What to eat for breakfast (when all you can think of contains dairy, wheat and eggs)

Breakfast is our trickiest, head-achiest, carb-loadiest meal of the day. But it's also when we take all of our supplements, so it evens out, right? Right! Seriously, though, breakfast is tough. Especially when you've been roused out of a sound sleep by one child incessantly flopping and the other potty-dancing in her sleep. At some variation of the 6 or 7 o'clock hour. But, that is why I go to bed at 10 or 11. And I digress.

The breakfast market seems to be aimed at those among us who are addicted to wheat and/or dairy. Traditional breakfast items include:

• wheat-based cereal with cow's milk
• cow's milk yogurt
• oatmeal (unless GF oats are usually wheat-contaminated)
  
• granola (with wheat-contaminated oats & wheat flour)
• smoothies (with cow's milk yogurt)
• eggs & wheat toast
• wheaty bagels with cream cheese
• wheat toast and butter
• wheaty, buttery pastries & danishes
• wheaty pancakes & waffles with butter
• fruit
  

Of that entire list, the only thing we can safely consume right now is fruit. Or oats if they are GF, but 2lbs of GF oats costs $7, so we only splurge every now and again - say for oatmeal-chocolate chip (sorghum flour and palm oil shortening) cookies! Speaking of: I know what recipe I'm posting tomorrow. These things are outrageously good and you would never guess they are allergy-friendly.

My point is, it took me a really long time to widen my breakfast repetoire beyond rice puffs with fruit and rice milk. But, now that we've been on our fully restricted diet for almost nine months (aside: wow), I think I have some good suggestions.

What to eat for breakfast when everyone else is eating eggs, wheat and dairy:

• The obvious: GF cereal with milk substitute.
  
• Hot cereal: GF oatmeal, cream of rice, or cream of buckwheat with maple syrup & coconut oil
• Homemade granola (recipe to come)
• Pancakes with GF flour (see: cherry pancakes - can easily omit eggs)
• Muffins with GF flour (see: cherry muffins - can easily omit xanthan gum & sub flax meal gel)
• Hashbrowns (or other potatoes) in oil with greens
• Coconut milk & tapioca "pudding" (porridge really) with jam stirred in
  
• Dairy-free Smoothies (future post dedicated to smoothies soon to come)
• Breakfast burritos (recipe/filling ideas to come)
  
• Blended soups - as the weather gets cooler, I will start posting lots of yummy soup recipes
• Dinner leftovers

In the last few days (i.e. as far back as I can recall) we have had: cream of buckwheat with maple syrup & coconut oil; rice puffs with rice milk & blueberries (2 days in a row); cream of buckwheat with honey & coconut milk; "breakfast fries" with ketchup & sauteed kolrabi greens plus raisins on the side. Once you get used to having to actually work for breakfast, it's automatic. Especially if you remember to soak your grains or flours the night before. (Or if you keep your house fully stocked with GF cereals and dairy-free milks. Haha. Although, remember: convenience comes at a price. Those prepacked allergy-friendly foods are not cheap.)

"Best Ever" Quiche

There is something fundamentally comforting and delicious about a big fluffy slice of quiche. They are incredibly easy to make and, if you load 'em up with greens instead of bacon, they're healthier than you would think. I have fond memories of mini quiche at my grandma's house every Christmas. She always had them catered in, so I assumed they were this super difficult, expensive endeavor. I felt kind of cheated out of years and years of quiche-making when I finally attempted one and it was no big deal. Traditionally, quiche is made from wheat dough pie crust, eggs & cream, plus "fillings" - i.e. cheese, bacon, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach... Ours is a little more Spartan, but it still hits the spot when you find yourself in a quiche-y mood.

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes - the amount is going to depend on the type & size - we've used 6 medium white potatoes or 8 small red-skinned potatoes; peeled & grated
• safflower oil
• sea salt
  
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup rice milk
  
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• lots of kale (one bunch from the grocery store is good; I've been using the kale fresh from my garden and it has been wonderful - I highly recommend growing your own food whenever possible)
  
• handful of mushrooms, sliced
  
• one onion, cut in half and finely sliced
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Peel & grate potatoes
2. Fry them in safflower oil like hashbrowns - fry on one side, letting sit for a few minutes getting golden, then turn over.
   
3. Push hashbrowns down into a greased glass pan (we use an 8x8 pyrex or a round casserole pan - whatever you've got on hand will be fine)
4. Saute onions & mushrooms in safflower oil, sprinkle with sea salt; let them cook down until the onions are nice and soft
   
5. In a mixer (or with a whisk), blend eggs together on high until eggs get frothy. Add a pinch or two of sea salt and black pepper as it mixes.
   
6. Add rice milk while mixer is running. Add nutrional yeast. Mix for a few minutes more.
7. Prepare kale by ripping leaves off of stem (like you would chard or spinach). Rip or chop the kale into small pieces.
   
8. Layer kale over potatoes.
   
9. Pour eggs over potatoes & kale.
10. Sprinlke with nutrtional yeast, covering the entire top surface - this will give you a "cheesey" coating on top

Bake at 375*F for 45 or so minutes. Start checking on it around the half hour mark. Every oven and bakeware combination is different. You will know it's done when it's fluffed up and the top is "set" (firm to touch).

Serves 8, theoretically. The four of us can easily polish off an entire quiche for dinner.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Try adding bacon or sausage
• Try subbing the rice milk for maybe 3/4 cup chicken stock
• Instead of kale, use chard, collards, spinach, turnip greens or any other green (or combination of greens)
  
• Use broccoli instead of greens
  
• Experiment with different potatoes/combinations to see what you prefer
• Instead of potatoes, use sweet potatoes
• Try using lots of different mushrooms plus a well carmelized onion or two