I have always been an avid lover of breakfast food. I can happily consume breakfast for any meal and/or snack of the day and be completely satisfied. I’m talking all of the pancakes, smoothies and oatmeal. In fact, I think I ate oatmeal bowls smothered in fruit and nut butter for breakfast (and sometimes lunch) every single day from 2014-2016. I’m not exaggerating even a little bit.
However, in July of last year, I completed my first ever round of Whole30. Months of feeling unwell had left me at a point of desperation. I was ready to try anything to help with my fatigue, headaches, and especially my stomach trouble. I figured my diet was a great place to start.
If you’ve never heard of the Whole30 before, I suggest that you take some time to do your own research, but the basic rules require that you eliminate the most common craving-inducing, blood sugar disrupting, gut-damaging, inflammatory food groups from your diet for a full 30 days.
- no dairy
- no grains
- no soy
- no sugar or artificial sweeteners
- no alcohol
- no legumes.
I’m sure to some of you it sounds terrible, but it absolutely changed my life. When I was forced to break all of the old food patterns that I’d fallen into, it allowed me to really evaluate what foods were serving me and my body best. (If anyone is interested, I might offer a more in-depth Whole30 recap in the future.)
One of the most common complaints from those eating a Whole30 diet is how challenging breakfast can feel. When you remove grains and dairy, suddenly most traditional breakfast foods like yogurt, toast, cereal, oatmeal, etc. are no longer morning options. Eggs and bacon quickly become the new breakfast superheroes. But, even eggs and bacon get tiring after 30 straight days.
Enter these Cinnamon Roasted Breakfast Carrots. They’re sweet and tender, crisp and spicy. They’re delish paired with the aforementioned eggs and bacon or served with some avocado and breakfast sausage for an egg-free option. I even love them as makeshift “croutons” on my lunchtime salads.
They’re super simple to make, requiring just one bowl and one pan, and can be thrown together with only 4 ingredients that you probably have on hand already.
But they don’t just taste great, carrots are packed with fibre to aid digestion, Vitamin A, Biotin and Potassium. Cinnamon boasts anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, ani-fungal and anti-viral properties, making it the perfect spice to add to a winter breakfast for flavor and for health during flu-season.
They fry up quickly and easily in an air fryer – I use my tried and tested Phillip’s, but an old air fryer will do. If you don’t have one, just toss them on a baking sheet and slide them into your oven. They’ll cook up beautifully there too, it’ll just them them a bit longer.
I seriously hope that you give these new-found, breakfast gems a try. If you do, I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below or send me a picture on instagram.
Cinnamon Roasted Breakfast Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp-tbsp melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 400f or 200c. If you don’t have an air fryer, preheat your oven to the same temperature.
- Peel and chop your carrots into bit sized pieces.
- Toss the carrots with the salt, coconut oil and cinnamon.
- Roast in your air fryer for 15-20 minutes, shaking once in the middle of cooking time. If roasting in a traditional oven, it may take closer to 30 minutes for your carrots to soften inside and crisp on the outside. Toss halfway through cooking.
Notes
- Cooking times in both air fryers and ovens may vary – be sure to watch your carrots. You want them to be crisp and golden on the outside, but soft and tender on the inside.
- 1 pound of carrots is equivalent to roughly 500 grams.
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