A low-carb diet is a preferred way for many people to lose weight and to maintain weight loss while being able to enjoy many of their favorite foods. Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day, and dieters are encouraged to never skip breakfast in an attempt to cut calories, according to the American Council on Exercise. A good low-carb breakfast will include moderate protein and fat, and a small amount of carbohydrates.
Benefits
A low-carb breakfast will keep you feeling full and prevent you from overeating for the rest of the day. A study published in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" reported that women who ate eggs for breakfast stayed full longer and ate less than women who ate a bagel with the same amount of calories.
Eggs and Bacon
Some favorite choices for a low-carb breakfast are traditional staples found often in American kitchens. Eggs, bacon and sausage are low carb and are widely available at restaurants. There are many ways to cook eggs, from a crustless quiche to scrambled eggs to hard boiled. Cheese, milk, or cream can be added to scrambled eggs for added flavor. Bacon and sausage are popular breakfast meats, but any meat is a good low-carb choice for breakfast.
Smoothies
Many people love the ease and convenience of a smoothie for breakfast. If you make smoothies at home, you can control how much fruit you use in order to keep the carb count low. Smoothies can be made with a base of water, milk, coconut milk, or a mixture of water and heavy cream.
For one person, 1 cup of liquid is needed. To that base you can add protein powder of any flavor you choose and a single serving of fruit such as frozen strawberries. Extra ingredients that you may want to consider include almond butter, peanut butter, yogurt, sugar-free flavored syrups, or even spinach. Adding a cup of spinach to a smoothie neither alters the taste nor raises the carb count significantly. Adding the spinach will give you a serving of vegetables.
Remember, a low-carb diet is not necessarily a low-fat diet, so if you make a smoothie for breakfast, include some healthy fat in it. You can accomplish this by using cream, full-fat milk, yogurt, or by adding a nut butter.
Low-Carb Pancakes and Baked Goods
It is possible to make tasty low-carb pancakes. There are many variations available on the internet. At the grocery store, you can find low-carb baked goods and baking mixes, including bread mix, muffins, pancake mix, and biscuit mix.
Using these baked goods and mixes will help you maintain your low-carb diet.
On the Go
For a low-carb breakfast on the go, you can prepare foods ahead of time at home. You can make portable egg and sausage muffins by mixing 6 eggs, 1/4 pound cooked ground meat or sausage, 1/4 cup cheese, and a touch of salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture evenly into 6 greased muffin tins or paper muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes. Hard boiled eggs are another great portable choice.
You can also utilize the many low-carb nutrition bars and pre-made shakes available at grocery stores. Keeping a few bars or shakes at work is a great way to avoid snacking on the typically higher carb offerings found in most snack machines and break rooms.
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