Nina’s Tips and Techniques: Plant-Based Breakfast

I’m trying to eat a plant-based diet, but I’m really struggling with breakfast…it is so egg and dairy driven. What are some good breakfast solutions??

It’s true that breakfast does tend to be dairy, eggs, and meat driven. Two things to keep in mind when making the move to a plant-based diet…

  1. Don’t become a carb-atarian – The easiest thing to do when you change your diet is say “ok I can’t have X food group, but I can still have Y food group” and when you just cut out eggs, dairy, and meat that leaves only a few groups left. And carbohydrates seem to be the food group most people gravitate to. While we need carbs in our diets, we should not end up eating only that. Which leads me to my second point…
  2. You must reinvent what “breakfast” is in your mind. What I mean by this is that we associate certain foods with breakfast, but breakfast is really just the first meal of the day. Why can’t vegetables be breakfast? Why can’t beans and chickpeas be breakfast? They CAN! Just shift your thinking. Try thinking about foods that make you feel great, or foods that fuel you first thing in the morning and start there, rather than starting with ingredients that you traditionally think of as breakfast.

Why is everyone into overnight oats? Are they everything they are cracked up to be?

A few reasons – they are super easy to make, they are portable, they are tasty hot or cold, and they are a great vehicle/base for adding lots of nutrient-dense ingredients to the start of your day. Think about topping them with antioxidant-rich fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut, etc. You can make them with your favorite plant-based milk and even add a scoop of your favorite plant-based protein powder for a super protein blast.

Featured Recipe: PACKED Overnight Oats