It’s meatless Monday again! Breakfast is featured in part two of this series on familiar vegetarian foods.
Vegetarian breakfast is easy. So many classic American breakfasts are vegetarian; from a quick bowl of cereal to a more elaborate omelet with hash browns– many of these vegetarian breakfasts are staples for people who wouldn’t think of calling themselves vegetarian. If you include dairy and eggs in your diet, you’ll hardly notice the difference in a meatless morning meal.
There are also a lot of vegan standards for breakfast. And it’s not hard to shift a vegetarian breakfast to a vegan one. Have your cereal with almond milk instead of dairy; make muffins and pancakes with almond, rice or soy milk and some easy egg-replacements; scramble some vegetables with a bit of tofu for a breakfast skillet.
If you really miss the sausage and bacon, there are more varieties of vegan sausage links, patties and bacon than ever before. Some are really good– and I’ve never been a huge fan of ‘fake meat’. I think the best part of sausage is the spice, so I like to use savory spices like sage, rosemary and black pepper to season meals. A good strong olive oil adds more depth and flavor to pan of sauteed veggies and tofu– one of my favorite breakfasts for a day off.
familiar breakfasts that are vegetarian or vegan
- peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- oatmeal
- toast with jam or honey
- fresh fruit—half a grapefruit, maybe
- fruit smoothie
- granola bar
- biscuits
- muffins, sweet rolls and donuts are vegetarian (if not low-calorie) and you can easily bake (or buy) vegan varieties
- hash browns
- toast with marmite or vegemite
- cereal or granola with (almond) milk
- bagels with jam or peanut butter
- open sandwiches with cheese, cucumbers
- a skillet scramble with veggies and tofu
Breakfast is an easy way to start a meatless day with familiar foods.
If you like to bake, experiment with substituting almond milk for dairy. I’ve never noticed any difference in the chemistry of baking– and I think the mild almond flavor is a delicious complement to breads, muffins, pancakes and other baked breakfasts. You can also use other milks made from rice, soy or hemp. Baking without eggs is relatively easy, you just have to find the right substitute for each recipe and that depends on whether the eggs provide leavening, binding, flavor or something else. I really like the recipes for vegan baked goods from the Post-Punk Kitchen— the baked treats come out tasty and light– and when I serve them, no one believes they’re vegan.
For lots of vegetarian and vegan recipes, try Meatless Monday and Post-punk kitchen (especially for the dairy and egg-free baking recipes).
Værsågod! (Norwegian for ‘dig in!’)
author: Susan Ask