I am a creature of habit when it comes to breakfasts. First the coffee, then the breakfast! My go to weekday breakfasts have always been cereal or eggs and toast. Sometimes just toast. Weekends are all out eggs, bacon, sausage, pancake feasts.
But then, along came Alpha-gal syndrome. Now what can I eat? In this article I will give you 7 breakfasts ideas to get you started! When you’re first diagnosed with Alpha-gal and start learning about all the things you can’t have, and the lurking additives in your favorite foods, it seems for a while, that you can’t eat anything. And, of course, it’s good advice to drastically narrow the scope of your diet for a while as you figure things out and learn your own sensitivity levels.
What CAN I eat?
An important step of that process is shifting your focus away from everything you can’t eat, and start discovering the things that you CAN eat. And, I know it doesn’t seem like it at first, but there’s actually a LOT, I promise.
A good place to start is with breakfast! Breakfast is usually something you eat at home, and you have control over what that will be. At least for me, a breakfast out with friends event is extremely rare and there better be plenty of coffee! Especially if you commute to work and eat a meal or two away from home each day, a good homemade breakfast is important, in case your alpha-gal safe options turn out to be limited for those afternoon or evening meals.
I’ve put together a week’s worth of breakfast ideas for you. Whether you’re a creature of habit who eats the same thing every morning, or if you like to switch it up, you should be able to find some great alpha-gal safe breakfast ideas here. Please note, that all of my recipes are generally alpha-gal safe, but everyone has their own unique sensitivity levels and co-existing allergies and conditions. Be sure to read all labels (ingredients and formulas can change). And don’t eat anything I show here just because I said so. Rather, use these suggestions to build on your own research into what is safe for you personally. Okay, it’s breakfast time!
We’re going to start our week on Saturday for weekend planning and prep. If you’re strictly a cereal person, you can skip ahead to Tuesday, but maybe you’ll get some new ideas from the rest of the week, so maybe stick around for all 7 days!
Saturday: “Special Eggs”
Special eggs are a recipe we got from my brother-in-law, Steve. It’s one of my grandson’s favorites, he’s the one who gave it the name Special Eggs. To make Special eggs, you’ll need eggs, some kind of breakfast meat, and some cheese. Of course, we’re all about alpha-gal safe, so we’re using my ground turkey sausage recipe and plant-based cheese. (Not everyone with Alpha-gal syndrome is sensitive to dairy, so if you’re not, go ahead and throw on that real cheddar!).
You can find the full recipe here. While you’re making them, cook up some extra sausage for a weekday breakfast if you want special eggs again later!
Sunday: Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast Tacos are another quick, easy family favorite here. Cook up some Turkey Bacon or Turkey Sausage, scramble some eggs, and warm a tortilla.
I usually use Oscar Mayer turkey bacon with my pancakes. I fry up a whole package on the weekend so I have it on hand for weekday breakfasts. The trick is to add some extra fat to the pan, I like duck fat, but you can use plant butter, or even a little Pam spray. It cooks up pretty well in the microwave if you only need a slice or two. Just follow the package directions.
Load the eggs and bacon onto the warm tortilla, add some shredded cheese, and roll it up. While you’re at it, throw together a few extra tacos and freeze them for a microwavable weekday grab and go breakfast!
Monday: Avocado toast
This simple, nutritious, and tasty breakfast deserves a spot in our weekly breakfast rotation. You can be as trendy and creative as you like with garnishes, but really, all you need is an avocado, a couple slices of toast, and some salt and pepper. Make your toast, cut the avocado open, mash it up and spread it on your toast. So easy!! If additives in the bread, like butter, added vitamins, or dough conditioners like Mono and di-glycerides bother you, read labels and try to find a bread that doesn’t have those additives. Personally, I avoid all of that and just make my own bread, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post for another day.
Tuesday: Cereal
Cereal is such a traditional American breakfast! We all grew up on it. If you grew up pre-cell phone days, you also probably grew up reading and rereading a cereal box every morning. But, cereals can be problematic for those of us with Alpha-gal syndrome. It’s those added vitamins, usually, vitamin D, which can be sourced from animals. So if you are sensitive to them, read labels, and find cereals that don’t have those added vitamins. They do exist, although they may be in the health food section of your grocery store. In my cupboard today I have Cascadian Farms Vanilla Crisp. If you’re sensitive to dairy, use your favorite plant-based milk. Almond milk is good, but my favorite for cereal is oat milk. It is just the right amount of creaminess to go with that satisfying cereal crunch!
Wednesday: Oatmeal
Ok, I know not everyone is a fan of oatmeal. And that’s okay. We have 6 other options for breakfast this week and repeats are great. But I like oatmeal, and because of our dietary limitations, whatever variety we can incorporate is a very good thing. With the onset of the “Overnight Oats” trend, oatmeal has gained both versatility and popularity. I haven’t gotten on the overnight oats band wagon, because it really isn’t that hard to make in the morning. 10 minutes in a pan, or a minute and a half in the microwave. No big deal. I eat oatmeal 2 different ways, either savory, or sweet. My version of sweet oatmeal is with a little plant butter, real maple syrup, and if I have them on hand I add dried fruit, and/or nuts. I stick to real maple syrup to avoid the additives and cane sugars of artificially flavored pancake syrups. Also, check the label on the dried fruits. Some have added sugars, and I’ve even found added gelatin. Gelatin is a mammal sourced ingredient. I use Ocean Spray cranberries. Ingredients: cranberries.
Savory oatmeal is the easiest. Just top your oatmeal with a swirl of olive oil, and some salt and pepper and it’s good to go. You’re adding some healthy fats, but no extra calories from sugars.
Thursday: Fried Egg Sandwich
This is so delicious and satisfying! If you’ve been extremely limited in a variety of meals due to alpha-gal fears, this flavorful egg sandwich is going to taste like happiness!
Fry an egg, break the yolk before flipping it season with salt and pepper. Make toast (using the bread notes from Monday) and spread on some plant based butter. Build your sandwich by stacking the egg, some bacon leftover from Sunday, and a slice of cheese—I used Violife Plant based cheddar.
Friday: Grain Bowl
A grain bowl can be as simple as a bowl of white rice with plant butter or olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Or, it can be a blend of ancient grains garnished with eggs and vegetables. When I was a kid, my mom would sometimes make white rice with butter and sugar for breakfast. Yum!
These days, I still enjoy that comfort food breakfast bowl of white rice, sometimes with (plant)butter and maple syrup, or, if I’m feeling a little more grown up that day, olive oil, salt and pepper.
If I’m going for the mixed ancient grains, I cook those on the weekend and freeze them in breakfast size portions. They take some time, but they’re worth it for a high protein, very nutritious breakfast. Here’s how I make them. For a quick and easy meal, just swirl on some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. If I’m feeling energetic, I like to put a fried or boiled egg on top, and whatever fresh veggies I have on hand. Here’s how I make them__
Bonus Breakfast:
I made it to 7 days and still haven’t mentioned pancakes!
Are pancakes Alpha-gal safe? They can be! I have done fine using Krusteaz pancake mix. If you’re very sensitive to the added vitamins in enriched flours, it’s easy to make your own pancakes using flour that is not enriched like King Arthur organic all-purpose flour. Here’s my recipe for cinnamon vanilla pancakes.
What is your go-to breakfast? Share your thoughts and ideas here in the comments, or on my Susan by a Thread Facebook page!
You can watch my 7 days of Alpha-gal safe breakfasts video here.
Special eggs is a family favorite breakfast recipe. We learned it from my brother-in-law, Steve. My grandson named it, “Special Eggs” because it has all of his favorite breakfast foods including eggs, sausage, cheese, and toast. He always requests it when he is here.
Special eggs is easy, fast, and you can use whatever leftover breakfast meats you have on hand. The best part? You don’t have to worry about breaking the egg yolk, because you’re supposed to break it! We usually use my home made ground turkey sausage for an alpha-gal safe option.
Special Eggs Secret
The secret to Special Eggs is cooking it hot enough to get that melty cheese a bit crusty, but keeping the yolk soft for when you break it all up in the pan. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup ground turkey sausage
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I use plant based cheese)
Salt & Pepper
Instructions:
Spray or grease a nonstick skillet. Turn the heat on medium and break the eggs into the pan. When the egg whites are solid and beginning to get crispy around the edges. Season with salt and pepper, then add the ground sausage and flip the eggs. top with the cheese and let it cook for a minute or so until the cheese is melty and just beginning to get crispy around the edges.
Now comes the fun part! Use your spatula to break up the egg and stir it together with all that sausage and cheesy goodness and remove it from the pan. So easy, your kids can help make breakfast! Serve it with toast. You’re going to love it!
Whether you’re starting from scratch, or spicing up a store bought mix, you’ll love cinnamon vanilla pancakes for your weekend breakfast! If you’re feeling frisky, throw in even more extras like nutmeg, pecans, or even chocolate chips. You really can’t go wrong!
Quick Alpha-gal note: If you’re using a mix, be sure and read the entire label to make sure it’s safe. Depending on your sensitivity level, if it contains added vitamins, mono or di-glycerides, milk, butter, or lard may be red flags. It’s important to know both what the ingredients are, as well as your own sensitivity.
The Fluffy Pancake Secret
The secret to fluffy pancakes is to allow your batter to rest for at least 15 minutes before you start cooking. This gives the batter time to form the glutens that will be strong enough to support those air bubbles that make the pancake light and fluffy. If you skip this step you’ll have, well, flat pancakes.
The other trick is to make sure your pan is fully preheated before you start cooking. That old saying that the first pancake never turns out is simply because the pan isn’t hot enough at the start. Set your heat to medium and give it time to get fully preheated. Oh, and never, never, never (is that enough nevers?), never smash the pancake with your spatula!
Cook up a double batch of pancakes on the weekend and freeze the extra (if there are any) for a microwavable weekday morning breakfast.
Cinnamon Vanilla Pancake Ingredients:
Pancake mix
or:
2 cups all-purpose flour (not enriched)
1/4 cup beet sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 egg (beaten)
2 cups oat milk
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions:
If using pancake mix, prepare according to package instructions stirring in the cinnamon and vanilla extract. If using this scratch recipe, follow these instructions:
Mix together the dry ingredients. Then, combine the eggs, oat milk, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. The mixture may still be slightly lumpy, but that’s ok. Now, Set the mixture aside to rest for at least 15 minutes.
While you’re waiting, prepare your griddle and get it preheated.
Spray or coat your preheated griddle with vegetable oil and ladle about 2/3 cup of batter onto the griddle. (you can make your pancakes bigger or smaller depending on your preference.) After a minute or two, the pancake will develop bubbles across the top and the edges will begin to look dry. Flip the pancake and cook the other side. It will only take a couple of minutes per side if your pan is properly preheated. Remove the cooked pancake and place it on a warm plate while you cook the rest.
Makes approximately fifteen 4-inch pancakes Serve with plant butter and real maple syrup. Enjoy your cinnamon vanilla pancakes!
