High calorie *healthy* breakfasts

o_delaisse
o_delaisse Posts: 193 Member
edited December 16 in Food and Nutrition
I'm really struggling with my calorie intake at the moment as I have an eating disorder and feel more comfortable under-eating, but, in my experience, this under-eating has done nothing but make me ill and drive me half insane, so for the past 4 weeks I've been working on increasing my intake. I've asked for advice before on high calorie *healthy* snacks, and thanks to people's great suggestions I've increased my calories by around 500 (honestly am so grateful for people's advice, really it has helped me BIG TIME).

My problem now is that these healthy high calorie snacks is only getting me so far - I'm still about 150 calories from my BMR. I'm up to three meals a day, and what I'd like to work on this week is my breakfasts. I started having breakfasts only last week, and am surprised at how quickly I've taken to them. I've only been having yoghurt or scrambled egg whites, and I would like to bulk them up a bit, perhaps even make my breakfast the biggest meal of the day.

I've spent the past hour looking up ideas on MFP and the internet, but I have to be honest - everything seemed to be the low calorie option, and right now after spending so much time on it, I'm on information-overload, kind of upset, and totally lost and I would really appreciate a little help. I really need to keep on pushing and pushing my comfort zone (a month ago I could never have imagined I'd deliberately go over 1000 calories, let alone aim for 1443 (my BMR), so I *am* getting there, but sometimes I do need a little help.

So, do you have any suggestions for a high calorie healthy breakfast? The only two things I'd say no to are PB on toast and milk because I have that in the evening and really like it then, and meat because I'm a vegetarian. That said, I could always find the meat-free / Quorn style substitutes. It would be so good if anyone had ideas, it's really important to me to get to my BMR and having a big breakfast would be such an important break-through for me.

(And I'm sorry this is yet another "breakfast ideas" post - as I say, right now I feel really lost, confused, and kind of upset reading through a ton of information to try and find something that would apply to me. Even if I do get replies to this, I'll try again tomorrow when my head is clear and I'm calmer).
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Replies

  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Omelet with cheese and veggies. Maybe a salsa on top w/avocado.
    dunno.
  • o_delaisse
    o_delaisse Posts: 193 Member
    Thank you, that would work. Just 'planned' it with mushrooms, spinach, and cherry tomatoes, and on a bad calorie day adding a bit of cheese would help.

    Never heard of having avocado with salsa, I'll try that too.

    Thanks again :)
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    lean steak and eggs-protein FTW
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    A lady at work makes it and it's good...but I swear she uses tomatoes

    http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/supersalsas/r/avosalsa.htm

    Hmm, I suppose the tomatoes substitute out for tomatillos.
  • NanniesKitchen
    NanniesKitchen Posts: 24
    Frozen bananas put through a blender (2-3), add some Orange juice with flax seed. It would be almost 400-500 cals. It tastes like a creamcicle.
  • missfancy1980
    missfancy1980 Posts: 326
    I've been eating porridge oats and semi skimmed milk, with chopped banana and sprinkling of ground flax seed and a little cinnamon. I'm constantly shocked by how many calories that is - 523!!!!

    Avocado
    Peanuts (most nuts in fact)
    Quinoa
    Granola (again, ALWAYS shocked by the cals in this stuff - 255!!
  • BradyMommy
    BradyMommy Posts: 82 Member
    I second the avocado. I mash mine up on whole wheat toast in the morning! YUM-O!!
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
    Eat the whole egg instead of the whites. With two eggs you've added roughly 120 calories. PLUS TONS of vitamins, minerals and proteins. If you spring for the free range, or even better eggs from a real farm, you will get a ton of Omega-3s -- shiny hair, healthy heart bonus!
    Otherwise, I would "sneak" that extra 150 calories. Use olive oil or buy some high quality Kerrygold butter may not be as healthy as olive oil, but YUM!) 1/2 a tablespoon has 50 calories.
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Egg yolks are good, too! Unless you have a specific condition which means you should avoid them, there's no reason not to have them....

    You can get museli and nuts, mix like 50:50 nuts and museli, and add yohurt for a "cold" breakfast that packs plenty of calories and protein....

    Edit: Ooh! Sardines on toast! With plenty of sardines. I like them with a lot of lemon and a little salt.

    Whole egg pancakes -- made with 1 egg per half cup of flour and cooked with minimal oil in a non-stick pan -- are also not bad.
  • paj315
    paj315 Posts: 335 Member
    You can pack A LOT of calories into a smoothie, especially if you add some sort of protein powder or nut butter.

    A large banana- 110 calories
    1 cup skim milk 90 calories
    2T almond butter or peanut butter 200 calories
    a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder 150 cals

    550 calorie protein shake

    Another breakfast I love is:

    2 poached eggs (or prepared what ever way you prefer, I like runny yolks) 140 calories
    3 cups steamed spinach 20ish calories
    1 Ezekiel English Muffin 160 calories

    320 calories
    have that with some fruit

    Something else that is high calories is granola. I make my own and its about 400 calroies a cup.
  • SmashleeWpg
    SmashleeWpg Posts: 567 Member
    I do these both for breakfast, they're "higher" in calories, and you can tweak them to your preferences to add even more calories. Enjoy! :)

    Protein Pancakes:
    Mix the following ingredients in a bowl until it makes pancake batter-like consistency:

    1/4 cup oatmeal
    1 whole egg
    3-4 egg whites
    1 scoop Vanilla protein powder (about 30g of powder)
    half a chopped apple
    a dash of cinnamon

    Pour the mixture into a fry pan and cook on medium until one side is lightly browned.
    Flip it over until the other side is done.

    Calories: 342
    Protein: 39g
    Carbs: 28g
    Fats: 7g

    ** I add 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt and 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter as a spread on top for added protein, to come in around 50 grams.



    Chicken Skillet (*edited to say you can use tofu as you're a vegetarian!)
    1 cup lean ground chicken or turkey
    assorted veggies, sauteed in a bit of olive oil (I use mushrooms, white onion, spinach and red pepper)
    3 egg whites
    30 g shredded low fat cheese of your choice

    Fry chicken or turkey, scramble eggs, sautee veggies, mix everything together and top with cheese and a bit of salsa. Enjoy!

    Calories: 388
    Protein: 57g
    Carbs: 3g
    Fats: 17g
  • mbmorse1011
    mbmorse1011 Posts: 492 Member
    Currently I'm doing

    Egg muffins (eggs (mix of eggs and egg whites) veggies cheese baked in muffin cups) about 90 calories each

    and

    Strawberry smoothie (frozen strawberries, greek yogurt, kefir (liquid yogurt) and flax seed oil) about 320 calories

    message me if you want recipes
  • o_delaisse
    o_delaisse Posts: 193 Member
    Quinoa and flax seed - never heard of those, but I shall be checking them out! Thank you :) I had decided against porridge because I already have milk in the evening, but actually I realise that's rather stubborn of me, so I'll give that a go, too.

    Thanks again :)
  • lizzardsm
    lizzardsm Posts: 271 Member
    i love having a whole wheat english muffin with a hard boiled egg. you could definitely do something like cheese (i love feta!) and an egg on each half of the english muffin. that would definitely put you in the 400-500 calorie range - depending on the cheese! good luck and you're doing great! :)
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    Take a look at my diary, just ignore today's breakfast, I was out of cereal and yogurt :( . I usually have a greek yogurt, grapefruit and 1 cup of a high fiber cereal (or a cereal of your choice) . Big healthy intake to start the day with, feel great :D
  • ChristieStearns
    ChristieStearns Posts: 94 Member
    Hi sweetie! First of all congratulations on taking control of your eating disorder. That is really brave.
    There is a group you can join on here called "eat more to weigh less"... there are a lot of topics in there that may help. Recently someone shared their daily 600 calorie healthy breakfast. I don't remember it exactly but I think it was an omelet, a banana, whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a cappuccino. Something like that.

    I personally eat 6 meals per day. I have had weight loss surgery (2 years ago) so I can only eat 1 cup at a time. Because of that I do also try to find high calorie options on days that I get a lot of exercise because it's hard for me to eat that many calories in a day. Perhaps eating more frequent meals would help you reach your goals too?

    Healthy high calorie foods I know of... eggs, cheese (within reason), nuts, avacado, healthy oils like olive and coconut, butter, almond/cashew butter. Whole wheat breads, pastas. Granola.

    I hope this helps!
  • DataBased
    DataBased Posts: 513 Member
    Never heard of having avocado with salsa, I'll try that too.

    Thanks again :)
    Avocado is ordained by all that is good and right in the world. LOL! Honestly, it's a great source of healthy calories. So are nuts. Have the omelette and start using your snack time to have protein shakes and nuts for snacks; I'm trying to help my hubs do the same thing you're doing (for different reasons) and I know how you struggle. He does, too. You can do it!

    :-D
  • craig1970
    craig1970 Posts: 139 Member
    How about a big old bowl of porridge?
    I have 100g oats with 300ml skimmed milk and thats 470cals.
    Boost that number with a healthy fruit topping to sweeten it up.
  • Curvy1taliana
    Curvy1taliana Posts: 371 Member
    2-3 cage free eggs fried in coconut oil, 1-2 slices of full fat cheese, topped with avocado or a 100-calorie pack of guacamole & salsa. I eat that every morning!!

    The other thing you could eat is full fat Fage (or other full fat Greek yogurt) mixed with 1-2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter and sweetener of your choice, with some cocoa powder mixed in as well.

    Or make a smoothie, with the full fat Greek yogurt, whole milk, protein powder, peanut butter and cocoa again, with a frozen banana tossed in.
  • korsicash
    korsicash Posts: 770 Member
    I love the kashi cereals if I am in a hurry. They keep you feeling good and satisfied and are higher in calories than most of the other cereals.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Full eggs instead of just the whites. The yolk has all the fat (and many other nutrients, too). Whole wheat toast with peanut butter. Altogether it's about 600 calories or so for two eggs, two slices of toast, 2 tbs peanut butter, and a glass of milk or orange juice.

    Oatmeal. I get the variety packs of the instant and mix two different but similar flavors (sometime 1 original and 1 flavored). Two packets of oatmeal made with 2/3-1 cup of milk will give you 400 calories or so, add in toast or juice to up it a bit more.

    Whole wheat waffles with cheese instead of syrup (make them into a "sandwich"). Calories will depend on the kind of waffles (I have a really good, easy homemade recipe, mssg me if you want it). Add a fruit smoothie for something sweet and healthy (again, homemade, but super simple).
  • SmashleeWpg
    SmashleeWpg Posts: 567 Member
    Also, two great things you can add to your breakfast cereals or porridges to give them more calories and even more nutrients/benefits:

    Chia seeds: 2 tbsp = about 100 calories
    Wheat germ: 3 tbsp = about 80 calories
  • nicole061488
    nicole061488 Posts: 12 Member
    Lots of great ideas here. Thank you for posting!
  • sonhando
    sonhando Posts: 69 Member
    Steel cut oatmeal with banana cinnamon a little brown sugar and walnuts
  • sbendix17
    sbendix17 Posts: 2
    protein shakes are a great addition. I do 1 cup of fat free milk, 1 scoop of vanilla pure protein powder, and 1/2-1 cup of frozen or fresh fruit. blend it together and you have a fantastic breakfast around 310 calories. you can aslo cut in half and have it in addition to other breakfast items such as eggs, whole wheat waffles, etc. good luck!
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    Here are some of mine...


    PHOTO 1: 2.5 scrambled eggs (whole egg), 2 slices of deli smoked ham, 1/4 cup chopped white onion, 1 cup of chopped baby spinach, 1/2 medium navel orange, 1/2 large plain bagel with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb spreadable cheese.

    NOTE: Just skip the ham.

    447 calories, 45g carbs, 16g fat, 903mg sodium, 13g sugar and 30g protein.

    DSC_0621_sm.gif


    PHOTO 2: 2-egg Mexican omelet with fajita chicken, onions, tomatoes (no cheese). Topped with pico de gallo and a side of orange slices.

    NOTE: Just skip the chicken.

    266 calories, 10g fat (0g saturated fat), 491mg sodium, 136mg potassium, 14g carbs, 8g sugar, 27g protein, 23% vitamin A, 87% vitamin C, 9% calcium and 12% iron.

    IMG_0177_sm.jpg


    PHOTO 3: Stats are on the pic.

    NOTE: Just skip the ham and the PB/toast.

    breakfast2.jpg
  • o_delaisse
    o_delaisse Posts: 193 Member
    Thanks everyone for all these suggestions, these are all great! Feel so much more hopeful now!

    The museli with yoghurt - this I'm particularly happy with because right now hardly any food in the house, so thought I couldn't start my big breakfast thing til Tues, however I have both yoghurt and museli so I CAN start tomorrow :)

    Have seen the group eat more to weigh less - in my tizz I forgot to check it out!

    I'll look into all of this and check out the diary tomorrow, my phone is having issues! I am so grateful though and will look through each suggestion carefully, thank you again :)

    Oh, and egg yolks - I always believed they were bad (a lot of my information has come from bad sources, so I have to re-educate myself) - thanks for pointing those facts out :)
  • polz7
    polz7 Posts: 48 Member
    Muesli (mix of oats, cereals, dried fruit, nuts) - just tried this stuff this weekend and I'm in love. 1/2 cup has 220 cal, that's before adding milk. Add banana to it to increase the calories. You can also have whatever normal breakfast you like and add a protein milkshake (I like strawberry whey powder, milk, banana = 325cal)

    Edited to add: crepes! I was shocked to learn how many calories are in 1 thin little crepe, I used to put away at least 6 or so with jam in the morning before I looked them up. If you're looking to increase calories and have an amazing delicious breakfast, I vote for crepes with nutella and banana.... I think I'm drooling.
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Oh, and egg yolks - I always believed they were bad (a lot of my information has come from bad sources, so I have to re-educate myself) - thanks for pointing those facts out :)

    There is soooo much confusion out there about eggs, because there has historically been so much back and forth. The current conventional adive is that egg yolks are fantastic, unless you have particular health issues causing malabsorption of certain nutrients, or extreme problems with cholesterol -- both of which are rare.
  • Jessicaruby
    Jessicaruby Posts: 881 Member
    bump
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