I get asked this question very frequently, especially from people who worry about finding time to prepare an egg-free, nut-free meal in the morning. The foods that we are used to associating with breakfast tend to be fairly quick to prepare. Many Paleo enthusiasts eat eggs and veggies as a breakfast staple, with the occasional nut-based treat like pancakes or muffins. These are off limits for me and my body really needs protein in the morning.
My staple breakfast protein is sausage, usually homemade. I mix seasonings with ground pasture pork, ground grass-fed beef, or ground grass-fed beef heart (which I grind myself in a food processor), form patties (typically about 6oz each) and then bake in the oven at 400F for 18-20 minutes (less work than minding a pan on the stovetop). I don’t have a lot of time to prepare breakfast in the mornings, so I make 5-6 patties at once and reheat the leftovers on subsequent mornings. I often even make and cook my sausage in the evening (while I’m making supper and in the kitchen anyway) to make my mornings easier. I also keep some nightshade-free grass-fed beef/pastured pork farmer’s sausage that I buy from a local farmer in my freezer for mornings where I forgot to make homemade sausage. I occasionally also enjoy kipper for breakfast, but find this more time consuming to eat (because of all those little bones) so I reserve it for morning where I have more time.
My most common breakfast veggie is homemade sauerkraut (it’s fast and tastes great with sausage). I also enjoy leftover vegetables from supper the night before, raw spinach or kale, and homemade vegetable juices (which I also make in advance to save time in the morning). My two favorite vegetable juice combinations are 1) beet, carrot, kale and lemon; and 2) cucumber, lemon, kale, and a little bit of apple (often made into a smoothie with fresh spinach). I find the sugar content of the juices can hit me fairly quickly (without the fiber to slow down the glucose absorption) so I keep my glasses small and typically don’t eat fruit on the same mornings I have vegetable juice.
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It’s taken a while to get used to these foods as breakfast foods; but now, I really enjoy my breakfast. Here are four recent breakfasts.
Beef heart sausage patty, red cabbage sauerkraut, raw kale, half an orange, and a cup of tea.
Sausage from my local farmer, spinach braised in the sausage fat, sauerkraut, beet veggie juice, and a cup of tea.
Beef sausage patty, red cabbage sauerkraut, cucumber juice made into a smoothie with spinach, and a cup of tea.
Kipper, leftover cauliflower rice, leftover sweet potato greens, and a cup of tea.
TPV Episode 3 Show Notes: Transitioning Kids to Paleo
This is exactly how I eat breakfast! homemade sausage and kraut all the way 🙂 Sometimes I make a mediterranean salad with salmon or chicken and have that for a few mornings. I also love my bone broth!
Wow! Believe it or not, I’ve fallen in love with your breakfasts! It’s a great idea to use homemade sausages, and to bake a bunch at once. I have one type I make regularly, but I definitely need to find recipes to add heart or liver to some others. Though I don’t have a food processor or meat grinder right now.
I also love the idea of combining sausage with sauerkraut, vegetables, and vegetable juice or fruit. Your breakfasts are beautiful and flavorful!
Hello! Your website has been SO encouraging to me, as I’ve had pretty bad psoriasis for many years. Your success gives me hope!
I have a serious question: what is your reason for drinking juices? It was recommended to me, but upon further research (especially in the Paleo spectrum of the web), I am very unconvinced it will do any good, and that it’s a lot healthier to just eat your veggies with some meat. Help! I’m actually supposed to be doing a juice cleanse at the moment, but I’m afraid it would do more harm than good.
I do not think juice cleanses make sense (its a good wqy to make a drastic change to break some bad habit for people who have been struggling, while also flooding the system with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but if you’re coming from a Paleo diet, the sugar load that these green juices provide can put alot of stress on the system). I drink a little veggie juice a couple of times per week because I like it, especially in the morning, and it does increase my veggie intake (but also makes those sugars more easily absorbed, which isn’t good for me). I usually have a 4 oz glass with meat and sauerkraut in the morning, if I do it. I think incorporating it into your diet when you’re eating lots of veggies and meat is fine, and for those with very serious digestive disorders, removing the fiber can be very helpful (insoluble fiber and FODMAPs can make whole veggies tough for some people). If you’re digesting whole veggies well though, there isn’t good argument for juice (except maybe if you like it, like I do).
Thanks so much for your reply! I don’t really like the juices anyway, and wasn’t very comfortable with it because of the sugar content. It was my naturopathic doctor who suggested it, but I don’t think she’s totally on board with Paleo. I’ll just continue to stick with the AIP and other detox regimes instead of the cleanse. 🙂
Ummm… Anything Not Include sauerkraut Or BeeTs?? Yuck!!
So the sausage from your local farmer doesn’t have any nightshades?
That particular one didn’t, but they’ve stopped making it. 🙁
What a bummer! I bet that heaven! I want some sausage SOOOOOO bad!!!!
Thanks for the suggestions! I’m not a breakfast person but have recently changed to the Paleo diet due to the start of Multiple Sclerosis. I’m excited to study your book and get cooking with your recipes! Thanks for this website and all the great information. It can be overwhelming at times with all the different sites but I love yours and the way the information is presented.
Do you use store bought sauerkraut? The only way I have ever had it was putting it in a crockpot with pork. Do you cook yours?
I make my own homemade (ingredients are just cabbage and unrefined salt and about 10 days), and always eat it raw (cooking kills the probiotics).
I am eager to try making sausage with heart in order to try to get some organ meats in! Do you have a particular blend of spices that you use to make your heart sausage? Or can I just swap ground heart for ground beef in one of your other sausage recipes?
Yes, you cab swap beef for beef heart in any sausage recipe. For seasonings that pair well with heart, see this recipe: https://www.thePaleomom.com/2012/04/recipe-barbecued-beef-heart-kabobs.html – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Is Extra Virgin Coconut Oil AIP friendly?
Would you advise against doing a juice cleanse while on AIP? Been considering doing one for a day or two at the most. I was looking into BluePrint or Suja.
I started AIP last week and love how I feel already! I dont understand why I cant just have fruit for breakfast? That normally gets me through until lunch at 12/1pm. Why do I NEED meat for breakfast if I still have 2 other full meals in the day?
If you feel good without meat for breakfast, then by all means eat what you want. But there is a lot of science that supports a high protein breakfast. -Kiersten
Can you refer me to a link/article that explains more the science of the meat/protein element of AIP?
Thanks!
what kind of tea;)
What non-meat protein can I have for breakfast as I don’t eat meat?
Do you eat fish? It is very difficult to do the autoimmune protocol successfully without meat, but it can be done with an added emphasis on seafood. -Kiersten
What kind of tea is allowed on the AIP diet? Thank you! I have Hashimoto’s and have been progressivly feeling worse and worse as time goes by, I will be starting the AIP diet on June 30th and am trying to gather ideas to make the transition a smooth one.