Breakfast

Baked Egg with Feta and Spinach

Baked Egg with Feta and Spinach
Serve 4

4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon of your preferred herb blend (I used Penzey’s Mural of Flavor.)
1 cup (packed) fresh baby spinach, finely chopped
Pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Spray oven-safe custard cups with cooking spray (or otherwise grease them.)
3.  With electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
4.  Gently stir in cheese, spinach and herbs.
5.  Divide between the four cups.
6.  With a spoon, create a small well in the center of the egg white mixture.
7.  Carefully slide a yolk into each well.
8.  Place cups on a baking sheet, and place in oven.  Back 10-14 minutes, until the egg white puffs up and browns. The yolk will be hot and thick, but not solid.

Note: in the picture, I topped the egg with a half tablespoon of Greek yogurt. That was unnecessary, and won’t be repeated in the future.

Nutritional data:
Calories:       106
Fat:                 7g
Sat fat:            3g
Chol:           220mg
Sodium:       186mg
Carbs:          1.6g
Fiber:           0.2g
Protein:        9.3g

Alternatives:
Crumbled bacon and finely shredded sharp cheddar
Shedded Swiss and minced mushrooms
Fresh basil, scallion and Parmesan

Mushroom-Spinach Baked Eggs

Mushroom-Spinach Baked Eggs
Serves 4
4 pieces bread, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 cups baby spinach (4 ounces)
¼ cup milk
4 large eggs
¼ cup shredded cheese
1.   Preheat oven to 350F
2.   Spray 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray
3.   Preheat 10” non-stick skillet. Add olive oil
4.   Saute onions until they get translucent (4-5 minutes)
5.   Add mushrooms. Let them cook, undisturbed for 4 minutes. Then stir together, cooking another 4 minutes.
6.   Add spinach, stir together. Let the spinach begin to wilt.
7.   Lay the toasted bread in the pan in single layer, trimming the bread to make it fit if needed.
8.   Spread mushroom-spinach evenly over the toast. Make 4 wells in the topping, one for each piece of toast.
9.   Pour 1 tablespoon milk in each well.
10. Carefully crack eggs and place 1 egg in each well.
11. Bake for 25 minutes.
12. After 25 minutes, sprinkle cheese evenly. Return to oven for 5 more minutes
13. Remove, cut into four portions and serve.
Cooking it a total of 30 minutes will give you a warm but still liquid yolk. Adding 5 more minutes will give you a yolk that is very thick, but not yet solid.
Nutritional data:
Calories:      171
Fat:              8.1g
Sat fat:         2.7g
Chol:          216mg
Sodium:      232mg
Carbs:       15.9g
Fiber:          3.6g
Protein:     12.1g

Eggs Over Chili

Eggs Over Chili
Serves 1

This is a nice way to use a little leftover chili and make a hearty breakfast.

1 cup chili (your preferred style)
2 eggs, prepare in your preferred style

Warm the chili and place on a plate. If desired top with cheese.
Cook eggs to the desired preparation, and placed on top of chili. Drizzle hot sauce if desired.

I can’t provide nutritional data for your food because I don’t know your chili. How are my chili is made with a lot of beans, ground beef, low sodium V-8 juice, onions and whole fresh tomatoes, as well as some spices and herbs. For being used kidney beans but I use dried beans and then rehydrate them in my pressure cooker. This avoids a lot of the sodium that you’ll find in canned beans. If you eat a lot of beans and their concern about sodium, I would recommend investing in a pressure cooker.

My chili recipe:
1 pound ground beef, browned
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Spices and herbs as desired (I used Penzey’s Salt Free Regular Chili Powder.)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
32 ounces low sodium V8 juice (or tomato juice if you prefer)
2 cups cooked kidney beans (approximately 1 can)

  1. In a large kettle, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until beginning to turn translucent (2-3 minutes.)
  2. Add tomato paste and spices. Stir together.
  3. Add tomatoes. Let cook for 2-4 minutes.
  4. Add V8, beans and meat. Cook until hot. This is best if prepared a day in advance, so that the flavors have a chance to meld together.

Note:  Penzey’s also has Medium and Hot versions of their salt-free chili powder.

Nutritional data for this chili:
Calories:       178
Fat:               5.6g
Sat fat:          2.1g
Chol:          38.5mg
Sodium:         91mg
Carbs:         15.2g
Fiber:            3.8g
Protein:       16.2g

Easy Complete Breakfasts

Easy Complete Breakfast
Serves 1

Note: This has a dumb name. I’d take any suggestions on what to call this meal. It has a texture similar to a muffin, but without the crispy top.

Take a microwave-safe soup bowl or large (10-12 ounce) coffee mug. Spray with cooking spray.

Into this, add:

1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 dash cinnamon
1/4 cup regular (not instant) oatmeal
1/4 cup berries (fresh, or thawed frozen berries)

Stir together. Don’t expect it to become completely uniform, you are just trying to make sure it is mixed together.

Microwave for 1.5 – 2 minutes (depending on your microwave.)

Eat from the directly from the dish, or place a plate over the mug/bowl and invert it. I topped mine with a little whipped topping.
Nutritional data: (for the first picture, and for the version served with slices of cantaloupe)
Calories:         194
Fat:                 6.7g
Sat fat:               2g
Chol:              212mg
Sodium:            80mg
Carbs:           24.7g
Fiber:              2.9g
Protein:           9.7g

You can use almost any fruit, as long as it is about 1/4 cup. In the first picture I used 1/4 cup blueberries, and in the second picture (using a coffee mug) 1/4 of a mashed banana.

The other version in the second picture is a more robust version. I started with the basic recipe (above) and for fruit, 1/4 of a mashed banana. But then I added 2 tablespoons milled flax seed, 1 tablespoon peanut butter and 1 tablespoon semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips.

Calories:         434 (for the more robust version)
Fat:                24.9g
Sat fat:             6.5g
Chol:              212mg
Sodium:       157.6mg
Carbs:           42.6g
Fiber:              8.5g
Protein:         17.3g

My wife noted, and I agree, that using a soup bowl instead of a coffee mug creates a meal that is more visually filling. It looks like there is more food (even though it has the same amounts.) I’d recommend using the bowl just for the psychological factor of feeling more satisfied.

Pita, with Egg and Avocado

Warm Pita, with Eggs and Avocado
Serves 1

1 pita
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 mashed avocado
5 cherry tomatoes, halved

1.  Heat non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil.
2.  Place pita into a 6 or 7 inch skillet and warm it (about 1 minute).  Remove and keep warm.
3.  Crack eggs into skillet.  Cook to your preference.
4.  Place eggs on pita. Top with avocado and tomatoes.

Nutritional data
Calories:        468
Fat:              26.2g
Sat fat:           5.2g
Chol:             423mg
Sodium:         178mg
Carbs:          41.7g
Fiber:             5.5g
Protein:        21.1g

Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata

Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata
Serves 4

12 ounce bag of frozen broccoli florets, thawed
2 tablespoons onions, diced
8 egg whites
2 whole eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.   Turn on your oven broiler to high.
2.   Separate the 8 eggs into a large bowl.  Throw away the yolks (or use an equivalent amount of egg white or egg substitute.)
4.   Add the two whole eggs to the bowl of whites and whisk until fully mixed.
5.   Place olive oil in an oven-safe non-stick skillet. When hot, add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.
6.   Add the broccoli and saute for 5-8 minutes over med-high heat.
7.   Pour the egg mixture over the broccoli. Allow to set for 1 minute.
8.   Using the edge of a rubber scraper, carefully lift one edge of the eggs and tilt the skillet so that raw eggs run into that pocket. Repeat all around the edge until most of the surface is wet, but setting.
9.   Sprinkle the cheese on the eggs and place under the broiler for 5 minutes.
10. Cut into fourths and serve immediately.

Nutritional data:
Calories:        203
Fat:              12.3g
Sat fat:           4.9g
Chol:             226mg
Sodium:         289mg
Carbs:            5.6g
Fiber:             1.8g
Protein:        18.9g

This is very similar to my earlier recipe, Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche, but without the crust, which greatly reduces the carbs, fats and calories.

Alternative:
Use more whole eggs (1 whole egg will replace 2 egg whites)
Experiment with different cheeses
Use different vegetables
Add meats

Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Makes 2 servings of 4 pancakes. 
Mix together:
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries, pureed in a food processor or blender
¼ c water
Add:
½ cup dry oatmeal
½ tsp baking powder
2 T milled flaxseed
1 scoop (4T) whey powder
Pour scant ¼ c onto a non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray.  Turn when the batter starts to set (1-2 minutes over medium heat.)  This is thick batter, and bubbles will usually not form on the surface.
Serve with whipped cream, sautéed bananas, peanut butter or Greek Yogurt.
Nutritional data (for four pancakes):
Cal:  338
Fat:  6.7g 
Sat Fat: 1.2g 
Chol:  20 
Sodium:  248mg 
Carb:  44.9g 
Fiber 10.3g 
Protein:  25.8g 
(The nutritional data is without any toppings.)

Veggie Hash with Eggs

Veggie Hash
Makes 2-4 serving, depending on how hungry you are.  The picture shows two servings, on a 10″ plate.

8 ounces shredded potatoes
1 bunch (approxmately 1 pound) fresh asparagus, cut into  1/2 inch pieces
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
Black pepper to taste
Seasoning of your choice (I used Penzey’s Sunny Paris.)

1.  Heat a large non-stick skillet. Add 1 tsp olive oil, the asparagus, mushrooms.  Saute over medium-high heat until the mushrooms begin to brown.
2.  Remove veggies from heat, set aside, cover to keep warm.
3.  Add the remaining olive oil, and over medium-high heat, add the onions.  Saute for 2-3 minutes, and add the garlic, saute for an additional minute.
4.  Add the shredded potatoes.  Gently toss (to prevent mashing the potatoes) until the onions begin to brown (another 3-4 minutes.)
5.  Return all veggies to skillet, toss to mix.
6.  Serve with eggs prepared as you like them.

Nutritional Data (for one serving of hash only, without the eggs):
Calories:  102
Fat:            3.8g
Sat fat:       0.6g
Chol:            0mg
Sodium:    163mg
Carbs:     14.7g
Fiber:        3.3g
Protein:     4.2g

French Toast

French Toast

(The picture is actually two servings.)

2 slices of bread, your preferred type (I used Healthy Life 100% Whole Wheat)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.

Dip bread into egg mixture and flip to let both sides soak in the egg.

Lay on heated griddle.  Turn when brown on the edges (2-3 minutes.)  I served mine with just a dusting of powder sugar.

Nutritional data (for two slices):
Calories:     172
Fat:              6.1g
Sat fat:         2.9g
Chol:         214mg
Sodium:     295mg
Carbs:         1.4g
Fiber:          5.7g
Protein:     11.3g

My son preferred his served like this:

He added whipped cream and maple syrup.  Yeah.  It looks better than mine!

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Makes 2 servings of 4 pancakes. 
Mix together:
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
¼ c water
Add:
1c Kellog’s All Bran (Place the cereal in a blender or food processor and crush a little.)

½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 scoop (4T) whey powder
Pour scant ¼ c onto non-stick skillet lightly oiled.  You may need to press the batter down a little to get the correct thickness.  Turn when the batter starts to set (2-3 minutes over medium heat.)  This is very thick batter, and bubbles will not form on the surface. 
Serve with whipped cream, sautéed bananas, warm apple compote, peanut butter or Greek Yogurt.
Nutritional Data (per pancake, without toppings)
Cal:           44
Fat:           0.6g 
Sat Fat:     0.1g 
Chol:        6.8mg 
Sodium:  73.3mg 
Carb:        8.4g 
Fiber        4.8g 
Protein:    5.1g