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OT: cheap(er) and easy Gluten/Dairy free breakfast; such a thing?
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Right now 5 out of 8 of us eat gluten free, 3 are dairy free. We do oatmeal for breakfast, but 3 of us can’t eat regular oats, they have to be gluten free, and they are really expensive. Then they get a bowl of gluten free Chex after a couple bowls of oatmeal. Does anyone have ideas for the ones who can’t do oats? I know eggs seem like a cheaper option, but I get up early enough as it is to exercise/shower, get oatmeal made before school, etc. What do you all do? Thanks!
Could you maybe do a crockpot oatmeal overnight? I haven’t done that, but I’ve heard it mentioned here in other threads. Maybe someone can post a recipe link or talk about how that is done. That might free up enough time in the morning for you to make eggs.
I don’t know how old your eldest child is, but might he or she be able to take over the making of oatmeal or eggs for you, with supervision while you are making the other item?
Sorry I don’t have any other suggestions!
I always soak our oats a la Nourishing Traditions overnight. They cook up in less than 5 minutes the next morning.
Could you make homemade coconut milk and use it as a smoothie base? Smoothies can be a very quick and nutritious breakfast, provided you add a bit of fat (1/2 an avocado or 2 TBS coconut oil) and protein (chia or flax seeds, a raw egg–only if from a trusted source, or even some dairy free protein powder).
What about fruit cobblers with a crumble topping made from oats and nuts?
Both of my children can fix eggs without my help. They are 9 and 10. Could you train an older child to be in charge of making eggs?
Quiche is another breakfast idea that you can make the night before. You don’t have to add cheese, especially if you fill it with cooked veggies like onion, peppers, spinach, or sweet potatoes. I’ve use coconut milk in place of cream with success.
Here are some other ideas:
I make egg and turkey sausage ‘muffins’ and freeze them. You can also make scrambled eggs at night and reheat them in the morning. Something I have heard is good but haven’t tried yet is chia seed pudding – just google for the recipe. You make it in a jar and stick it in the fridge so it’s ready when you get up in the morning. It seems like you need to incorporate some protein because oatmeal and checks just aren’t going to fill them up all alone. Maybe cook up some turkey bacon or sausage to go along with their cereal? You could add some pea protein to their oatmeal or healthy nuts like walnuts if they aren’t allergic. A crustless quiche or frittata is something you can make at the beginning of the week and then just eat as you go throughout the week. Sorry I don’t have recipes but you know how many paleo recipes there are to choose from!
If you’re really wanting to stick with your oatmeal but add variety, try stirring different things into it. I always add some fat, whether a pat of butter or a TBS of coconut oil. My kids’ favorite oatmeal has butter, a splash of cream, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and either raw honey or coconut sugar. I add variety by stirring in a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree or apple butter or cutting up 1/2 a banana on top or adding raisins. Slivered almonds, walnuts, or peanut butter would be a good way to add protein. Carbs are cheap, but unfortunately, they don’t keep children satiated and full. Or add a side of full fat yogurt. We use plain full fat yogurt sweetened with liquid stevia to avoid lots of sugar.
If we have leftover oatmeal, I save it for the next day. Then stir in an egg and make “patties” out of the mixture. Fry in a skillet until somewhat crispy on both sides. My kids love to dip these “fried oatmeal cookies” as they call them in maple syrup.
I feel your pain of the same old-same old. We do GF cereal on Sunday mornings (and rare other mornings).
Stove top oatmeal twice a week.
Scrambled eggs / dippy eggs / or an egg casserole the other mornings.
Every once in a while GF pancakes with dippy eggs. But few of my girls actually like the GF pancakes and I am NOT whipping up a batch of GF and a batch of regular!!!
Not wanting to move off-topic too much here, but Lindsey, could you comment as to whether there is a particular reason for using liquid Stevia over powdered/granulated? (love your suggestion for oatmeal/egg “patties” too! thanks!)
In addition to the great ideas above, some make-ahead meal ideas:
– quiche, as Lindsey suggested… you can easily do it crustless, just add a little GF flour to the egg mixture if it’s too “wet” around the edges. If the dairy is a lactose or casein issue, you can use heavy cream in it instead of milk–no casein or lactose there.
– GF scotch eggs–wrap hardboiled eggs in uncooked sausage meat and bake in the oven. They reheat perfectly, or are good cold.
– potato pancakes or zucchini fritters–they’re fine cold, or you can reheat and serve with applesauce and/or sour cream.
– breakfast hash–potatoes or other root veggies plus some diced ham, bacon, or sausage.
– baked custard–you can make it with regular or coconut milk. Pumpkin custard is yummy in the fall 🙂
For quick breakfasts, there’s also cream of rice cereal, hardboiled eggs, cheese and fruit…
You can make a big batch of sweet potato hash (dice sweet potato, coat with oil and bake 425 for 20-25 mins) and store in freezer bags. You can add sausage, bacon, kale, fried eggs, apple, etc.
Plantains make a quick pancake too…freeze well if you wanted a bigger batch.
Angelina,
We’ve been stevia users since 2010 and have tried all the brands, powders, and liquids. We’ve settled on the NuNaturals liquid because we like its taste best. No bitterness. And I like knowing how many “drops” to use in certain things. So, there’s no reason other than taste that we prefer the liquid. No health benefits of liquid over powder that I know of!
I have found it works best for me to cook up our egg casserole, quiche, frittata about the same time dinner is going. Fortunately my kids will eat it cold, especially because it just appears on the table bright and early in the morning. We use an assortment of vegetables. Sometimes we change it up with fruit, bacon, or sausage.
I have also found when my kids are begging for pancakes, muffins, bread, or fritters, they are more than happy to make them in the afternoon. They can hardly wait for the next morning.
My kids also like to make some homemade granola out of seeds, but this can get a bit expensive. It is a fun treat.
I also try to have squash, plantains, or potatoes readily available for breakfast. This usually means I cook up a few on one night, along with the egg casserole, and when there are moans that breakfast was too small, we dish out the squash and potatoes. The plantains we will just cook up in the morning, but the kids love them so they are willing to wait.
We can’t do any oats, but can you do steel cut oats? There are some great overnight recipes for steel cut oats.
Here are some Paleo “porridge” ideas that look frugal as well:
Butternut Squash or Pumpkin Porridge
Chocolate Slow Cooker Oatmeal (not Paleo, obviously)
As a child, my mother would warm up white rice that we had leftover from dinner the night before (cooked w/ water not broth). Then she would add milk, cinnamon, and sugar over the top. You could do honey and coconut or almond milk instead for dairy free.
And you can use quinoa as a very high protein oat replacer. You’d probably have to cook them separately, but you could mix quinoa and oats together and then serve with berries, honey, nuts, or whatever you guys like. Quinoa is a fairly inexpensive way to add a complete protein. Or just make a porridge out of quinoa on its own.
We stick to eggs, yogurt, and oatmeal for breakfast most days. Once a week, I usually make a protein and fat-packed smoothie. And occasionally I’ll make a loaf of Paleo banana or pumpkin bread to be served alongside yogurt or eggs. Grain-free pancakes and waffles are too expensive for me to make regularly, since most recipes call for a ton of eggs, and our eggs cost us a pretty penny. I made a grain-free chocolate granola back in the day that was TO DIE FOR. It was made from all different kinds of nuts with coconut and Enjoy Life chocolate chunks. I ate that stuff like crazy. And then I woke up and realized that it was costing me almost $20 to make a quart of granola…sigh.
We’re gluten/dairy free here too. The past few weeks I’ve had a baking day (or spread out over a few days) and have made double batches of breakfast cookies, muffins, and such. For breakfast each morning we grab a bag of pre-baked goodies, make a smoothie, and add some fruit. We also have days where we make scrambled eggs or oatmeal. If we’re having rice for dinner, I’ll cook extra and make ‘egg rice’ for breakfast – Warm up the rice in a skillet, crack eggs on top and mix. Cook and stir until eggs are done. It makes the rice yellow!
We are DF/GF as well. I’m a huge fan of smoothies! I use either Almond or coconut milk, and all frozen fruit (makes it so much thicker and creamier) and generally a nutbutter for protien. I add raw cacao in mine just about every day unliess I’m making my pumpkin pie smoothie. It gives me way more energy than coffee. (Actually, since having my son 2 years ago, I still pretty much only drink decaf when I do have coffee).
My daughter LOVES sausage for breakfast. So I get the all natural, GF Adiel’s Chicken Apple Sausages from Costco. I dice up a whole package and I stirfry 1-2 sweet potatos and apples together and then toss in the diced sausage and maybe a splash of OJ and a little salt and pepper. It’s very tasty and we always have leftovers so breakfast is covered for 2 days. (These are the full size sausages, not the itty bitty breakfast sausage size).
Have you tried Organic Oats? They are cheaper then the “Gluten Free” ones and they don’t seem to both my son where as the regualr oats do. And you can generally find organic oats for a fairly low price in the bulk food section of your local healthfood store. (Ours is about $1.22/lb).
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