Gluten Free: Breakfast on the go

Oh, breakfast. Why do you have to come so early in the day? I’m not a fan of eating in the morning. However, I know that I should eat something to kick off the day. After getting moving in the gym, I’ve noticed that eating a bit of something really does help. Now I pack a little breakfast, lunch and an afternoon handful of almonds for a snack.

My day is probably much like yours -sans the freedom to run to the bathroom when nature calls versus when the bell rings. 🙂 Leaving the house by 7:00AM (if I’m on time!), I’ve been getting better at packing something to keep me moving. This packing is making my long day go a little easier. Not to mention the afternoon meetings during which my boss often orders pizza or cinnamon rolls for everyone. And may I just say this: being trapped with 100 people in a high school classroom with 20 piping hot pizzas at 3:00 PM is NOT fun. Well, at least it wasn’t fun before I started planning my meals/snacks a bit better. And to be honest, I ‘d much rather be eating the Asian pear or the almonds that I’ve brought for my midafternoon snack than pack on the calories with pizza. (Or at least this is my mantra when the pizza smells overtake me…..LOL).

I thought I would make this post quick and easy. Just a list of what I’ve been packing for breakfast during the week. Since I’m rather a newbie at the weekday breakfast, I’d love to hear what you guys pack or eat too. I have tons of recipes and things that we make on the weekends when we have more time, but the weekdays? I’m running out of creative juices. Please help!

There are a couple rules to my weekday breakfast, however. Here they are:

Has to be packable. (I cannot eat anything in the morning.. but 45 minutes later? No problem!)
No cooking/baking.
Can be reheated or carried in a thermos if it should be eaten warm.
Low fat/low calories = No step classes. 🙂
Preferably made without gluten free breads, etc. (Toast doesn’t travel well…LOL)
Sweet, ok. Sugary? BAD. (I once tried a Kind Bar with a yogurt topping THINKING it was going to be similar to a granola bar. Um. Nope. More like a candy bar. Whoa, Nelly…. it was sweet!)

Here’s what I’ve been taking/packing/making:

Quick oatmeal: 1/2 cup of GF quick oats + 1/2 cup boiling water + 2 Tablespoons maple syrup. Pour it all in my thermos and by the time I get to school, ta-dah! Breakfast.
Yogurt with berries (Especially fat free greek yogurt with strawberries and a touch of honey)
Bananas (oh man…I’ve been eating a lot of naners…)
Cheesy Egg “muffins” (no flour) from Kalyn’s Kitchen/South Beach Diet
Peanut Butter Granola Bars (or broken into cereal chunks)
Gluten-Free Oatmeal “Bars” or oatmeal to go
Dried fruit and roasted nuts (My favorites this week have been pineapple, cherries and almonds)
Celery sticks and fresh hazelnut or almond butter
Mochi/Red bean cakes (Jill just posted some gorgeous looking ones with mango inside..oh yum!)
Yogurt, berries and banana smoothies
….?

What else guys?
I’m in need of some new ideas!

Happy Gluten Free Breakfast, All!
-Kate

32 Responses to "Gluten Free: Breakfast on the go"

Lori says:

October 5, 2008 at 9:51 pm

I love organic raw food bars. Gluten and Dairy free and delicious! Sometimes I split them, add some fruit and use the second half with some fruit for a mid-morning snack. I especially like the kid bars and the chocolate chip raw organic food bar
Here is the website: http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

Oh! Yum! Those look good! I bet I can find them around here. Are they sugary??? Or just naturally sweet? (I see the date and agave nectar…thus my question.)
Thanks for the tip!
-Kate
Genevieve says:

October 5, 2008 at 11:55 pm

It does require cooking, but it can be cooked the night before and reheated.

I like the Bob’s Red Mill GF Hot and Tasty Breakfast Cereal (or similar name). It’s fast to make – boil a little water, toss in the desired amount of cereal, stir a bit and it’s done in 10 minutes. I’ve eaten it plain (a lot like grits), I’ve added cinnamon sugar. But my favorite is with some onions sauteed in butter or smart balance and a bit of salt.

I make up a double batch, and between me and my kids, it lasts about 3 meals. It reheats VERY well with just about a minute in the microwave.
Jeanine says:

October 6, 2008 at 4:22 am

Hmm…looks like you have me beat with the packable breakfasts. Healthy muffins are always good. Take it outta the deep freeze, and by the time you’re ready to eat, it should be defrosted.
I definitely need to order some GF Oats though, a lot of your recipes sound fantastic (and I miss my oatmeal on a cool fall morning).
Lauren says:

October 6, 2008 at 5:38 am

Hi Kate,
I posted a breakfast idea just yesterday – with cooked apple, milk, cashews, sunflower seeds, and coconut. It’s pretty versatile and the apples can be cooked up at the beginning of the week! check it out: http://daringtothrive.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-apples-happy-breakfast.html

Take care,
Lauren
Magda says:

October 6, 2008 at 5:42 am

I’ve been doing green smoothies (I find it’s one of the few ways I can do greens). I basically do one bunch of kale, 1 apple, 1 to 2 bananas, berries (if I have them), squirt of lemon juice and maple syrup to taste. There are so many other variations, too. I can send you several variations if you’d like. I haven’t experimented yet – I just love my kale smoothie !!
Lara bars and Mrs. May’s bars are also good – both GF and just lightly sweet.
FYI: those organic food bars are sweetened with raw agave nectar.
bbg says:

October 6, 2008 at 6:11 am

i struggle with the same issue– we have made smoothies with almond meal, banana, frozen strawberries, rice milk, sometimes orange or mango juice, and some hemp seeds with the occasional cup of fresh spinach leaves tossed in for breakfast. it’s great to go. also lara bars are our staple (costco sells boxes of them).
i like frozen waffles to go with some sunbutter or other nut butter smeared on it- you can make your own and freeze them or nature’s path organic gluten free buckwheat with wildberry waffles are great (i ate them before i realized i had a soy intolerance too).
the other great quick breakfast i do is grits (http://byebyegluten.blogspot.com/2008/04/gritssssss.html). i use the slow cook ones not the instant, and it still only takes 10 minutes. there’s so much or so little you can do to them to make them taste great. so you could do the quick ones the same way as your oatmeal and pack it to go.
one last one- if you don’t want to cook in the morning, you can cook at night with a slow cooker- steel cut oatmeal or other grains that will be ready in the morning. even with no slow cooker, i soak a cup of steel cut oats in boiled water on the stove at night, in the morning i get up, turn on that pot, take a shower in in ten minutes they’re done cooking.
Emily says:

October 6, 2008 at 7:04 am

Along the lines of Kalyn’s egg “muffins”, I like to make an egg casserole with a hash brown base instead of a bread base – add whatever you like to the eggs (cheese, bacon, sausage, green onions, etc). I make it up on Sunday and then refrigerate/freeze pieces to heat up at work on weekday mornings.

I also like Bob’s Red Mill’s Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal with a little honey. If you make extra it stores nicely in the refrigerator and then just add a little milk before heating in the microwave.
Celiac Disease: Ideas for Gluten Free Breakfasts On The Go says:

October 6, 2008 at 1:08 pm

[…] you’re probably familiar with Gluten Free Gobsmacked. Kate has published a list of her favorite gluten free breakfast items to take “on the go” and is looking for everyones help on additional ideas. Here is […]
zebe912 says:

October 6, 2008 at 2:06 pm

I am SO not a morning eater. My stomach just doesn’t want anything until I’m in the car on the way to work, usually an hour or so after I wake up. These bars are made in the town where I live: http://www.thepurebar.com/index.htm I’ve just found a granola bar recipe that I like so I can make them at home. Otherwise, I munch on dry GF cereal or granola in the car. I like making muffins ahead of time, also, and having them to grab on the way out the door. Sometimes, I like to put peanut or almond butter on rice cakes. Or I will just break up rice cakes into bite sized pieces and munch on those.
Li says:

October 6, 2008 at 3:57 pm

Hi Kate, love your blog! I’m having the same dilemma right now – I just started a new job and have to be there obnoxiously early. I’m not a morning person, and it’s enough to get myself out the door, without worrying about cooking as well. Toss in celiac disease and multiple food intolerances and well…you know. So far I’m living on raisins, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, and muffins, muffins, muffins! I should have a new, reasonably healthy recipe up on my blog in a day or two. I’m looking forward to trying some of your suggestions, as well as some of the other commenters. I also have to agree with the others – Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal rocks! It reheats beautifully in the microwave, and would probably be great in a thermos.
Kristina says:

October 7, 2008 at 2:48 pm

Ginger Lemon Girl’s banana muffins travel really well, and unlike many GF bread products, they don’t need to be reheated to be tasty…they just are delicious naturally! I’ve been on a huge kick lately- I’ve had one for my mid-morning snack every day for the past several weeks.

I feel your pain on the bathroom- I’m teaching 4th grade this year and we don’t have lunch until 12:35 (the kids come at 7:30) so I’ve had to give up drinking my morning tea…can’t make it those 5 hours otherwise! 🙂

You mentioned quick-cooking GF oats- are those from Bob’s? I’ve only found regular and steel cut so far.

Quick Cooking GF Oats from Only Oats. You can find them online here. =) -Kate
Li says:

October 7, 2008 at 5:36 pm

I was going to ask that too – where do you get “quick” gf oats? Enquiring minds want to know…

Quick Cooking GF Oats from Only Oats. You can find them online here. =) -Kate
kimberly says:

October 7, 2008 at 7:21 pm

I like to keep things simple. When I have to have something on the go, I typically have 1 or 2 boiled eggs, a piece of fruit (& maybe a leftover mufin or scone) & the ever important coffee.
Verlee Jenkins says:

October 7, 2008 at 7:28 pm

We love egg dishes, but do not always have time for them. We love the taste of sweet rice, but not enough protein for the day. So, we finally found a good breakfast or snack food… cheese on corn tortillas. It can be as simple as just microwaved and rolled up or broiled or fried. You can add any number of tidbits like pieces of meat or nuts or even lettuce or veggies. Another variation is to add refired beans (home-made of course) and roll it up like a burrito. And, of course, you have so many types of cheeses! You can also make your own different grain type tortillas and freeze them, ready to go.
Sheila says:

October 8, 2008 at 9:27 am

I’m seriously not a breakfasty kind of person… unless it’s midnight and then I can totally go for eggs/bacon/gf pancakes… so breakfast for me is usually some assemblage of the following: Fresh fruit: Bananas, apple slices, grapes – anything easily portable. Cottage cheese, string cheese, slices of cheese. Hard boiled eggs. Grilled chicken strips. GF Macaroni and Cheese, but you’d have to reheat that or eat it cold… ewwww…. Snack baggies of granola – I like Trader Joes and Bakery on Main, but I bake up my own to taste and it’s so much better. Glutino Crackers and peanut butter in a small tub. Tiger’s milk bars. Yogurt – either drinkable or spoonable. Our customizable snack mix – GF Cereal, Dried Fruit, Kininnick (sp?) Animal Crackers, GF Pretzels and yogurt raisins all dumped in a bowl and then portioned out into snack bags. And of course, oatmeal. You can also get those bowl combos that have a place for the cereal and a place for the milk and you just dump and eat when you’re ready.
Janine says:

October 9, 2008 at 6:39 am

GF Mommy’s pumpkin pancakes! I reheat mine in the toaster. They are our favorite GF pancake!
Shirley says:

October 9, 2008 at 2:14 pm

Most of the time I eat very simple breakfasts. For example, I like a little bit of cheddar cheese, a cup up apple, and raw almonds. However, this weekend we had an overnight guest so come Monday I had leftover banana maple nut muffins and leftover Denver omelet. The omelet was wonderful the next two days for breakfast. I just reheated it a little bit of it for about 30 to 40 seconds in the microwave. I actually think I’ll make this omelet (easily cooked in the oven) or a variation in the evening or on the weekend, just so I’ll have leftovers for a delicious, quick breakfast. Otherwise, I eat dinner leftovers for breakfast also. I have found it’s important for me to have a good amount of protein in the morning so dinner leftovers work well. I really don’t do well if I start out the day with just carbs.
Lauren says:

October 13, 2008 at 5:52 am

Hi Kate, those egg muffins look really good!

I like making up a big crustless quiche with spinach, feta, crumbled bacon (whatever you like) and taking slices of that. I’ve also been mixing pumpkin into strained whole milk yogurt sweetened with stevia, along with a big handful of pecans for staying power. Happy noshing!
Dana says:

October 13, 2008 at 9:37 pm

Kate,

Some of my favorite tricks for grab and go breakfast include:

– hard boiling and egg or two the night before. then the next morning, I can grab them and a few rice cakes and eat as I run out the door. (throw the eggs in a plastic bag with a little salt and pepper and shake to season them, super easy — and the rice cakes doesn’t get stale like toast does and its a nice crunch with the eggs)

– bake a bunch of corn muffins, freeze ’em, pop them in the microwave for a good 30 seconds, and pause to marvel at how well corn muffins reheat, and eat. (if you have a few extra seconds, a good slathering of jelly is always in order. but i never seem to have ANY extra seconds in the morning.)

-fage yogurts come with honey or fruit dip

hmm…I’m not as helpful as I thought. I’ll keep thinking and let you know what I come up with!
Heather M. says:

October 15, 2008 at 9:00 pm

I just stumbled on your blog tonight and it is awesome!
Just thought I’d share what I eat for breakfast every single morning.

french vanilla yogurt
fruit (depends on the season but pears, apples, peaches, berries are my favs)
ground flax
cinnamon
handful of whole almonds

The cinnamon makes it taste soooooo much better and the almonds are some protein which last longer than just yogurt and fruit.

HTH!
Sally says:

October 16, 2008 at 5:57 am

I just made a batch of pancakes last night using Bob’s pancake mix (though I prefer Pamela’s or the Arrowhead Mills GF all-purpose flour as a base). I added about a 1/2 cup of applesauce (unsweetened), 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. sugar (you could use honey or leave it out), 1/4 cup flax seed meal, Lactaid (though I’ve used almond milk in the past), and one egg.

Once they’ve been cooked on a griddle, I let them cool and freeze them all in baggies of two cakes each. I leave two pancakes out and spread some almond butter between them, bag them, and toss them in the fridge. Then I throw them in the microwave for a few seconds just so the butter gets melty and I’m good to go.
Sally says:

October 16, 2008 at 6:00 am

Meant to say, just toss the pancakes in the toaster in the morning, straight from the freezer, to reheat.
Eleanor says:

October 23, 2008 at 9:39 am

I have a similar issue with breakfast when I’m working days. Noone should be up at 530am let alone eating anything. So I normally pack my breakie and consume at work once I’ve woken up.

The best few days I did were mini banana buttermilk pancakes with a strawberry compote. The pancakes reheated nicely in the toaster and the compote in the microwave.

I’ve also done lemon, blueberry and poppyseed pancakes as well. They tasted fantastic and there were many glares of jealousy from coworkers.

Last resort is always cereal with a juice box. yes, I drown my cereal in juice as plain milk is gross.

Hope this helps a little. I’m still working on my list, but am getting there slowly.
Toni says:

December 13, 2008 at 2:00 am

I can’t function without a good breakfast! I usually have muesli, which is easy to take with you and have a work with some yoghurt and fresh fruit.

I make a big batch up once every month or two and store it in an air-tight container. The (non-GF) other half loves it too.

My standard GF muesli mix consists of rice bran flakes & rice bran straws (low GI to keep you going), puffed brown rice, puffed buckwheat, puffed amaranth, corn flakes and pepitas or sunflower seeds (all lightly toasted). To that I add whatever toasted chopped nuts and dried fruit I fancy (dried apple and walnut is particularly good) and perhaps a little cinnamon or nutmeg, et voila!

When I really can’t be bothered I just grab some corn thins (popped corn-based crisp breads) with proper peanut butter. Quick, simple and good.
Breakfast anyone? « Gluten Free Gobsmacked says:

February 16, 2009 at 4:47 pm

[…] asking me how to start, where to start, etc. She was most worried about breakfast and lunch. Thanks to your help, breakfast during the week when I have little or no time, is not such a big deal any more. I make […]
QF says:

August 14, 2009 at 10:43 am

Oh my God does that ever look good..

This will be on my table before too long.!!!

I love it and I am going to try it.
It sounds so fantastic and the picture is great.!!!

Thanks for sharing.!!!
Judy says:

October 21, 2009 at 6:12 pm

My two favorite breakfasts, which I alternate, are:
*cottage cheese, green olives, flax seeds, walnuts
*brown rice cakes, cream cheese, almond butter

I’ve been doing these for a couple years – keeps my energy up all morning. I do eggs maybe twice a week.
juli says:

October 30, 2009 at 8:45 am

We like polenta pan fried in a little butter till soft with a crispy shell. They drizzled with syrup. It’s delicious and my picky eater loves it. She calls it corn cakes.
Pete Hummers says:

November 5, 2009 at 3:59 am

I am a morning person (up at 5:00 to read emails and the news) but don’t eat b’fast until I’m hungry (at the office, about 8:30). My nutritionist suggests for b’fast: 2 servings starch, 2 protein and 1 fruit.

For starch, it’s Bob’s Red Mill Hot & Tasty cereal or grits or Cream of Rice, or corn chips if I just can’t decide.

Protein is usually 2 string-cheese sticks, and fruit is a half-cup of OJ or a banana.

When I eat at home the starch is usually home-fried potatoes or GF toast, and the protein eggs.
Meredith Spitalnik says:

January 11, 2011 at 8:43 am

OK, so this is a few years old already, but I travel for a living. For breakfast on those Monday morning 6:50am flights, after I pass through Security, I grab an Odwalla Super Protein Original smoothie. It also comes in Vanilla D’Almondo, chocolate and (seasonally) pumpkin. I call it breakfast in a bottle. 18 grams of protein help you feel full, it’s naturally GF, tastes like chalky banana juice (or chocolate milk or pumkin pie filling). You get used to the slightly chalky texture pretty quick (that’s the soy protein), but it is nutritious, safe, filling and easy.
Alexandria says:

April 26, 2011 at 8:54 pm

I love Tahini with apple or pear slices for easy eats in the morning
Shelley says:

January 17, 2014 at 8:12 am

Coconut flour pancakes work up quick and easy, and are so freeze-able. Put them either in the microwave or the toaster to reheat, but watch them in the toaster…they’re pretty delicate. Put some vanilla yogurt on them and they are really very tasty! They don’t seem filling, but just two small ones lasts me all morning, and I’ve got a hard appetite to satisfy.

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