Low Carb Breakfast (or Lunch or Dinner) Burrito

Technically it doesn’t have to be a ‘breakfast burrito.’ You can eat it any time of the day and it’s still delicious. We call it a breakfast burrito because it’s filled with eggs, but you could add fillings or toppings to make it seem more like lunch or dinner. These kinds of recipes are great because you can make them different each time and keep coming up with flavor combinations that add variety to your weight loss diet.

This recipe is more like inspired by a burrito than an actual burrito. The trick is to swap out the traditional flour tortilla (which is made with refined carbohydrates) for slices of deli ham (full of protein). This swap means less carbs and more protein than a traditional burrito, which makes it fit very easily into a post-op gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or lap band diet. Scrambled eggs are not recommended early on in Dr. Shillingford’s post-op bariatric diet due to their dryness. Dry foods are often not well tolerated in the early stages after weight loss surgery, therefore Dr. Shillingford’s bariatric patients are instructed to wait until they have progressed to Stage 5 before incorporating eggs into the bariatric diet.

This burrito could easily be transformed into a low carb lunch or dinner. Make it taco inspired by adding shredded cheddar, avocado slices, and a spoonful of salsa. Or transform it into a BLT style burrito by adding bacon crumbles, sauteed greens, and diced tomato for a quick lunch. You could add swiss cheese and sauteed asparagus for more of a dinner burrito, or mushrooms, leeks, and goat cheese for a burrito that would be yummy for any meal.

By using ham (or turkey if you don’t eat ham) instead of a tortilla you can mimic the idea of a burrito and still make it fit into a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Weight loss surgery patients should be following a low calorie, high protein diet to maximize weight loss after their gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or lap band surgery.

Low Carb Breakfast Burrito

1 egg, scrambled

1 slice ham, sliced medium thick

Veggies (onion, kale, and red pepper can be good choices)

Saute veggies using cooking spray. When veggies are soft, add egg and cook until done. Remove scrambled egg and veggie mixture from the pan. Add ham slice to the pan to brown. Remove ham from pan. Add egg and veggie mixture to the ham and roll up like a burrito.

Follow Dr. Shillingford on Facebook! Dr. Shillingford, MD, PA, is a board-certified surgeon specializing in laparoscopic and robotic surgery, as well as obesity surgery. His gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and lap band patients often travel from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Orlando, and even Jacksonville to have their surgery performed by the Medical Director of Northwest Medical Center’s Center of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery. Call Dr. Shillingford’s office today at (561) 483-8840 to schedule your free informational session to learn if gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or lap band surgery are right for you.