"Steak and Eggs" image by stu_spivack used via creative commons license

Now is a good time to rethink what breakfast really means. Breakfast or “break fast” doesn’t mean pancakes or Cheerios, it simply means to break the fast your body has been on since your evening meal the night before. And that means anything goes. Leftovers from the night before. A salad. Some fruit. A traditional breakfast of steak and eggs or bacon and eggs or an omelette of course falls under the Paleo diet as well.

One of our favourite breakfasts here at FridgeForagers.com is simply to saute some onions and mushrooms along with some chopped up cooked steak from dinner the night before and serve over some scrambled or poached eggs. It takes, at most 10 minutes to make, and is a satisfying meal that will keep you going for hours without the mid-morning carb crash associated with grain heavy breakfasts like bagels or cereal.

We’ve gathered up some links to other Paleo diet friendly breakfast recipes from around the web for you to try:

• Curried Beef, Broccoli, Mushroom Frittata Muffins
• Baked egg in an avocado
• Eggs cooked in bell pepper or onion rings
• Zucchini pancakes
• Eggs baked in bacon baskets
• Microwave scrambled egg in a mug You can make this in 2 minutes!
• Banana cinna-roll smoothie
• Green smoothie
• Blueberry crumble-top muffins – uses coconut and almond flour. Paleo!

Giving up grains means no more bread, donuts, cookies, pie, cake, crackers, popcorn… the list is too horrifying to continue.

Giving up sugar means no more candy, chocolate, soda, cookies, pie… again too horrifying to continue!

Giving up potatoes means no more fries, chips, potato skins, tater tots… are you sensing a theme here?

Well before you give up on Paleo completely and head down the closest aisle of bad decisions, we’ve put together a list of some Paleo friendly snack options for those of us who just need something to munch while we watch tv or hang out with friends.

The aisle of bad decisions

Paleo Friendly Snack Ideas

• Berries – cherries, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
• Nuts – almonds, cashews, pecans (remember no peanuts – peanuts are legumes not nuts)
• Fruit – any kind but we particularly love apples sliced with a wedge of cheddar on top
• Eggs – hard boiled eggs and deviled eggs make great snacks
• Veggies – veggies and dip is a classic snack
• Cheese – if you’re not avoiding dairy, a few ounces of good quality cheese is a satisfying snack
• Kale Chips – baked kale chips – sounds weird but surprisingly good!
• Beef Jerky – preferably your own homemade jerky not store-bought jerky filled with nitrates and additives.
• Pork Rinds – preferably your own homemade pork rinds
• Chocolate Covered Bacon – chocolate covered bacon – I had to say it twice

For more Paleo Snacks Mark’s Daily Apple has a great post on Paleo Snacks which includes quick recipes for Primal Veggie chips, Primal Trail Mix, Better-Than-Store-Bought Apple Chips, Blueberry “Candies” and more.

Image by Robotskirts on Flickr.com via creative commons license

Paleo Friendly Eggplant Lasagna

Here’s a basic Paleo friendly lasagna recipe for those who, like me, miss pasta!
You can change this up and customize it to your own taste by adding mushrooms, spinach and other veggies; using ground pork, ground turkey or no ground meat at all; layering some ricotta cheese; adding different spices, etc. Or use your own favourite lasagna recipe and make it Paleo by substituting the eggplant layers instead of pasta noodles.

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 eggplants, thinly sliced length-wise (you can substitute zucchini if you prefer)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large can of no sugar added tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• Packet of dry Italian dressing seasoning
• Your favorite cheeses (shredded or thinly sliced)
• Garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

• Dip the sliced eggplant into beaten egg, and then dip in parmesan cheese and lightly fry in hot oil until the parmesan is golden. These will become your lasagna “noodles” in the recipe.
• Cook up the ground beef, onion and peppers in the bottom of a lightly oiled saucepan until cooked thoroughly. Drain any liquid.
• Into the ground beef mixture add one large can of tomato sauce, a dry packet of Italian dressing seasoning mix, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer and then remove from heat.
• In a lightly greased lasagna pan layer eggplant,  sauce, cheese
• Repeat layering two more times and then bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted to a golden brown.