Dear Dietitian,
For the past few days in a row I had a breakfast of quinoa, about three cups, and I felt very heavy pain on my one knee when I exercised later. Usually I have very little pain due to arthritis, which is pretty good for a 76 year-old.
Could this be caused from my new breakfast of quinoa, instead of my typical oats?
What would you suggest is good breakfast for a vegetarian like myself?
Thank you for your advice.

Regards,

Mike

Mike, it’s unlikely that your knee pain is related to the switch of breakfast starch. The innocent quinoa isn’t to blame. Quinoa is actually a small seed rather than a grass grain. Although 3 cups of quinoa might make your stomach ache! That is a mega volume for breakfast. I couldn’t even find a far reaching correlation with quinoa to joint pain. Quinoa isn’t implicated in gouty arthritis as it’s reported to be low purine and slightly alkaline forming. So no dice.

Is there a way for me to go back to a vegetarian diet safely, and without gaining weight?

In regards to your second question, there are many vegetarian breakfast options. Aside from those containing egg or milk products, breakfast meals centered around nuts/seeds, whole grains, fruit and beans hit the mark for vegetarians. A homemade muesli of oats, dried fruit, coconut and sliced almonds with plain soymilk is both filling and balanced. Tofu quiches or frittatas with spinach, peppers, onions and mushroom work in vegetables nicely. Culinary enthusiasts might opt for a ‘pancake’ made from chickpea flour, baking powder, onions, and peppers, then topped with avocado and salsa. For a portable  seasonal breakfast use a high power blender to liquefy a half cup each of almond milk and cooked with a few ice cubes, a couple dates, 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds, half-teaspoon each of cinnamon and vanilla, and a sprinkle of ground cloves or ginger. You can’t go wrong with super-easy almond butter on sprouted grain toast with sliced apples, either!

– Debbie J., MS, RD

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Debbie James is a registered dietitian. Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or recommendations of Fitness International, LLC.