Whole30 Breakfast Sandwiches (Whole30 McGriddles)
I have a confession to make. I have something of a thing for junky breakfast. My obsession started when we linked drive-thru breakfasts and road trips, in the car at 7 a.m. with my tween head angled over on the car window, a pillow from home sandwiched in between my headphones and the glass. I’d order pancakes and sausage and hashbrowns and orange juice, and I’d balance the styrofoam plate on my knees as I pried open the corner of the syrup container. My mom would anxiously warn me to be careful, no doubt envisioning the gratuitous hours spent cleaning up a sticky mess, worsened by drying, as spilt syrup is not a pull-overable offense. I’d cut up the soft and golden brown flapjacks with the plastic knife and fork they threw in our to-go bag, noticing the scars my dinky cutlery left in the portable plate. I’d eat half the pancakes and wish I’d ordered more hashbrowns and sausage but glad I hadn’t, since don’t you know that grease causes pimples?! And so my love of bad-for-you breakfast began! I’d like to say that road trips are the same without a dash through the drive-thru, but I’d be implying that we don’t still press pause on our healthy, paleo diets and indulge in a bag of mini cinnamon rolls when traveling… (We totally do.) But on a regular basis? Nope. We save the fast-food breakfasts only for exceptions, and we gorge on my Whole30 “bread pudding” with sweet potatoes and apples or my paleo quiche with crab and spinach or my paleo cereal which comes together in a minute or two and is so good for a quick and easy morning when you can’t stand the thought of yet another egg. And then I had a revelation. What are fast-food breakfast sandwiches, really? They’re meat and egg and maybe cheese and some sort of carb-y bun. I’ve been making sweet potato toast for months, so why not… bring the breakfast sandwich to the Whole30 and paleo breakfast? It was one of those recipes that’s so loaded with expectation, because you want it to be as good as it sounds in your head, and when it’s not? It’s a little more upsetting than it should be, regularly prompting introspection and nights in bed scrolling food chemistry blogs in the dark, while your husband dramatically flips over in bed to remind you that, yes, he is still awake and yes, it’s because you’re illuminating the entire bedroom with your giant iPhone. But luckily (for my marriage?), these Whole30 breakfast sandwiches were a total home run, and right away. I made sweet potato “toast” by sprinkling sweet potato rounds with cinnamon and salt and sautéing them in buttery ghee. I layered these sweet potato buns with homemade Whole30 breakfast sausage patties (which are so easy to make – my recipe includes a video!), a fried egg, and either avocado slices or my quick chipotle aioli. Before you accuse me of having SWYPO, keep in mind that these are not baked recreations of junk food, just like sweet potato toast is a-OK on a Whole30. ? I could rock a Whole30 for life with these Whole30 breakfast sandwiches every morning, couldn’t you?
