People usually think of the ketogenic diet, often referred to as “keto,” as a restricted low carb diet that does not allow high-carb foods such as bread, pastries, potatoes and pasta. However, you can have just about any of your favorite dishes on keto if you know how to substitute the carbohydrate-rich ingredients for low carb alternatives. One of the easiest meals to make on the keto diet is breakfast because it often features low carb ingredients like eggs, sausage and cheese.
The classic breakfast
The popular breakfast of bacon and eggs with a side of toast or pancakes can easily be prepared as a keto meal. Of course, the easiest solution is to omit the toast and pancakes and just have the bacon and eggs. Another popular solution among keto dieters is to make an omelet, such as a ham and cheddar omelet with broccoli.
If you miss the toast or pancakes with your classic breakfast, you could look for a ready-made low carb version of them, but they might be hard to find where you live, so you might want to make them yourself. When baking your own bread, you will substitute wheat flour for a low-carb ingredient such as almond flour or coconut flour. You can have low carb pancakes or waffles if you replace the sugar and wheat flour in the batter with low-carb alternatives.
If you want maple syrup with your pancakes, you can usually find a sugar-free version in most grocery stores. If you can’t find it in a local store, you could order it online. If you like powdered sugar instead of syrup, you could sprinkle a sucralose powder such as Splenda® on top. Also, a dollop of grass-fed organic butter will enhance the taste and provide some health benefits.
The business person’s breakfast
If you’re a professional person on the go, breakfast may consist of a cup of coffee with your favorite pastry. Your local coffee shop may not have low carb pastries, but there are some surprisingly easy ways to prepare these at home. Just about any pastry can be modified to be low carb if you’re willing to bake it yourself. To save time, cook up a batch of pastries on the weekend so they’re ready to eat on weekday mornings.
A good example of an easy pastry recipe is low carb peanut butter cookies. They only take about 20 minutes to prepare and bake. All you need is three common items already in your kitchen: peanut butter (with no added sugar), one egg and some sugar-free sweetener. The thought of having a cup of coffee with these fresh baked cookies should help get you out of bed bright and early.
If you don’t have much baking experience or are limited on time, there are some quick recipes that can be prepared in the microwave, such as the popular microwave mug cake. For example, check out this keto berry mug cake recipe.
What about fruit?
Fruit is a popular breakfast food, especially with health-conscious people. However, keto dieters need to be careful with fruit because of its sugar content. High-carb fruits like bananas and oranges should be avoided. If you want some fruit in the morning, try topping your pancakes with some fresh sliced strawberries, blackberries or raspberries.
In conclusion
You may not think you have the time or cooking skills to make things like low-carb bread or waffles, but the internet is rich with easy video tutorials for just about any of your favorite foods. Even a busy professional can whip up some delicious keto-friendly dishes that only take a few minutes. Once you begin to explore the low carb recipes posted online, you will discover how easy it is to have your favorite breakfast while living the keto lifestyle.
