The problem with breakfast

I think we can all wrap our heads around eating low-GI during most of the day. Eat lots of fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, etc. It isn't too much of a stretch to eat a salad for lunch instead of a sandwich or to switch out some broccoli for your nightly potato. Breakfast, on the other hand, can be quite a challenge.

When you think about it, almost all of our "quick serve" breakfast options are loaded with highly processed grain (which immediately turns into sugar in our bodies). Cereal, toast, muffins, pancakes, waffles....they are all just a bowl of sugar waiting to hit your stomach. So what should we eat for breakfast if we have to eliminate almost everything off of the breakfast list?

Here are some of my favorite low-GI friendly breakfast options:

- Sprouted grain toast with peanut butter with fruit on the side
- Plain yogurt with fresh fruit and nuts
- Fresh fruit smoothie made with yogurt and seasonal fruit
- Flax and Bran Morning Glory Muffins
- Slow cooked oatmeal (never instant!) with milk and nuts.

Embracing the change of season yesterday, I decided to make myself a veggie scramble for my AM meal. This is a favorite during the fall and winter. It takes about 10 minutes to make from scratch. If you are pressed for time, saute up your veggies in advance (or use last nights leftovers - almost any veggie is good in this). This cuts the prep time to around 3 minutes. I generally serve this with one piece of sprouted grain toast, but had a whole grain, high fiber sandwich thin in the house so I used it instead. It was delish.

Veggie Scramble (serves 1)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 t olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 oz cheese of choice (optional)
S & P to taste

Heat medium saute pan over med-high heat. Add olive oil to coat pan. Add peppers and onion to pan and cook until crisp tender, about 5 - 6 minutes. Add egg to pan and stir to combine. Cook until egg is just set, about 2 minutes. Top with cheese, add S & P as desired and serve.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread - yum!

I read a wonderful blog called Kalyn's Kitchen on an almost daily basis. Kalyn blogs on South Beach diet recipes, so her recipes generally fit into my eating plan. She bakes on a regular basis and yesterday's post made me drool - Chocolate Zucchini Bread (I love all things chocolate AND zucchini).

Now, Kalyn, being a South Beach enthusiast, bakes with a lot of Splenda. I don't use Splenda because it tastes gross and leaves a bitter aftertaste. When I looked at her recipe, I realized there was very little liquid in it, so agave nectar would work well as a replacement. I also decided to give the bread a little nutritional boost by replacing half of the whole wheat flour with almond meal. The resulting bread is yum, yum, yummy and the texture is perfect.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (makes 12 generous servings)

2 eggs

1/2 C light agave nectar

1/2 C dark agave nectar

5 T canola oil

1 t vanilla

1/4 C buttermilk (or make your own with 1/4 t white vinegar added to 1/4 C milk)

1 1/2 C grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

1/2 C almond meal

1/2 C whole grain whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 C cocoa powder

1/4 t salt

3/4 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, agave, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk. Stir in the grated zucchini. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just enough to combine. Then fold in chopped walnuts.

Scrape the batter into loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let bread cool in the pan, then slice and serve.