Start the day right with a grain-free Paleo breakfast

When it comes to breakfast the modern tradition is to eat wheat and grain based foods, as we're told that these will provide a slow release of sugars into the body as the morning goes by. If your body doesn’t process carbohydrates normally and you have a ‘Protein’ type metabolism this really couldn’t be further from the truth. These foods will cause a blood sugar spike as your body quickly turns these supposedly slow releasing carbohydrates into sugar and fat, and soon after you’ll experience a sugar crash, food cravings and a desperate hunger. If that sounds like you a couple of hours after breakfast then reduce, or remove, the grains and eat proteins for breakfast.

One of the first questions I asked when I made the switch to a Paleo style, low-carb, way of eating was "What on earth am I going to have for breakfast?" I'm not the only one to ask that question, and friends and family often ask me this when I explain that I don't eat grains of any sort - and that I'm wheat intolerant. "So you can't have toast or cereal?" is often the follow-up.

When I asked Stuart his advice on a high-protein breakfast his reply was simple: "Eggs"

From there the seeds of an idea were sown. I decided to have scrambled eggs, but without toast I wondered how I could make the eggs seem more satisfying and make it feel like I was eating a substantial breakfast. The initial idea was scrambled eggs with bacon, but after a couple of days a friend on Twitter suggested that I add mushrooms as they would add a bit more moisture back to the meal - just scrambled eggs with bacon can become a bit dry - and although the mushrooms add a few carbs they're a wonderful protein-filled vegetable. From those two suggestions my daily breakfast was born: Karen's Bacon and Mushroom Scrambled Eggs.

Other breakfast ideas

One alternative to scrambled eggs would be an omelette with cheese and bacon or ham, you could even – on an occasional basis – have a traditional full English. Or how about a gammon steak with scrambled eggs and mushrooms? Maybe even some chicken breast or steak if you have some left over from the previous evening’s dinner… the important thing to remember is to avoid all cereals, breads and pastries and eat something full of protein. That means eggs, fish or meat. If, unlike me, you're a fish lover then a traditional breakfast of kippers would be a good option. One smoked kipper would give a similar nutritional balance as my scrambled eggs but with 0g of carbs. Remember not to be scared of eggs, they're full of vitamins and goodness and it has now been recognised that the cholesterol in eggs does not increase our cholesterol. Just remember to cook them in a healthy way and eggs are a great food.

For a full English breakfast, make sure you take the rind off the bacon, use sausages with a high meat content, forgo the hash browns, toast and fried slice, go easy on the oil (use a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Flaxseed Oil if you fry) and ditch the baked beans –  sorry, but they are loaded with starchy carbs and sugare – avoid canned tomatoes and instead have a tomato grilled or cooked in the pan with your eggs. Swap the fried eggs for scrambled and you don’t need the oil.