Breakfast Dilemma

Breakfast food- so very good. I have so many delicious, life-long favorites.

But then, when you take out everything made from wheat, all eggs and dairy, and cured meats... there's not much left!

Breakfast went from being one of my favorite parts of the day to a source of discouragement and frustration. And grief. The idea of a life without cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cinnamon-chip muffins, fruit-topped waffles...yes, this makes me sad. I try not to think about it.

I really try to adopt the Pollyanna approach to life: playing the "Glad Game." I'd rather look for what is still good than to spend too much time dwelling on what is lost.

The most common suggestion for alternative breakfasts is *smoothies*

I used to make smoothies often, as a quick, protein-rich breakfast on school mornings. Peanut butter-banana was our go-to.

Now, I can't eat peanut butter or bananas, so that just leaves milk. Somehow, I think that just running alternative milk in the blender won't magically change it into anything but bubbly milk.  ;)

Most people do smoothies with things like yogurt, greens, fruit, nut butters, and protein powders.

I can have one kind of coconut yogurt (good pro-biotics, zero protein), but my body panics if I give it raw greens, I have to be careful of fruit, have a tentative relationship with the one or two nut butters that work for me, and have yet to find a protein powder that actually fits my parameters.

I have been on a several-year journey with gluten-free baking. Cybele Pascal's book, "The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook," has been very helpful to me. Her flour mix is mostly rice flour and potato starch, and since potatoes and rice have recently left my diet, I've needed to adapt yet again.

I've been having success with the things I've figured out, and will share recipes in the near future. I do still have concerns about the glycemic impact of baked goods, even with flours that are supposed to cause less of a spike in blood sugar. But as I often say, "I have to eat something!"

Our sweet daughter Heather, working out her own food challenges, has been looking for ideas to help me. She recently tried a grain-free porridge, which gave me a new direction to explore. A new idea is such an exciting thing, in my restricted world! :)

As my very first Friday recipe, my next post will be the recipe I tried this week.