Finding breakfast ideas can be tricky when you’re gluten and dairy-free. Sure, fruit is an option but, otherwise, lots of cereal that’s gluten-free can be really high in sugar and low in fibre. I have to admit that I find it really hard to find an option that’s gluten-free, low in refined sugar, and keeps me full until lunch time.
Disclaimer: This is an AD with ZENB who challenged me to create these recipes.
This week I’ve been challenged by ZENB to experiment with my breakfast choices by building their new plant-based Veggie Sticks into my morning recipes. Being a mum can mean breakfast is rushed, but we all know how important it is to start our days, so I was excited to get started and blog about seven different gluten and dairy-free recipes.
ZENB Veggie Sticks are plant-based snack bars that are organic, gluten-free, and don’t contain any dairy ingredients.
The vegetables are the first ingredient in the Veggie Sticks range and the bars contain as much of the whole vegetable as possible as well as puffed rice, red quinoa & almonds!
At the moment they have an offer where you can order a trial box of four and just pay £2.99 P&P (( Fortnightly subscription automatically starts after trial. £9.49 per 4-pack. Terms at zenb.co.uk/terms)
Below are seven quick and easy gluten and dairy-free breakfast recipe ideas that I made over the course of a week. As part of the challenge, I added a ZENB Veggie Stick to each morning meal…I hope they give you some more breakfast ideas…
DAY 1. Mini gluten-free and vegan Baked Oats
Baked oats are such a quick breakfast idea and Jude loves them. You can make them in advance and they usually last a few days in the fridge. Just take…
– A cup of gluten-free oats (around 150g)
– 1 mashed banana
– 200 mls of dairy-free milk (or enough to coat the oats without making it too soggy)
– A handful of whatever summer fruits you have at home (I’ve used strawberries)
– Sprinkle over a ZENB Beetroot Veggie Stick for extra crunch and fibre; stirring into the mixture.
Mix in the bowl and cook for around 25 minutes until baked golden brown! Leave to cool and slice into squares. Perfect for breakfast or even a healthier dessert..
DAY 2. Granola and Dairy Free Yoghurt
Granola is another great gluten-free breakfast option. I had this on day 2 of the ZENB challenge and I usually use shop-bought gluten-free granola but you can just as easily make your own by mixing cooked oats (I just coat them in a little dairy-free butter and bake) with dried fruit. I use Alpro dairy-free yoghurt over mine and add fruit.
DAY 3. Protein smoothies
If you’re in a hurry, a smoothie can work really well to kickstart your day, and it’s a great way to blend up fruits and veg so they’re a bit easier to digest. I have loads of breakfast smoothie recipes on my blog, but I made my Summer Belly Friendly smoothie as it was quite a hot day!
Just mix your choice of dairy-free milk, 1 banana, a handful of raspberries and a few pineapple chunks. I usually add some oats for fibre but as per the challenge I blended my ZENB Carrot Veggie Stick instead! This gave my smoothie a really nice ‘crunchy’ texture and I found it really filling.
DAY 4: Banana Bread
Last night I made a batch of banana bread so I decided to eat this for breakfast! I used this recipe. I topped the bread with a spread of peanut butter and crumbled in ZENB’s Pumpkin Veggie Stick to make the breakfast a little more exciting!
DAY 5. Gluten-free sheet pancakes
Sheet pancakes are so much easier than regular pancakes!! I’ve been making them a lot for Jude and I for breakfast as I’m terrible at flipping the usual kind. For the base, I mix gluten-free self-raising flour, 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour, and dairy-free milk.
For the challenge, I blitzed the ZENB Veggie Stick in my Nutri-bullet so it was a fine consistency and folded this into my pancake mix. I topped with strawberries, layered the baking mix into a baking sheet and cooked. I found the plain mix a little dry (I’m still perfecting gluten-free pancakes!) but topped with strawberries and a dollop of dairy-free yoghurt it was perfect!
6. DAY 6: Layered crumpets
Today was an easy one: gluten-free crumpets!
I can’t claim to make my own, but I did get a bit more inventive than usual and made these layered crumpets instead. I topped them with banana, peanut butter, raspberries, a drizzle of dark chocolate sauce and apricot jam. On the top, I crumbled a ZENB Carrot Veggie Stick. Layered crumpets are a great idea if you’re craving a fancy breakfast without the effort!
7. DAY 7: ZENB Veggie Sticks on the go breakfast
Okay, the seventh option is a little bit of a cheat one but today, like all busy parents, I just didn’t have time to prepare a full breakfast as we were going out bright and early. So, I packed a ZENB Veggie Stick in my changing bag and just had breakfast on the go instead.
I really enjoyed this challenge of using a delicious veggie snack to getting more creative in the kitchen. Let me know which breakfast recipe is your favourite?
