How to compose a healthy ketogenic breakfast?
Making any keto breakfast is easy – you just need to get rid of carbohydrate sources and bet on high-fat products. But composing a healthy keto breakfast requires a bit more commitment.
Breakfast on the keto diet is often associated with bacon-fried scrambled eggs, but this is not at all the best or healthiest meal to start the day. If you want to follow a low-carbohydrate diet, it’s worth making sure you have the right ingredients and the right balance of your fatty acid profile. It is not enough to “eat more fat and exclude carbohydrates” to make a keto meal healthy and recommended.
The biggest problem in balancing a ketogenic diet is the incorrect supply of the individual fatty acid fractions. In the keto diet, as well as in keto breakfasts, there are usually too many saturated fatty acids, salt and processed meat.
A healthy and balanced keto breakfast is one that follows the principles of the Mediterranean diet. It provides healthy unsaturated fatty acids, fibre, protein and antioxidants. When composing keto breakfasts, it is worth observing the following rules:
- Always include a vegetable or low-carbohydrate fruit in your meal, which are sources of vitamins.
- Avoid excess salt – if your breakfast ingredients already include salted meat or cheese, don’t add extra salt, and choose fresh vegetables or low-carbohydrate fruits, such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries or avocados, instead of salty pickles and tinned vegetables.
- To enrich your meal with valuable fibre (which is also a carbohydrate, but you don’t have to shy away from it in keto) use psyllium, plantain or low-starch vegetables, such as spinach, celery, cucumbers, cauliflower, sprouts or broccoli.
- Beware of excess processed meat (cold cuts, smoked products), which has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the likely carcinogens [1].
- Sources of the healthiest fats and the basis of meals should be olive oil, avocados, unrefined plant oils, nuts, seeds, grains, nut creams and products made from these ingredients.
- Use natural spices and herbs – they are mostly low in carbohydrates, they enhance the flavour of keto food, and provide healthy antioxidants.
See also: “Healthy Alternatives to Sugar, or Substances That Will Make Your Diet Sweeter Without Ruining Your Health”.
Keto breakfast recipes
Below are recipes for the best quick low-carb breakfasts. They provide a solid dose of protein, rely on healthy fats and have a maximum of 12 grams of net carbohydrates per serving.
Green keto pancakes with salmon filling
Ingredients / 2 pancakes with filling:
- 3 eggs,
- 120 g of fresh spinach,
- 1 tablespoon of Greek yoghurt,
- 30 g of almond flour,
- 10 g of plantain,
- 100 g of cream cheese,
- 100 g of smoked salmon,
- 100 g of fresh cucumber,
- 2 tablespoons of marinated capers,
- 1 small red onion,
- seasonings: a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.
Preparation:
- Blend the spinach until smooth.
- Add eggs and Greek yoghurt and mix thoroughly with a kitchen whisk.
- Add almond flour, plantain and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan. Pour half of the resulting pancake mixture (per pancake) into the pan and fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Flip and fry the pancake on the other side for about 2 minutes.
- Spread the finished pancake with cream cheese. Lay out the salmon, the feather-cut onion and capers. Sprinkle generously with pepper and wrap.
- Repeat the steps to prepare the second pancake.
Macronutrients / 1 pancake with additions:
- Energy: 513 kcal
- Protein: 30.5 g
- Fat: 37 g
- Total carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fibre: 3 g
- Net carbohydrates: 10 g
Keto breakfast cocoa smoothie
Ingredients / 1 serving:
- 250 ml of sugar-free coconut drink,
- 120 g of soft, ripe avocado,
- 10 g of natural cocoa,
- 1 teaspoon of chia seeds,
- 80 g of natural tofu (preferably soft silken type),
- a pinch of cinnamon.
Preparation:
- Peel the avocado. Crumble the tofu in your hands into smaller pieces.
- Put all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend thoroughly until the smoothie has a smooth texture.
Macronutrients / 1 serving:
- Energy: 384 kcal
- Protein: 16.2 g
- Fat: 29 g
- Total carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fibre: 6 g
- Net carbohydrates: 9 g
Quick keto breakfast granola from a pan with Greek yoghurt and fruit
Ingredients / 2 servings:
- 20 g of almond flakes,
- 20 g of walnuts,
- 10 g of sunflower seeds,
- 10 g of pumpkin seeds,
- 10 g of coconut shreds,
- 20 ml of coconut oil,
- half a teaspoon of cinnamon,
- half a teaspoon of vanilla extract,
- optional (as a sweetener): a tablespoon of powdered erythrol or half a teaspoon of powdered stevia,
- 400 g of Greek yoghurt,
- 150 g of frozen raspberries.
Preparation:
- In a frying pan, heat coconut oil.
- Add all the nuts and grains: almond flakes, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and coconut shreds.
- Fry in the pan for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the ingredients are browned.
- Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and, optionally, sweetener.
- Fry for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently so the granola doesn’t burn.
- Allow the granola to cool. Serve it with Greek yoghurt and low-carbohydrate fruits (after defrosting them).
- You can make a larger batch of granola right away and store it in a dry jar for up to a dozen days.
Macronutrients / 1 serving:
- Energy: 545 kcal
- Protein: 16 g
- Fat: 44 g
- Total carbohydrates: 23.5 g
- Fibre: 11.8 g
- Net carbohydrates: 11.7 g
Keto lettuce wedges with tuna paste
Ingredients / 1 serving:
- 150 g of tuna in its own juice,
- 30 g of mayonnaise (without sugar),
- 30 g of olives,
- 30 g of grated cheese,
- 1 red bell pepper,
- approx. 5-10 leaves of cos lettuce,
- salt, freshly ground pepper.
Preparation:
- Slice the peppers into thin bars.
- Cut the olives into pieces.
- Mix the tuna with grated cheese, olives and mayonnaise. Season the resulting paste with freshly ground pepper.
- Wash the lettuce leaves. Fill each leaf with tuna paste. In each wedge, lay out bars of peppers. Wrap.
Macronutrients / 1 serving:
- Energy: 547 kcal
- Protein: 43 g
- Fat: 36.5 g
- Total carbohydrates: 15.4 g
- Fibre: 5.6 g
- Net carbohydrates: 9.8 g
Breakfast kefta from a pan
Ingredients / 2 servings:
- 200 g of ground beef,
- 1 large onion,
- seasonings: ¼ teaspoon of cumin, ½ teaspoon of sweet paprika, ¼ teaspoon of ground coriander seeds, ¼ teaspoon of ginger, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, pinch of salt, 3 cloves of garlic,
- 20 ml of olive oil,
- 400 g of tinned tomatoes,
- 4 eggs,
- 4 handfuls of leaf parsley or coriander.
Preparation:
- Season the beef with paprika, cumin, coriander seeds, ginger and salt. Form the beef into balls about 2 cm in diameter.
- Chop up the onion.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Put the meat balls in the heated pan and fry them for about 6 minutes, until browned on each side.
- Add the onion and sauté with the meat until soft.
- Add tomatoes, pressed garlic and cinnamon. Stir, cover the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Uncover the pan. Using a kitchen spatula, scrape away the sauce in four places to create dents for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the designated places and cover the dish with a lid. Simmer for about 4-5 minutes, until the egg white is set.
- Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley or coriander and ground pepper.
Macronutrients / 1 serving:
- Energy: 545 kcal
- Protein: 41 g
- Fat: 34 g
- Total carbohydrates: 14.3 g
- Fibre: 7.5 g
- Net carbohydrates: 6.8 g
Quick vegan keto breakfast – flaxseed pudding
Ingredients:
- 40 g of flaxseed,
- 200 ml of unsweetened plant-based drink, e.g. soy,
- a tablespoon of any ketogenic sweetener, e.g. powdered erythrol,
- 5 drops of vanilla extract,
- 5 g of cocoa,
- 80 g of frozen strawberries,
- 20 g of almond flakes.
Preparation:
- Grind the flaxseed fresh, for example in a blender or coffee grinder.
- Mix the flaxseed with plant-based drink, erythrol (or other sweetener), vanilla extract and cocoa.
- Transfer to a bowl or jar and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight). You can stir the pudding from time to time.
- Before serving, thaw the frozen strawberries in a saucepan. Pour the resulting sauce over the flaxseed pudding and sprinkle with almond flakes.
Macronutrients:
- Energy: 416 kcal
- Protein: 15.8 g
- Fat: 29.1 g
- Total carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fibre: 18 g
- Net carbohydrates: 12 g
……….
References:
- WHO, International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat, 2015; IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans 2019.