Six simple, protein-packed Paleo breakfast ideas to get you going in the morning

WHEN I changed my diet to adhere to the principles of Paleo, one of the hardest meals to adjust was breakfast. My favourite daily ritual had become my early morning stop-off to get a tall cappuccino and a chocolate croissant at the bakery next to my office.

On the days I preferred to have something savoury, my breakfast of choice almost always included bread and cheese – both of which are on the Paleo lifestyle’s red “don’t eat” list.

A good way to ensure your breakfast keeps you going until lunch time is to have a meal packed with protein. Boiled eggs and ham: This is probably the simplest and easiest to prep – and something I often pack in my lunch bag. I usually boil four to six eggs at a time and keep them for a couple of days. They hit the spot and are easy to eat when you’re feeling peckish.

You don’t have to pair your eggs with ham – you can also opt for bacon, shaved chicken, tuna… you get the idea. Or you can omit the meat and have just two eggs.

I try to include plant-based food with every meal, so my boiled eggs and ham are often accompanied by cherry tomatoes and baby spinach. Seed crackers and nut butter: If you’re someone who enjoys having crackers for breakfast and are struggling to imagine your morning meal without them, try your favourite topping on seed crackers instead. Beware, they are pricey.

I also love peanut butter – which is not allowed on Paleo. When I made the switch, I started using other nut butters as a substitute. Cashew nut, almond and macadamia nut butters are expensive, so save them as a treat. Nuts and biltong: This is my breakfast of choice. After a tough morning workout, I found I wanted something that felt light to eat, but was also sustaining. Beware though: nuts are high in calories, so I restrict my portion size to about 30g, with a similar size serving of biltong. Sometimes I add fresh fruit, or a small piece of dried fruit. This too, however, is not something you want to be binging on because dried fruit has a high sugar content.

Curried mince and fried egg: Mince is one of the staples of my meal prep as it can go a long way and it’s versatile. I make little meatballs because they’re handy to have around when I need to add some protein to a salad or as a high protein snack.

And if you’ve made curried mince, the leftovers pair deliciously with a fried or soft-poached egg. Fruit and protein: Before I cut bread from my diet, one of my favourite sandwiches was bacon and banana between two slices of white toast. Now I often have it in a deconstructed form which a friend generously once called an “artisanal bacon and banana bowl”. Sometimes I’ll drizzle it with honey. Sometimes I’ll pair it with a slice of grain-free bread.

Another favourite is a summer plate made up of sliced peach and prosciutto or similar cured meat. Coffee with a twist: You might have heard of bullet coffee or bulletproof coffee. Whatever you call it, the premise is that you’re spicing up your coffee with some butter or ghee. Those who drink the stuff swear it sustains them until lunchtime and wards off cravings. I enjoy Titanium Coffee which I found on livingspot.co.za. This recipe adds a raw egg to the mix. While I do love it, I don’t use it as a replacement for breakfast but rather as an accompaniment to something more substantial.

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