Q: What do you recommend as a protein alternative to bacon and eggs for breakfast? 

A: I'm not a big fan of animal protein as the main component of a meal. I want to see if we can't transition you to a breakfast that provides vital nutrients in addition to calories, fat, animal protein, nitrites and nitrates, etc. Make sure your sandwich bread is whole grain.

When I need to keep going on breakfast, I'll usually have a large bowl of oatmeal mixed with some brown rice, lightly toasted sunflower seeds or almonds, blueberries, and a little maple syrup.

Or, another favorite is a big bowl of brown rice mixed with steamed greens and chopped tomato and avocado.

You want to avoid processed carbs, like donuts, white breads, cookies, candies, pastries, sugar drinks, etc. They are what cause the energy roller coaster. If you eat whole foods, the sugars they contain is moderated, and can fuel you effectively for longer periods of time.

Partly, my answer depends why you're looking for an alternative. If the rest of your meals are healthy, and you get all the micronutrients found by the thousands in green leafy vegetables, yellow, red and orange vegetables, and fruits and legumes, then maybe the bacon and egg for breakfast is sustainable for you.

One thing you can do is cut the amount of bacon by 10% and add something else in its place. Next week, reduce it by 10% again and see what happens. Any change is likely to be disruptive, even - especially - a positive change.

Think of it this way: have you ever had work done on your house? Maybe replacing some warped or rotten beams, or putting in new kitchen cabinets and counters? How did the house look while the work was going on? A thousand times worse than before, probably.

That's what happens to our bodies when we improve our diet. Our bodies go, "Hey, this new stuff is far superior to the stuff I'm made of. I'm going to break down the old cells and rebuild with the new food." (Remember, we are what we eat, literally. If your body takes in higher quality lumber, it will naturally start chucking the low quality stuff.)

Addendum: A high protein breakfast I made in response to this question:

To make a change from oatmeal, today I made scrambled tofu for breakfast. Here's the basics of the recipe:

• 1 block firm tofu, crumbled by hand or fork into a mixing bowl (hand is much more fun)
• whatever spices you like (I threw in garlic powder, oregano, and turmeric - the turmeric gives it a yellow color so it looks like eggs)
• some frozen peas
• a bit of chopped onion
• 1 t. olive oil or water

Heat a skillet with a little oil or water. When hot, toss in the onions and stir until tender (about 3 minutes).

Add the spices to the tofu and mix well. Add the tofu and frozen peas to the skillet. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring to keep the tofu from sticking.

Serve on whole grain toast with all-natural catsup, salsa, or the topping of your choice.