How to increase your breakfast protein intake

Pumping your morning meal with protein reduces cravings, regulates hormones and weight, stabilizes blood sugar and insulin levels, and improves focus and concentration. The typical American breakfast of cereal and juice is about as far as you can get from the 30 grams of protein recommended for most adults.

I have no problem conceptually with a high-protein breakfast. I’ve practically written a love letter to animal sources of protein here. But it’s logistically challenging to get 30 grams of protein on weekday mornings before school or work.

There have been seasons of life when I’ve had the opportunity to work from home or stay home with my kids in the morning. Breakfast “hit different” during those seasons. Once the kids and I had a deadline to get out the door fully dressed and ready for the day, making a fresh breakfast every morning felt like an insurmountable challenge.

Here are a few things that have helped us more consistently get our daily intake of protein before 8 am.

Use more than one source of protein

Eating five eggs before sunrise is out for me. It might be a great recipe for 30g of protein. It is also a recipe for burnout. It’s too much of the same thing at once and becomes unbearable day after day. But adding a couple of eggs to a chicken sausage link (which has 14 g of protein) or to a plate with some Greek yogurt with homemade granola makes it infinitely more possible to consume and offers opportunities for variety throughout the week.

Prepare some items on the weekend for weekday breakfast

Sometimes we make homemade waffles or egg casseroles (like this easy quiche recipe) over the weekend to minimize weekday stress. I’ve talked before about the value of a weekend prep day to make mealtime easier during the week. Incorporating breakfast prep into our prep day makes high-protein meals almost as easy as pouring cereal. If I make high-protein waffles over the weekend, I double batch it so we can have some left over to freeze and pop in the toaster on Monday. It can be as simple as preparing a breakfast casserole or the inside of a breakfast burrito.

Buy some healthy low-prep, high-protein components

Don’t buy the lie that everything quality has to be homemade. We usually end up combining purchased items with homemade items. One serving of high-quality Greek yogurt has half the amount of protein you need. Add some high-protein granola and you have the making of a good breakfast. We keep chicken sausage links on hand so we can toss them in the oven while we get ready. My boys like freezing sandwiches or burritos in the freezer and throwing the foil-wrapped packages in the oven while they get ready. Peanut butter on whole wheat toast is about the easiest addition that you can find.

Expand your definition of breakfast food

I’m not sure how we got such rigid definitions of food categories. Perhaps it’s marketing or cultural trends, but they aren’t particularly helpful. I cook enough to have leftovers at every meal that I can store for future meals. I have no problem reheating last night’s roast for this morning’s breakfast. You can eat it “as is” or reconstruct it into something new (brisket breakfast taco or omelet, anyone?). It’s usually much faster than cooking from scratch and almost effortlessly allows me to consume enough protein.

Protein Supplements

I like to get nutrients from food rather than supplements. But I’m not above getting what I need through protein powder when it’s the easiest solution. Smoothies with protein powder, or whole wheat baked items cooked with protein powder have kept us nourished.

This is an ongoing challenge for me. I would love to hear how you get protein in every morning. Leave a comment if you have a helpful life hack that would benefit others looking for practical solutions for high protein breakfasts!