner” is a very popular and handy approach to transitioning into a semi- or mostly raw lifestyle, it doesn’t work for everyone. In fact, it didn’t work for me, as I began my own forays into the raw world! Different strokes for different folks: some people need or want warm foods at dinnertime, others in the morning. While I found it incredibly easy to eat raw or partially raw lunches and dinners — after all, I’d almost always eaten salads at lunchtime and dinners that incorporated at least one or two raw components — the notion of forgoing a hot, steaming bowl of oats in the morning was practically inconceivable.
My answer? I didn’t stop eating oats. I just decided to experiment with raw or less processed options several days weekly. This is a reflection of my main mantra when it comes to raw experimentation: add a little, add a lot, subtract later! Over time, I grew so fond of raw or semi-raw mornings that my habitual oats felt less desirable than they had before. Today, I still eat hot grains on very cold, or very active mornings. But for the most part, I’m happy with some of the more light and digestible breakfast options with which I fell in love during my courtship with raw foods.
On many–I’d say most–mornings, I’m happy to sip juice throughout the morning hours, until my appetite is active. At that point, I’ll have a light snack, or (sometimes), it’s already lunchtime. Is this a rule? No. Do raw foodists have to have liquid breakfasts–juice or smoothies? No. This is what some raw foodists do; it’s not what all raw foodists do. On mornings when I’m hungry upon rising, or when I’ve just had a sweaty pre-work gym run, or I simply crave something a little more filling than green juice, I like to help myself to one of these tasty options. Many of them aren’t raw, but they’re all minimally processed, vegan, and incredibly nourishing!
1) Hot quinoa, millet, or brown rice (this is a great way to use up leftover grains!) warmed up on the stovetop with almond milk, cinnamon, and stevia
2) Baked potato topped with coconut oil and cinnamon (sometimes I have a bit of steamed kale with this)
4) Raw “porridge”: leftover almond pulp, mixed with dried chopped fruit and almond milk
5) 1 banana, chopped and mixed with 2 tbsp chopped dried fruit and nuts, and topped with almond milk and a drizzle of agave.
6) A blended salad (creamy zucchini is my favorite!)
7) Young coconut shake
8 ) Steamed veggies and root veggies, topped with a sweet nut butter or tahini dressing.
9) Soaked and dehydrated buckwheat (soak the buckwheat, rinsing frequently, for several days, and then dehydrate for at least 12 hours), topped with almond milk
10) Larabars, Pure bars, or another raw bar of choice
Other options include chia seed pudding, root veggie mash, or the usual rundown of vegan baked goods: vegan pancakes, muffins, etc. If they’re made with quinoa or almond flour, so much the better. And of course, the most obvious and simple option for a raw breakfast is fruit! Fruit, fruit smoothies, green monsters: however you want to prepare it, fruit makes for an ideal and hassle free breakfast option. Many raw foodists munch on fruit right until lunchtime — a quick, digestible way to start your day.
Me? I’m not a fan of fruit, so with the exception of my berry smoothie, or a scoop or two of banana soft serve, I’ll rarely opt to eat it for breakfast. But it’s always my go to when I’m traveling, and I can’t concoct breakfast options I like more.
Speaking of fruit, LOTS of you have written in to ask me why you don’t see more fruit on my blog, or why I don’t eat it often. Why? Cause I don’t like it. And no, it’s not a health choice! One of the downsides of being a healthy living blogger is that each and every one of one’s likes/dislikes are assumed to represent nutritional positions. Sometimes, we simply don’t like the way something tastes! My dislike of most fruit is not unlike my dislike of onions or garlic: just a taste/texture I’m not fond of. Bananas are OK, and I like a nice, crunchy Fuji apple in the fall. But on the whole, I’ve never liked fruits. Pineapple, mango, kiwi, melon? Ick! My Mom still recalls (with a shake of the head) at time when I was five years old, and she and my father insisted finish a bowl of blueberries before I could go out to play with my cousins. I sat, and sat, and sat till dinnertime. It wasn’t until tears and arguing had subsided that I was allowed to forgo the fruit (by the way, I like berries way more, now that I’m older).
Anyway. There’s nothing categorically wrong with fruit if you like it. Just ain’t my thang.
So there you have it: raw or minimally processed options with which to start your day. All of them are well combined, you’ll notice: while I do believe that a hearty breakfast can be a good thing on a busy day, I do believe that it’s best to eat relatively lightly in the morning, when our bodies are gently breaking the previous night’s fast. So easy digest, well combined foods are optimal.
On that note, I want to share breakfast option #11: one of my very favorites! It’s my own take on scrambled eggs and toast, and it invites some Dr. Seuss reminiscences to be sure. It’s mashed avocado on manna bread, and I absolutely adore it.
Raw “scrambled eggs” and toast (serves one very hungry person, or two regularly hungry people)
1 large avocado
Sea salt/Himalayan salt
Ground pepper
2 slices manna bread or Ezekiel bread
Mash avocado flesh with salt and pepper till it achieves a guacamole-like texture. Serve it over the bread, and enjoy!
You could serve this filling and simple breakfast over raw bread, rice cakes, or raw crackers. However you serve it up, it’s full of healthy fat, vitamin E, and plant-based goodness.
Hope that helps you all navigate the idea of breakfast within a semi raw, vegan lifestyle. Remember: there’s no shame in saying that breakfast isn’t your time of day to be all raw. But no matter what, do your best to eat foods that are plant based, minimally or totally unprocessed, well combined, and gentle. Your body will thank you for giving it a break as you ease into the day.
xo
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Not only does she have great advice when I am struggling, but her realistic approach helped me make major changes despite having no time and limited funds. Her recipes and ideas are for real people with lives beyond their diets, and they are great. Gena is down to earth and non-judgmental. She strikes a great balance between encouraging me to go a little father but to keep things in perspective and have fun with the process.
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FAQ
So where do you get your protein?Ah, the million dollar question. I know that my fellow raw foodists are uttering a collective sigh of frustration with me. But it’s inevitable, so here goes:
I get my protein from a wide array of vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. The notion that we need to supplement our diet with large amounts of protein, especially in the form of animal products, is mistaken: our bodies are capable of assembling amino acids from all of the foods we eat and building the “complete proteins” that we’ve all been told we need to get in a single sitting.
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Recommendations
Juicer (average $50.00 - $500.00)If you’re like me, and juicing is a crucial part of your lifestyle, then the cost of a juicer will absolutely be worth it! It will buy itself back again and again and again. The juicer I recommend is the Breville Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus. It’s the only juicer I’ve ever owned, and it has never let me down. I recommend you invest in a juicer that has at least this level of performance in order to juice leafy greens.
Some of you have asked me whether it’s wiser to buy a juicer or a Vitamix.
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Totally agree with your statement: “One of the downsides of being a healthy living blogger is that each and every one of one’s likes/dislikes are assumed to represent nutritional positions.”
Thanks for the breakfast post, I know I’ve been curious
I saw the word “egg” and though OH! LOL
I have really gotten used to my morning green juice.. if I eat anything else I just feel so heavy for the rest of the day. I recently wanted to experiment and make something different on days that I rather use a spoon than a straw and tried green smoothie.. well this morning I added half an avocado my green smoothie holy creamy
I have to give your “egg” and toast a try.
Great post! And lots of great breakfast ideas!
I can’t believe you don’t like fruit!
I LOVE avocado on toast!!
I love this post!!! I actually drink juice for breakfast every morning
I do have to say, my stomach just feels better all day when I have only juice for breakfast. Love the feeling!
I like some of your other ideas, especially the grains heated with almond milk and cinnamon. I need to get myself a saucepan. Your green eggs also look awesome, will have to do that. I LOVE fruit… too bad it bothers my stomach these days. Sometimes I will have a little.
Avocado… yum!
I think breakfast is such an important part of the day and there’s no reason to skip it. That being said I found that raw till dinner worked best for me, but different people need different things. Another thing it keep in mind is to drink lots of water in the morning, whether your meal is raw or not!
I am so starving in the morning that I have to eat something carby like oatmeal. I really want to try the breakfast quinoa though because it would be nice to have something new for a change!
Thanks for all the interesting raw brekkie options! I’m still shaking my head at a dislike of fruit (I’d kill for a mango about now!)–and that blueberry story! Luckily your parents listened to you.
I adore avocado on “toast”–in my case, I use chickpea flour pancakes (pudla or cheela) as the base for the avocado. Very delicious!
Ha! I know, it’s a common reaction. But I’m a stubborn lady: the ‘rents knew better than to force.
That whole dynamic got repeated when I told my Greek mama I was over lamb…
The only time I was ever forced into eating something, it was fish (I have a half Greek, half Italian family). It made me vomit – within seconds. That showed my parents, haha! Kids can be SO stubborn.
I have been a long time juice or smoothie breakfast go-er, but recently Sheri’s blog at greenandcrunchy.org totally inspired me to fuse one of your recipes and hers for breakfast!
It’s the middle of Summer here in Australia and for the past few weeks, almost every morning, I’ve been having banana soft serve topped with 2 tablespoons of raw, home made granola (includes heaps of chopped nuts, seeds and sparse dried fruit) plus a pinch of cacao powder and cinnamon.
It’s my FAVOURITE thing right now – I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner! And it’s so energizing.
Oh! I’d also like to see a chia recipe… I’ve been curious about trying chia seeds for ages but am not sure what to do with them. A breakfast recipe would be awesome.
i love fruit! but it doesn’t really cut it alone for breakfast. it’s weird that i can go light at dinner but not at breakfast. a big green smoothie is a must for me.
but another option is a big bowl of chia! my husband eats this each morning and i do most lunches. yum.
Thank you for all the recipes, i just had my first bowl of chia at a raw restaurant and was wondering if you had a recipe on it? thanks a lot! I went from juicing in mornings to just fruit, and now i have to cut out of a lot of fruits for their sugar content at the moment so i am looking for some granola and chia recipes that is only sweetened with stevia.
Thank you for sharing this- I was wondering about breakfast as well!
Love it! So easy. I agree–let your system wake up slowly. I love fruit, ground flax seed, cacao and almond milk as a breakfast cereal
Oh my gosh, I love Manna bread, and I have not had it in ages. Definitely need to pick some up soon. Loving all these breakfast options Gena, especially the almond pulp porridge! As far as my pancake recipes go, I always tell people to sub 2 TBSP flax seed gelled in 1/4 cup water. Chia gel works too. If the batter is too dry, add a little almond milk or seltzer water. The seltzer water adds more of a fluff factor.
Thanks babe!
Oh, I guess I should have said sub the flax or chia gel for the eggs.
What a simple idea and perfect for my mother dabbling in raw but having trouble dropping English muffins and eggs for breakfast. Week mornings are always smoothies for me before dashing out to work, but am looking for more options on the weekends, thanks.
great post. I love these easy, quick bfast ideas
Awesome post, Gena! Love all your ideas. Like how you said “different strokes for different folks” great motto!
I always thought the lack of fruit was because of the sugar in it. Thanks for clarifying! I have a lot of clients who don’t like fruit either…
Great ideas! I love a green smoothie in the morning! Can’t do anything heavier like oatmeal, a few months ago I forced it for awhile, didn’t work. Everyone is different!
Love the avocado on toast! mmm! XO
I’m not a huge fruit fan either, no matter how much I try! I don’t mind bananas because they are a big more filling and less watery. But I am in COMPLETE agreement with your childhood blueberry aversion…I find blueberries completely intolerable! Most people this it is weird (superfood!) but you couldn’t pay me to eat one =)
You are a crack-up with that title, you are.
It’s punbelievable!
I love the idea of mashed avocado on “toast” or whathaveyou and can’t for the life of me imagine why I have yet to try it out, considering I’m not the world’s biggest fruit fan myself. That said, I’ve been doing raw breakfasts of fruit only for months now and liking it pretty well until just recently when it occurred to me to replace some of that fruit with veggies, which I love dearly. I now enjoy a grazing morning routine of a banana followed by a small salad with sprouts & dulse followed by a cup of miso broth. Momma like, and so does her gut if ya know what I mean…
But dried fruit? Totally different ballgame. Helloooo loverImeanLARAbar…
I have never tried this (avocado on toast), so guess what, I just finished eating this and was very good. Lord, knows I was hungry. I am satisfied!
Take care!
Evleyn
Great idea! I will definitely be trying the avocado on toast! That will be a nice change to my oats.
That sounds simply delicious for this pregnant mama!
I Looooooove avocado on toast…I read about it on some blog a few months ago and am addicted.
I just mash it on some stone ground whole wheat toast ot ezekial english muffins toasted and add a teeny bit if sea salt.YUM!
DO you have any idea a rough count of calories for this ?
Thanks!
How long do you keep leftover bits of avocado for?Is it ok to eat brownish old bits?
Hey Marla,
I can’t answer that question because I don’t believe in calorie counting. Sorry!
You *can* eat brownish avocado, but I find it really hard! so I try to use a small avocado and finish it myself.
Gena
Yum this is one of my favorite breakfasts, I love guac on toast
Great post, Gena! I love to hear more about what longer-term raw foodies eat and you gave me a lot of great breakfast ideas! I wish I liked avocado more. How about chocomole on toast?
Great breakfast ideas! I love your “green eggs” on ezekiel!
I have a question for you.
Was it hard starting to JUST drink juice on most days? I know it is ideal to juice until noon, but I can not currently, I get SO hungry! How did you get to that point??
xo
K
P.S. Thanks for the bloggie comment =D
K,
I think it’s SUPER important not to think in terms of those particular kinds of “ideals.” While drinking juice till noon might be ideal for someone who is at the office, it’s probably not idea for someone who completes a 6 mile run before 7 AM; it may not be ideal for someone who, for whatever reason, eats lightly in the evening. In other words, there’s no formula. I’m happy on juice in the AM when I’m happy on juice, but if it ever feels like it’s not enough, I just eat. Period! I’ve been doing this for a long time, and my health has continually improved, so in my mind, it’s totally ideal for me.
So the answer is, if you’re hungry, you shouldn’t just be juicing. Get green juice in as soon as you wake up, and then eat something when hunger strikes. You’ll get the benefit of juice but the fiber and caloric energy you need.
Hope this helps!!
Gena
Thanks so much! I guess starting my day with green juice, whether until noon or not, is a good start =D
The BEST start
Thank you for the common sense advice post. Seems the eat when hungry, don’t when you’re not, eat what your body calls for, and that simple wisdom always bears repeating
Thank you for this:One of the downsides of being a healthy living blogger is that each and every one of one’s likes/dislikes are assumed to represent nutritional positions. Sometimes, we simply don’t like the way something tastes! ”
Yes. I get that. All the Time. People write to ask me how I eat so many desserts. I think people assume that because a sheetcake slab of vegan fudge and it’s on my blog that I polish it all off that day. Or that the absence of fruit on your blog has some “deeper meaning”. No, sometimes common sense must prevail and we must realize the blogger is just showing a snapshot of their life; not their whole life.
TGIF and enjoy your weekend, Gena!
I started doing this breakfast as soon as I read Natalie Rose’s raw diet book (thanks to your recommendation). It’s perfect for when your friends buy a dozen bagels and cream cheese for breakfast or want to go to the bagel shop. I usually just bring an avocado, or request one, and put the slices on a WW bagel. At least its healthier and makes me feel so much better afterwards because I’m eating in combination.
I love the idea of using the left over almond pulp for raw porridge! I always have some lying around from when I decide to make almond milk every once and awhile and I’m never quite sure what to do with it. Also larabars, particularly the coconut one, are fast becoming one of my favorite energy bar options when I’m working out and need a quick fix. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to completely give up meat, but I generally try to eat 1-2 of my meals usually breakfast and lunch meat free because I find I just feel generally better if the focus of those meals is around whole grains and veggies. I’ll definitely have to incorporate some of those great breakfast options.
OO, I’ve been looking for things to do with my almond pulp. Do you dehydrate it first?
Thanks for this post Gena. I appreciate your thoughts!
As a child I did not eat much fruit either. I remember being grossed out by them. Not their taste or texture (you have to actually try them to notice that) but the concept of fruit. I associated it with dirt, since I kept seeing people peel oranges with their dirty hands and shove it in their mouths etc. I felt like they were unclean somehow.
Luckily, I could overcome these issues gradually in my teens. There is not a single fruit I do not like now. I not only appreciate all their different flavors for cooking purposes or their health benefits, but also the fact that in general the more foods you can tolerate to eat the easier social situations/travels (ultimately life) become.
thanks so much for this. while much of my transition to high-raw has been astonishingly easy, i’ve always felt as though there must be some benefit to juicing all morning and it was something i should work towards – yet as someone who works out very heavily with cardio and weights before 10 AM most days of the week, i’ve never been able to manage it. good to know that not all rawies eat this way! i assume so long as i don’t follow it too quickly with heavy foods, i derive the same benefits from my green juice if i drink it post-workout that i would as morning fuel?
I eat this all the time, it is soooo good. We just call it avocado toast here.
I love this post title. So cute!
Thank you for the great suggestions for breakfast! I usually always do a green smoothie for breakfast, especially when I can blend, pour it in a mason jar, and head out the door for the gym (before work). Easy. But really, variety is the spice of life, and we all need it. Oats are definitely my second love to green smoothies but I will definitely have to try your green “eggs” atop of manna bread! Yum!
Thanks for all the great ideas!
All those food options are making me hungry. Yum!
It amazes me that you don’t like fruit, since most people prefer it over veggies. Consider yourself lucky. My son will eat fruit without complaint, but I have trouble getting him to try vegetables. He only likes a few, which is better than nothing. I wish I could get him to try that avocado on manna bread. I eat it myself, but he never wants to taste it.
I just wanted to say thanks for this helpful post!
I’m currently making a transition into a high-raw, high-vegan lifestyle and while most of the time eating fruit until noon is satisfactory, I do sometimes crave a more substantial breakfast- especially as I am an athlete!
Also, Gena, I’m looking into the hemp-protein powder idea right now (thinking about ordering some online), and I had a question- wouldn’t it be a miscombination to blend the fruit with the hemp protein powder in the berry smoothie for example?
Interesting to read your comments about fruit. I recall, though, that you had written months ago in your blog that you didn’t like to eat fruit because of the sugar and you thought it caused yeast buildup. It just seems strange that someone who loves all vegetables would hate fruits, so the sugar thing seemed to make sense.
Not so, Rebecca. I said that fruit CAN lead to yeast buildup in some women, and that women who are yeasted or avoiding yeast should avoid fruit for a certain amount of time. But I’m not yeasted, so it’s really a taste issue. I find the experience of eating vegetables totally different!
I’m so late to chime in, but as someone who once lived and died for cold cereal — I made it “raw” by eating banana slice (or sometimes strawberry slices) in raw almond milk!
I love avocados any which way, especially on toast with a pinch of sea salt and hot sauce. What a perfect breakfast. Lovely photos!
Hi Gena, Ive always enjoyed reading your posts and although I have already been raw for 3 years, Ive only recently started my own blog, I’ll be posting once a week, so follow me and we can share recipes http://www.betterraw.blogspot.com