What to do for breakfast?

[tea]

Hey folks,

What do you guys do for breakfasts? I've been making Mary's banana pancakes from the DVD (which I love - both the pancakes and the DVD), but I don't feel so great afterward, I feel like I've kind of hit a sugar low, even though I hardly put any maple syrup on them at all. The same thing has been happening when I eat oatmeal in the morning, even nothing on it (in fact the effect is much worse if I put raisins or fruit on it).

I'm in school, and a couple days ago, while in the midst of high stress and wanting comfort food, I ditched my usual pancakes or oatmeal and made a bacon and egg sandwich. I thought it would taste too rich, or awful, but it was delicious, and what's more, I actually had energy afterward! I felt good, awake, alert, smart, not in a sugar fog.

I'm scared! What does this mean? This morning I had pancakes again, and I feel, again, groggy and tired. My life is very stressful while in school and raising two little ones. I don't want to be downing artery-clogging meat to stay alert. Have any of you had this problem? How did you deal with it? What do you guys eat for breakfast?

[toadfood]

Have you tried eating beans for breakfast? Pancakes make me sleepy too. Oatmeal doesn't, but beans are an even slower-acting carbohydrate and may work well for you. Also, I make my oatmeal with soy milk, which gives me some protein and fat.

In the book Sunlight Cafe, Mollie Katzen has a recipe for "bean porridge" that is easy and good. Basically she puts an undrained can of white beans in a pot and cooks the heck out of it until it's porridge-y. She cooks a garlic clove with the beans, and then adds some salt (probably not necessary since the bean liquid is usually salty) and pepper. It takes a fair amount of time to cook, but it could be made in advance and then microwaved.

In England, a lot of people eat baked beans and toast for breakfast. That would be another one to try. Also keep in mind that you don't have to eat traditional "breakfast" foods for breakfast. Maybe some dinner leftovers would work better for you.

HTH

[SarahJ]

It might not be a problem with the carbs in the pancakes and oatmeal. I found this entry in Wikipedia the other day (trying to find natural ways of making myself sleep at night):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan#Dietary_sources

It has a list of foods that have tryptophan in them. Its thought this is what is in turkey that makes some people feel sleepy. Oats and bananas are among the foods listed.

[Sunny]

I usually have potatoes for breakfast, hash browns, mashed or home fried. Have not had any problems with energy.

[chrisv]

How about a breakfast burrito made with beans, salsa and hashbrowns? The frozen hashbrowns are pretty quick to cook.

I eat oatmeal, sometimes oatmeal mixed with cooked brown rice. But then I eat a large snack or an early lunch. I find I need to eat a lot in the morning, and I am not so hungry later in the day, compared to when I was eating a regular diet.

[SarahJ]

Sunny,

What are home fries? Are they sliced/julienned and "fried" in a non-stick skillet, like the hash browns Mary makes on the new DVD? They sound good!

[hope101]

Sounds like you might need slightly more protein in the morning. Apparently adding protein slows down digestion so foods last longer and the blood sugar spikes slower. I think the beans in various forms sounds good. Wanted to add to it quinoa as a breakfast cereal, or hummous in a wrap as options.

[Sunny]

I take potatoes and slice them in half then cut them into 1/4 slices and cook them with onion, garlic and peppers in a non- stick pan and some water with the lid on I stir them around about every 10 mins. till done. When the water evaporates I add a little more to steam the potatoes and other ingredients. The potatoes will get brown once they are cooked and the water is gone from the pan.

[happyalyssa]

Don't forget you can "scramble" tofu like eggs as well. Feel free to add onions, peppers, etc. to keep your veggie intake high.