As someone who only eats brunch and dinner, finding low histamine breakfasts was the struggle. I've sorted out my morning coffee (& the sugar), and I've sorted out my snacks, but the late morning meal always ended with me, two eggs, and a piece of meat.
It got super boring after a few months, and eventually I shifted to eating just lunch and dinner. Then I found a muffin recipe, and pancakes, and porridge and sweet potato mash, and my world changed.
Some of these low histamine breakfast ideas may not work for you, depending on any other intolerances you have. I also recommend that you practice intermittent fasting when possible, because it gives your body time to calm down from the inflammation of the previous day's histamine.
You could easily combine a variety of these low histamine breakfasts with some of my side dishes to create a different balanced meal to start off every day of the week.
Medical Disclaimer: as with everything on this site, this article is provided for information only. I strongly urge you to speak with your doctor or a licensed medical professional in order to assess whether or not you have histamine issues, and/or which foods cause a histamine release for you personally. Every body is different, and some people will tolerate different foods than you do. Please keep comments respectful.
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- Savory Sweet Potato Mash w/ Toasted Pecans
- Sweet Potato Hash
- Chia Pudding w/ Fresh Fruit
- Latkes w/Pesto Chicken
- Omelette w/ Fresh Herbs
- Antihistamine Smoothies
- Blueberry Muffins
- Oatmeal (or Porridge)
- Low Histamine Waffles
- Vegetable Fried Rice
Savory Sweet Potato Mash w/ Toasted Pecans
This is for those who prefer a softer breakfast that's fine to eat cold or hot, and can be made sweeter or more savory, depending on your preference. I like the textural addition of chopped pecans or pili nuts with my sweet potatoes, but only if they're truly pureed. I've linked a low histamine recipe option below, but if you can't handle ghee, in this case it's fine to replace it with avocado oil or coconut oil.
Sweet Potato Hash
I don't yet have a formal recipe available for this, but that's sort of the beauty of it. This is one of my safe meals, as it's basically a veggie stir-fry that uses up whatever you need to get rid of. The base is one small sweet potato, and you customize the spices for whatever the other veggies you throw in end up being.
I can somehow tolerate frozen uncured bacon, so I usually start with two pieces of that, and then cook everything else in the grease. Avocado oil or refined coconut oil is the best substitute for animal fat.
Once your oil is hot, add diced sweet potato & sliced brussels sprouts, and then cook it further with a sprinkle of ground cumin, coriander seed, garlic, and a handful of chopped green onion on top. Serve it with a fried egg on the side (though any protein works), and voila! A low histamine breakfast plate in under 20 minutes.
Chia Pudding w/ Fresh Fruit
I make chia pudding a few times a month, now in smaller batches since I learned what flavors I like. It takes about 2 minutes to make, and it'll set overnight in the fridge for the perfect companion to a breakfast apple or a handful or nuts.
If you've never had it, chia pudding is a lot like tapioca pudding or rice pudding, except that it has much smaller textural additions, with the crunch of chia seeds. Chia pudding takes on the flavor of whatever liquid is added to it and whatever it's flavored with. I'm partial to coconut milk and finely chopped fresh fruit, but I've heard equally good things about almond milk.
Get the recipe here.
Latkes w/Pesto Chicken
This is a two-parter, but both parts can be made in advance and frozen, to be reheated one serving at a time for a low histamine brekkie! First are the latkes, which are a Jewish potato pancake that taste great by themselves.
But they taste even better with a dollop of pesto-smothered chicken or ground bison cooked in herb butter. You can make latkes using the recipe linked below, but make them using gluten free flour and sunflower oil (for frying).
Omelette w/ Fresh Herbs
This is probably the most pedestrian recommendation I could make, but I'd be remiss if I failed to point out that eggs are low histamine. As long as you don't have any unrelated issues with eggs, an omelet made with fresh herbs and a dash of homemade oat milk can become a potent antihistamine.
Hens that have been allowed to graze and to lay eggs without being pumped full of hormones are going to produce better quality product, and those are the eggs you should start with. From there, add in fresh basil, rosemary thyme, arugula, and even some pea sprouts or nigella sativa seeds, if you keep either of them on hand.
Each of these have mast cell-stabilizing or antihistamine properties. Serve up your omelette with a side of asparagus or half a sweet potato, and you've got one very fulling, low histamine breakfast.
Rice Cereal w/Non-Dairy Milk & Berries
While Rice Crispies might not immediately scream health to you, puffed brown rice is low histamine and delicious with hazelnut or oat or coconut milk.
I'd recommend looking for an organic brand of puffed rice cereal, making sure it's not enriched with anything. My favorite combo is coconut milk with chopped toasted almonds and fresh organic blueberries, but to each their own.
Antihistamine Smoothies
People have all sorts of ideas about what's good in a smoothie, but I know for sure what's bad in a smoothie: anything high in histamine. Luckily this still leaves you with plenty of wiggle room around fresh fruits, powerful antihistamine foods, and a handful of seeds or nuts for protein.
It's like a fruit & nut bar, but blended until it's drinkable. Your goal with a breakfast smoothie is to add a good balance of different nutrients, make it taste good, and get enough protein, but the final flavor is all up to you. I even have an iron-rich smoothie recipe, if you tend towards anemia, as I do.
Get some recipes here.
Blueberry Muffins
These were also mentioned in my low histamine dessert article, but they had to be featured here, too, because they're just too perfect of a quick breakfast to exclude. They're a slightly savory blueberry muffin which makes use of cassava flour.
Cassava flour, or yuca flour is a generally non-triggering flour that’s great for those with mast cell activation syndrome, as well as the antihistamine powerhouse of blueberries (fresh or frozen). These blueberry muffins can be made ahead and be eaten throughout the week, stored in the freezer in a tightly-sealed container.
Oatmeal (or Porridge)
Oats are both low in histamine and great if you have high cholesterol or acid reflux issues, and they're very versatile for making low histamine breakfasts in a snap. I love making these one-hour 'overnight' oats. But if you can't tolerate oats, then porridge is your alternative.
Oatmeal is actually a type of porridge, which is basically any grain or tuber cooked with your milk of choice, often flavored with the antihistamine fruit & nuts. This means that you can substitute oats for millet, quinoa, rice, or even sorghum.
My top three porridge flavor combos are easy for me to prepare in under 15 minutes, and cook up easily in single servings:
- macadamia butter (or pecan butter) with lightly chopped fresh berries
- minced apples, toasted pecans, and a pinch of each clove & cinnamon (if tolerated)
- high-fat coconut milk and fresh or frozen mango chunks
Get the recipe here.
Low Histamine Waffles
Some people think of a weekend breakfast and dream up a big plate of Belgian waffles, but the traditional type are pretty high histamine. These waffles or even some gluten-free pancakes are for those rare occasions when you cut up too much fruit and need an easy way to use it up.
They're great with fresh, monk fruit-sweetened whipped coconut cream. A more traditional alternative to swapping out the wheat for gf flour is buckwheat waffles or pancakes.
Get the recipe here.
Vegetable Fried Rice
This is for my friends who love cold pizza and day-old pad thai for breakfast as much as I do, er, unfortunately, as much as I did. I like to keep single-serve portions of rice in my freezer, along with frozen peas and carrots I've chopped.
Sometimes I also add shredded chicken to keep it higher in protein. You can follow the recipe linked below, but be sure to use fresh corn kernels and replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos, or more conservatively, just add salt to taste.
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