9 Paleo Breakfasts for Busy People

When first adopting a paleo diet, breakfast tends to be the hardest meal. Lunch? Chicken and salad. Dinner? Meat and veg. Snacks? Nuts or fruit. But breakfast? How on earth is a busy person supposed to make a healthy breakfast in less than 5 minutes if they’re not having toast or cereal?! Below are my favourite paleo breakfasts perfect for on the go, meaning you don’t have to spend half an hour cooking and cleaning up time every morning.

PALEO BREAKFASTS

1. Smoothies

Smoothies are quick to make, an excellent source of good fats, and you can use practically anything in your fridge/pantry/freezer to make them. I also love that they’re portable and super-easy to make thanks to mini blenders like the Mix & Go, where you make and serve the smoothie in the same container. (Less cleaning up is always a good thing, right?) My favourite recipe, with avocado and blueberries (yum), is here. Find your own favourite combination by playing around with creamy bases (avocado, banana), liquid (water, coconut water, almond milk), fruit (berries, apples, lemons, kiwi fruit), greens (spinach, kale) and powders (cacao, maca, acai berry, green superfood blends) and so on.

2. Granola and coconut yoghurt

This couldn’t be easier if you tried – prep the granola; add a few spoonfuls of coconut yoghurt; done! My paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free (even ‘natural’ sugar free) granola recipe is here, which is basically just a whole bunch of nuts and seeds. While I love it with coyo best (and a big handful of frozen blueberries), it’s also good with almond milk. If you don’t mind dairy, full-fat organic Greek yoghurt is an option too.

3. Roast vegetables

It takes some time getting used to a savoury breakfast with vegetables, but once you do, you’ll never look back. I often have roast vegies with my dinner, so I make a double batch and have the leftovers (cold) for breakfast. My favourite combination is a head of broccoli and a head of cauliflower cut into small florest, and a handful of Brussels sprouts (halved), and a liberal pouring of olive oil, salt and pepper, and lots of paprika. Roast for 30-40 minutes in a 180C degree oven and you're done.

4. Chia pudding

Dessert for breakfast? Yes please! Chia pudding is a heavenly, very tote-able (when you use glass jars, so hot right now) breakfast that you can make in just five minutes the night before. My recipe (with just 2 ingredients!) is here.

5. Corned beef

Slow-cooked corned beef (or silverside) is a particular favourite of my fiancé’s. When eating it for breakfast, we’ll have it with some fresh berries or sauerkraut as well. To make, buy the best quality meat you can get (ideally grass fed and finished), and season with salt, pepper and 5-10 cloves, tuck a couple of bay leaves under the meat. Fill the slow-cooker with water until the water is just a few centimetres above the top of the meat. Cook on high for an hour, then reduce the heat to low for another 5½-6 hours until done. Once cooked, remove from the water and leave to cool. If there’s any fat on the beef, scrape it off and discard. Cut into slices and store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

6. Boiled eggs

You can't get much easier than boiled eggs. I often have two eggs for breakfast cut in half and sprinkled with a bit of sea salt.

7. Mini vegetable frittatas

These are so easy I could scream. (I scream, you scream, we all scream for… um… vegetables?) There are lots of variations around but the simplest recipe I use is to dice any vegetables (eg. cherry tomatoes, onion, zucchini) and divide them into muffin trays. (Diced spring onions or bacon are also a tasty addition.) Whisk some eggs and salt and pepper, pour over vegies until each tray is full, and bake for 25-35 minutes in a 180C degree oven.

8. Fish patties

Fish patties make a yummy dinner (with a side salad or vegies) and are perfect the next day for breakfast. Depending on how big you make them, 3-4 is normally a good serving size. Just mix a large can of tuna or salmon, 1 medium sweet potato (steamed and mashed), 1 egg and some chopped spring onions. (Herbs like dill are a tasty addition too.) Fry in coconut oil for 3-4 minutes either side under cooked through.

9. Bacon and egg cups

I first discovered these when I read Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar book. Blokes in particular love them! (Quote to my partner whose mate who saw me post them on my Instagram: “How are you lucky enough that your girlfriend makes you bacon and eggs for breakfast?!”) Sarah’s handy video is here but in essence, you just wrap a rasher of bacon around the edges of a muffin tray, crack an egg into the middle and cook for 25 minutes at 180 degrees. They last in the fridge for 3-4 days and 1-2 will fill you up. The cute pic of them below is by gracefulleats.wordpress.com.

A FEW EXTRAS

These recipes aren’t strictly paleo but they’re definitely paleo-friendly, containing just a small amount of dairy that can be left out without compromising on the quality or taste of the recipe. (I tolerate small amounts of dairy like cheese and cream, but yoghurt and milk disagree with me.) But they’re still grain-free, gluten-free, low-carb and sugar-free, which are all important to me.

10. Meatloaf

My healthy meatloaf recipe has some sour cream and optional feta. They’re in small amounts and add a nice creamy texture so I think they’re worth including, but the recipe is still delish if you leave them out. For breakfast, I eat a few pieces cold – but just small pieces, as it’s so filling from being so high in protein.

11. Zucchini slice

My zucchini slice is one of my favourite breakfasts, and one of the most popular recipes on this site. I make it religiously as it’s a great way of getting vegetables in at breakfast. Unlike most other versions, mine doesn’t use flour so it’s gluten-free (hurrah!). But while it does have a cup of cheddar cheese in it, this can be left out without a significant compromise on taste or flavour.

Let me know if you have any go-to paleo breakfasts – feel free to share here or on my Instagram at @jenna.westphal or tag me #jennawestphal.