10 Sugar-Free Breakfasts – Kid Approved

Here are 10 sugar-free breakfasts your kids will actually eat! They are an easy start to your morning and a great way to stat the day!

In the month of February, we cut out all refined sugar. Keep in mind we have not cut out refined flour or gluten, so the only restriction in the below meals is refined sugar. We still eat maple syrup, honey and fruit.

Honestly, I prefer a savory breakfast. Sometimes even fruit is too “bright” for me in the morning. If I’m having something sweet, I prefer it to be more “warm” like maple syrup. I do serve fruit a lot at breakfast, though, as a side, because I like to incorporate fruit/veg with every meal. That doesn’t mean I succeed with that at every meal. But that’s the goal.

Breakfast tacos

I had a conversation with a man in the Austin airport once. We were in line for the Salt Lick Taco Bar and he asked me if the tacos were good here. I told him I traveled a lot for work and every time I was at this airport in the morning I got a breakfast taco from this bar. Because they were the best. 

“What’s the difference between a breakfast taco and a regular taco?” he asked.

It was one of those questions that can shatter the core of your world. You go through life knowing some innate truths. In Texas, we go through life knowing what a breakfast taco is. But perhaps it was not a universal concept.

“A breakfast taco has eggs?” I offered. He was not impressed with my knowledge.

In our house, if we’re having breakfast tacos, we generally like several different kinds:

• Bean and cheese (14 YO’s favorite.) (Notice the lack of eggs. Sorry, airport guy. I’m not just uninteresting; I’m also a liar.)
• Egg and cheese (11 YO’s favorite.)
• Bacon, egg and cheese (My husband’s favorite and, if we are eating out, the kind I always get because sausage is not uniform across the restaurant industry.)
• Sausage, egg and cheese (My favorite at home, because I can control the type of sausage used.)

What I like to do is set up a taco bar so everyone can make their own favorite and serve themselves. Served with salsa and full-fat yogurt or sour cream. 

Sugar Notes

As every southern girl does, I have always used the same sausage my mom does: the Jimmy Dean Regular tube-o-sausage. However, upon ingredient label inspection, I found that particular sausage has corn syrup and sugar in it (in small amounts). So, I’m on the search for an alternative. In the meantime, I’ll settle for bacon.

Bacon is not completely innocent either, though. A lot of bacon has sugar added during the curing process. Again, in small amounts. If you want to go completely sugar free, there are alternatives out there. Just be sure to read the labels.

Avocado toast

It took me a while to try avocado toast. But when I did, holy cow. It’s fantastic. We make it with sugar-free bread and top it with a fried egg. And add that fancy “Everything But the Bagel” seasoning if we have it. Or, if I’m feeling the need for some extra greens, I add those. With tomatoes.

Frittatas 

I try to make frittatas on the day when we are picking up groceries. That way, if we have any spinach, mushrooms,  bell pepper or tomatoes leftover from the week before, I can throw them in. The main staples of this are eggs, ham or bacon and cheese. Be careful, though, ham and bacon can have unexpected added sugars. Read your labels and make sure you are not falling prey to that trick. Served with a side of fruit.

Fried eggs, breakfast sausage, greens

Applegate makes a sugar free breakfast sausage that is yummy. This one is pretty quick to make, for busy mornings.

Homemade granola with yogurt and fruit 

It sounds crunchy, doesn’t it? Making your own granola? But honestly, it’s not that hard at all. My recipe is adapted from Lisa Leake’s from 100 Days of Real Food. I love making this in the mornings before the kids wake up, so they smell it cooking as they make their way down the stairs.

Oatmeal

Add some peanut butter or almond butter, ground flax seed, honey, fruit and nuts, and you have a very filling bowl of goodness.

(Sometimes Green) Smoothies

Researchers at Sweden’s Linköping University found that eating raw spinach in the form of a smoothie or juice is the best way to obtain the antioxidant lutein, which is a fat-soluble pigment found in dark green vegetables that can ease inflammation in immune cells.

I also read somewhere recently that getting hydration through a fruit smoothie could help your body during menstruation, because fruits hold a large amount of water in proportion to their weight, but I can’t recall the source for that. If I come across it again, I’ll link it here.

Either way, sometimes you just want to/have to eat on the go. And a smoothie is a great resource for that. On days when we think we have our lives together, we like to make a big batch and freeze individual portions in mason jars. If we know we are going to want a smoothie in the morning, we move it from the freezer to the fridge the night before, so it thaws by morning. That way, you only have to clean the blender one time, and it becomes a grab-and-go situation. 

During the pandemic, I’ve been taking walks or hikes with friends more. On the weekends, we try to hit the trails early, to avoid any crowds, so having something to grab before I head out is a great option.

Speaking of smoothie prepping, when I have some spinach that I haven’t used for the week, sometimes I put it in mason jars in the freezer in a not-mixed form. Sometimes I add bananas or strawberries that are about to go bad as well. It’s easy to pull these out and add milk or yogurt right to the mason jar. Then dump into the blender. One of the things I love about this is that the mason jar is already nice and cold, so when you pour your smoothie back into it, it stays colder longer.

I do like a good peanut butter banana smoothie sometimes too. Sans greens.

And here’s some more sweet offerings. Be sure to get 100% maple syrup, not pancake syrup, which is usually just refined sugar. Real maple syrup is more expensive, but in my opinion, you need less of it to sweeten the meal.

Pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries

I have a great pancake recipe that calls for regular flour. But my kids also like the Simple Mills Almond Flour Pancakes in a box. I’ve tried making almond flour pancakes on my own before but I can’t get it right – something about the type of almond flour I’m using? I don’t know. Until then, this box of just-add-eggs pancakes I get from my monthly Thrive Market order will suffice. Also – sometimes, you just don’t want to make something from scratch. Amiright?

Acai bowls

This is another one of those recently popular things I didn’t try for a while. But when I did – WOW. It’s so good. We buy a mix from Thrive Market. If you add nuts and unsweetened coconut to the top, I swear it’s like eating ice cream. 

Breakfast cookies 

What’s the difference between a breakfast cookie and a regular cookie? Eh, airport guy? Same answer: These cookies are for breakfast.

When I make a batch of these, I leave the pan on the counter and my family eats on them all day. They are usually gone by the time the kitchen gets cleaned at night. Get the recipe here.