11 Super Tasty Low Glycemic Breakfasts To Burn Fat and Feel Energized
- Autumn Bates, CCN, MS, BS, CPT
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
Want to know the best low glycemic breakfasts that actually taste good and support weight loss and wellness goals? These are the top low glycemic breakfasts that you need to try this week.
Low glycemic breakfasts aren't just for those with diabetes.
Low glycemic breakfasts have been life changing for me as a Nutritionist. While studying nutrition in college, I often would reach for something fast and easy like fruit and sugary yogurt. Although I don't have blood sugar control issues, I would definitely experience a blood sugar crash a few hours after my meal that would leave me moody and hungry (aka hangry).
For the last 8 years, I've heavily focused on low glycemic breakfasts to stabilize my blood sugar, feel more energized and improve my focus at work. A huge bonus: eating low glycemic breakfast foods made my 20 pound postpartum weight loss goal a lot easier to achieve.
Even though low glycemic breakfast foods have so many health and weight loss benefits, it often doesn't get the same respect as other more "trendy" nutrition meals, such as low carb, vegan, keto or carnivore.
In this post, I'm highlighting just how tasty and life changing a daily low glycemic breakfast can be. You'll find my top 11 delicious low glycemic breakfasts that you can experiment with and start reaping all the healthy benefits.
This post is all about the best low glycemic breakfasts.
Benefits of a Low Glycemic Diet
The glycemic index and glycemic load are both ways to measure how quickly a food raises your blood sugar level. If something has a high glycemic index or load, then this means it quickly raises your blood sugar. If it has a low glycemic index or load, then it means it has a minimal impact on blood sugar.
When you eat something that's high glycemic, the quick spike in blood sugar alerts your body that it needs to store those sugars ASAP. This alarm system can cause your body to overcompensate and bring your blood sugar down too low and result in a blood sugar crash.
Blood sugar crashes can make you feel moody, tired and hungry. It also makes you crave sugar like crazy.
This is why starting your day with a high glycemic breakfast can set you up for failure the rest of the day. After just an hour or so after your breakfast, you'll feel your energy crashing and want to reach for something that isn't in line with your health or weight loss goals, such as a sweet treat or more caffeine.
To help keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent a crash, it's crucial to stick to low glycemic foods. This can make you feel energized and prevent sugar cravings the rest of the day.
What are low glycemic breakfast foods?
Unfortunately, breakfast has been centered around very high glycemic foods. Typically, the more processed a food is, the higher glycemic it is. Think of foods like cereal, french toast, pancakes, grits, muffins and biscuits.
It's also important to note that the only foods that can truly spike blood sugar (and therefore be high glycemic load) are those that contain carbohydrates. Protein and fat both do not cause blood sugar to spike. In fact, protein and fat are very important for slowing down digestion of sugars and making the meal low glycemic.
This doesn't mean you have to avoid carbs completely, but there are a few nutrition guidelines you'll want to follow:
Stick to low glycemic carbs. These are typically less processed carbs, such as fruit, veggies and certain grains.
Center your meal around protein. Without protein, blood sugar can very quickly spike. I like to aim for at least 30 grams of protein at breakfast.
Balance it with healthy fats. Fats help to prevent hunger and stabilize blood sugar.
Some of the best low glycemic breakfast foods include:
eggs
greek yogurt
skyr
cottage cheese
real fermented whole wheat sourdough
paleo toast
avocado
berries
most whole fruit (not dried, juiced or made into a jam)
milk
kefir
The Best Low Glycemic Breakfasts
To inspire your health and weight loss journey, I've put together 11 of my top low glycemic breakfasts that will get you excited for your new morning routine. Enjoy!
Vanilla Protein Waffle
It might go without saying that a regular waffle isn't very low glycemic. Regular waffles are high in refined sugars and carbs that quickly spike blood sugar.
But as a kid, I always loved waffles so I wanted to create a recipe that mimicked the delicious breakfast without all the sugar.
My simple vanilla protein waffle recipe only uses three ingredients and comes with a whopping 26 grams of protein per serving!
It also happens to be a huge fan favorite recipe with our community.
Iced Chai Latte
Chai latte was my intro into the world of caffeine back in college. Going to school in Arizona, I would always opt for a frosty, iced chai latte. But one day I took a look at the nutrition facts and saw that it had 42 grams of sugar!!
Added sugar is one of the easiest ways to take a healthy meal and turn it into a high glycemic breakfast.
To fill my chai craving, I made a zero sugar iced chai latte that is perfect to go along with a low glycemic breakfast.
Detox Egg Bake
This meal is packed with protein from eggs and proscuitto, but it's also loaded with fiber from the chopped artichoke hearts. Fiber is another key feature in making the best low glycemic breakfast. Plus, fiber helps to feed the good bacteria in your body, which can promote gut health, too.
Grab the recipe HERE.
Sunrise Surprise Protein Smoothie
This is one of my all-time favorite smoothies. It's actually my take on a smoothie my 93 year old grandpa used to make me as a kid!
It uses creamy greek yogurt, coconut butter and hemp seeds for a tropical smoothie vibe. It also adds lemon juice, which helps to make this recipe even more blood sugar stabilizing.
Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Regular oatmeal tends to get a "health halo". Although it isn't necessarily a bad option when combined with greek yogurt, chia seeds and protein powder, it still isn't a very low glycemic breakfast.
That's why I developed my grain-free oatmeal instead for a warming oatmeal alternative. The texture is very similar to regular oatmeal, but with all the protein and fiber, you'll feel even more full and satisfied from this grain-free version.
Simple Homemade Grain-Free Granola
Regular granola combines oats and sugar, making it a very high glycemic breakfast food.
My grain-free granola recipe is super simple to throw together and uses low glycemic ingredients like toasted coconut chips, pumpkin seeds and cacao nibs.
Chocolate Covered Almond Smoothie
I'm very well known as the smoothie queen in my community! ;)
This recipe is a classic and simple blood sugar stabilizing protein smoothie that's perfect as a meal replacement. With just a few ingredients (that you probably already have in your pantry), you can whip up a tasty, protein-packed and low glycemic breakfast in minutes.
Curry Salad Breakfast Wrap
Looking for something more on the savory side? I love that this recipe can be prepped in advance and thrown into a wrap when you're ready to eat it.
I swapped out a typical high glycemic wheat wrap for a coconut wrap to keep this a low glycemic breakfast. You can also use other wraps like egg or cauliflower wraps, too.
Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes
These super fluffy protein pancakes also come with a "chocolate" greek yogurt topping for the ultimate, cozy and delicious breakfast. Each serving has over 40 grams of complete protein to make sure your blood sugar levels stay stable all morning long. Best part? It has zero grams of added sugar.
You'll have to taste it to believe just how good this is.
My Viral Cottage Cheese Bowl
This recipe continues to blow up on YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest years after I posted it. It has only three ingredients and it's shockingly tasty. Cottage cheese is also an excellent base to a low glycemic breakfast because it's rich in protein and very nutrient dense. Just make sure to opt for the full-fat version to get the most benefits!
Chocolate Pancake Protein Bar
I love a good protein pancake, but it's not always realistic to prep it fresh every single morning. This is where our chocolate pancake protein bar can be a complete game changer.
Just like all the recipes on this list, it has zero grams of added sugar and uses low glycemic ingredients like cottage cheese, protein powder and eggs.
Plus, it's light and fluffy and easy to meal prep for the entire week.
This post was all about the best low glycemic breakfasts that you NEED to try this week!
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