Healthy breakfast ideas for people with food intolerances

Having one food intolerance can make finding a healthy breakfast a little bit challenging, but having 2 or more food groups to avoid can really limit your options.

Australia has one of the highest allergy rates in the world, and a quarter of all Australians believe they have a food intolerance.¹

Whether you’re avoiding dairy, gluten, or even fructose due to intolerances, here are some easy breakfast ideas to help you start the day right.

Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar in milk, yoghurt and cheese. If you can’t or choose not to eat dairy, it’s important that you’re still including calcium in your diet.² Ensure that the alternative milks and yoghurts you choose are ‘calcium fortified’.

Some people can tolerate small amounts of lactose, so learn your ‘threshold’. An Accredited Practicing Dietitian can help you with this.

• A breakfast smoothie with your favourite fruits. Try replacing milk with silken tofu (don’t knock it until you try it). This gives a great creamy texture and a hit of protein to replace traditional milk. Choose tofu that’s set with calcium sulfate (E516) as this makes it higher in calcium.
• A wholegrain breakfast wrap. For a sweet wrap try banana, peanut butter and a sprinkle of fruit-free crunchy muesli. For something savoury try scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes and spinach.
• Overnight oats made with lactose-free milk or calcium-fortified almond milk.

One in 70 Australians have a condition called coeliac disease where they have to eliminate gluten and be careful about cross contamination to avoid serious gastrointestinal symptoms (as well as many other health problems).³

However, many Aussies choose to limit gluten in their diet. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. It’s also present in a lot of processed foods. Naturally gluten-free foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meats, eggs, rice, corn, nuts, legumes and milk.

• A spinach, feta and tomato omelette with gluten-free toast (check out the gluten-free section in your local supermarket or health-food store).
• Banana brown rice pudding made with milk and topped with cinnamon and honey.
• Zucchini and corn fritters made with gluten-free flour or other alternatives such as brown rice, buckwheat, maize, millet or quinoa flour. Serve with smashed avocado and tomato and onion salsa.

Fructose is a type of sugar found in fruit, honey and some veggies. Fructose malabsorption means the body doesn’t digest or absorb fructose properly. Because of this, fructose ferments in the gut. The side effects can include bloating, pain, gas and diarrhoea.

People have different degrees of tolerance to fructose and may choose to follow a low FODMAP diet.

• Frittata made with baby spinach leaves, mushrooms and sweet potato.
• Plain Greek yoghurt with almonds.
• Sourdough toast (spelt, white, wholemeal or gluten-free) with a poached egg and smashed avocado.

• Overnight oats or fresh porridge made with lactose-free milk or calcium fortified almond milk. Note: Avoid adding honey and use lower fructose fruit such as a cup of blueberries or 2 kiwi fruit.
• Sourdough toast (spelt, white, wholemeal or gluten-free) with a poached egg and avocado.
• Fructose-free cereal such as fruit-free muesli or oats (some corn flakes and rice puffs are FODMAP friendly) with lactose-free milk.

• An egg omelette served with gluten-free toast. Mix it up with some great fillings including shredded turkey, salmon, baby spinach leaves and mushrooms.
• Zucchini fritters made with gluten-free flour or other alternatives (as mentioned above). You could also try shredded sweet potato and other veggies like corn, carrot and basil to make a homemade hash brown.
• Brown rice pudding made with cinnamon, calcium fortified almond milk and a little peanut butter. Avoid honey and top with some low fructose fruit like a sliced banana or cup of blueberries.

Food intolerances can be very complicated, and people who self-diagnose or self-manage can potentially put themselves at risk of deficiencies. If you're struggling with persistent symptoms, it's a good idea to see your GP or speak with an Accredited Practising Dietitian before making any major diet changes.