Truly Satisfying Low Calorie Breakfast
87So here's the deal. Breakfast has a few important functions for me:
- Stave off hunger until lunch.
- Not be high-calorie (I have an office job, and have to lose weight)
- Should be high in protein (to fulfill #1 above) and relatively low in carbs and "bad fats"
- Not taste like paste, cement, pulp or any other industrially produced garbage that are routinely offered as alternatives nowadays. If it can actually taste good, that's an extra plus.
I have my "longevity smoothie" 2-3 mornings per week, but I'm always looking for a little variety. I'm not really into scones or muffins, especially having read recently that they're basically baked heart attacks.
My experiment
Here's what I came up with:
4 cheese and salsa breakfast burritos
Sound like it's going to overwhelm in terms of fat, calories and bad carbs, right? Not necessarily...
Low-carb tortillas - the foundation
I start off with La Tortilla's low-carb tortillas. They're slightly spongy (not doughy or chewy like regular tortillas) but they're actually not that bad--not the plasticky, rubbery garbage you'd expect them to be. And they're actually nutritious. Each one has:
- 50 calories
- 5g protein
- 8g dietary fiber
- 3g digestible carbs (no sugars)
- 2g healthy (polyunsaturated & monounsaturated) fats
Cost: $3.09 for a package of 10 at Farmer Joe's in Oakland.
Fat-free cheese
Then I add a slice and half of Kraft Free Singles to each burrito. That's 6 of these guys. Probably because of the lack of fat, they're not waxy/oily and kinda rubbery, but especially when heated in the microwave, they're not bad either. They actually melt. The nutrition profile for these is not bad, either (per slice):
- 30 calories
- 4g protein
- 2g carbs (1g sugar)
- no fiber, naturally
Cost: $2.29 for a package of 24
Fresh salsa
I personally like Casa Sanchez's Medium Roja salsa. It has roasted tomatoes for that smoky flavor, and has enough cilantro and onions to make it really flavorful. The only downside is that, especially after microwaving it, it generates a lot of "juice", so you have to drain your burrito before it becomes manageable enough to eat (otherwise, consider wearing a bib). Nutrition information for a half-cup (enough for all 4 burritos):
- 50 calories
- 12g carbs (3g sugar)
- no protein
- no fat
- plenty of lycopene from the tomatoes and quercetin from the onions
Cost: $3.99 for 4 1/2 cup servings
Nuke them for a minute and what do you got?
Here's the nutrition profile:
- Calories: 430
- Protein: 48g
- Carbs: 36g
- Fat: 8g
Cost: $2.81 (add another nickel for the microwave's electricity)
Admittedly pretty high in sodium, though... like just about every savory packaged food these days.
Compare to:
Starbucks Blueberry Muffin
- Calories: 520
- Protein: 7g
- Carbs: 57g
- Fat: 31g
(oh, yes -- don't believe me?)
How about the Grande (that's their medium) Mocha Frappuccino
- Calories: 420
- Protein: 6g
- Carbs: 61g (51g sugar)
- Fat: 16g (10g saturated)
Granted, the 4 breakfast burritos aren't liquid candy, but that's also why they'll probably keep you full longer. Also, their high protein content will reduce a relatively higher proportion of the number of calories available after digestion due to the Thermic Effect of Foods
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This recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for the tips!
the hot sauce is a good touch. oddly, I've found that eating hot sauce actually curbs appetite. possibly this is because it setz off my ulcer, though. :p
Livelonger, a breakfast I devised when I was losing weight (and still like) is some (maybe 1 cup) of defrosted Three Beries (Costco) sprinkled with 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 cup cottage cheese (whatever Costco has). This along with coffee will keep me well past lunch time. Hey, I'll put it in a Hub!
I think it's a great idea. I personally like frozen berries, esp since they're much more inexpensive than fresh.
You need some sort of protein in your burrito to keep you fuller for longer. Try adding egg whites.
Umm....the burritos have 48 grams of protein. That's a lot.
This seems very satisfying, Livelonger!
This sounds like a good receipe. I usually eat fruit for breakfast, but this would be a nice change and I love salsa. Your smoothie recipe looks wonderful as well. Thanks very much for sharing.
i'm not sure about the carb content but this is a realy healthy serving of a low calorie breakfast....2 cups shredded potatoes (140 calories), 2 piece chopped turkey bacon(70 calories) and two egg whites (60 calories) total 270 calories...I also add salsa
Umm sounds pretty interesting but wut about 38grams of carbs that we get?
personally i eat oat meal or egg whites (not so gross btw)
very high protein, low calory its all good;)
I thought people should eat a balanced breakfast, but highest calorie meal of the day- big breakfast smaller portions later in the day. I honestly don't try to watch calories for breakfast, it makes me too hungry later on. As long as the breakfast is balanced, not a Starbucks muffin of course.
Thanks for your recipe.
There are way to many processed foods in this recipe that it doesn't even even come close to being healthy. Couple that with the radiation from "nuking" it. This is far from healthy. You also should not be eating so much that you are full until lunch. Instead, eat a healthier breakfast (leave the processed foods at the store) and have a mid-morning snack. Your metabolism will thank you.
The fact that you're under the misconception that microwaves emit radiation disqualifies you from rendering any opinion that relies on scientific reality.
It is a high cholesterol breakfast in general . secondly the tortilas are usually frozen and full of preservatives and fats, the same goes for the cheese.
Not a good idea at all - for loosing weight or for a healthy approach to life. I know...
Sometimes I wonder if people can read.
8g fat
virtually no cholesterol (although trans and saturated fats raise serum cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol)
frozen isn't bad
Verdict: Like nbhiker, you don't know what you're talking about.
(And learn how to spell, too, please)
Great idea. I use the same tortillas for lunch. I add a 3 slices of Oscar Mayer shaved turkey breast (Deli Fresh) and a few slices of tomato. Less than 100 Calories each.
This technically isnt even a burrito, its more of a quesadilla, but reguardell this is hardly a healthy breakfast, way to many preservatives, that cheese alone is so processed it is basically plastic.But good attempt:]
I once came up with a lunch that used these low-carb tortillas. I would put chicken breast (frozen strips, but now I have found cooked chicked at costco for a reasonable price), black beans, and a little cheese. very filling and it had tons of protien and fiber, too.
Hi
I was very interested about your truly satisfying low calorie breakfast, but having read your post have come to the conclusion that it is all convenience food. Surely it would be better to make your own salsa and use REAL cheese, not that highly processed rubbish in single squares. I appreciate that you are looking for a low calorie deal, but surely not at the expense of good nutrition.
As far as I'm concerned, you delivered the recipe for a "satisfying and low calorie" breakfast. You didn't promise it to be preservative free or not use any processed foods. For someone looking at overall calorie count, this is a great option. Not everyone has time to make their own salsa or not use a microwave. Get real people!
Looks tasty! Anyone complaining can always substitute homemade, organic, or any other unprocessed foods and accomplish the same thing. Personally I like to use Egg Beaters Chive & Cheese flavor (higher in cholesterol but otherwise fairly equivalent to the cheese alone) and a few drops of hot sauce instead of salsa (fewer calories and everything else). You can make the eggs and keep them in a Tupperware and just spoon out what you need each morning to save time. (If you don't like the microwave you can always melt the cheese over the fire in your cave)
Webber says:
3 years ago
I've been in a cereal rut. I'll give it a try. Thanks for the healthy breakfast recipe.