Breakfast Egg Muffins (make extra for lunch, snacks…)

IngredientsA smart mom friend of mine decided to debug the “my children come home from school starving and grab, well, ‘stuff’. When I put out healthy foods like these egg muffins they’ll grab those instead.” And, I might add, it’s important to send children to school after a high protein breakfast. While boxes of cereal are convenient, they aren’t nutritious and are so high in sugar that mid-morning there is an energy slump. What happens next? No attention, no learning, perhaps some crankiness, perhaps even distracting other students. Yet who isn’t in a hurry getting children out of the house dressed and ready and for most, yourself off to work?

These egg muffins are easy to make, perhaps 10 minutes of prep time then 30 minutes of baking so you probably are not going to make them on a weekday morning (perhaps an evening using the bake time to do something else—set the oven timer). That’s why they store well in the refrigerator and are extremely freezable (make a double batch?). Not always at home to reheat things? Other options include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and any dip especially hummus yum or my smoked salmon dip. The possibilities are amazing and I’ll post more.

Each recipe makes 12 egg muffins that freeze beautifully or can be stored in the refigerator up to 5 days—Pop in a toaster oven to reheat (microwaves will make them rubbery and are unhealthy anyway) and see below for a wonderful container that allows you to send just about anything to school/work/anywhere warm for about 4 hours.

Ingredients

1 Cup baby spinach, chopped
¾ Cup red bell pepper, diced
¾ Cup green bell pepper, diced
¾ Cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
8 large eggs
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
pinch ground black or cayenne pepper (whatever sounds good)
¼ Cup feta or goat cheese, or use grated almond cheese for dairy free
Optional: toppings of your choice: avocado slices, salsa (especially Kirsten’s Fresh Salsa of the Day), get creative

Preparation

1. Coat muffin tins or use silicon non-stick and BPA-free baking cups
2. Preheat oven to 350⁰
3. Whisk eggs (I use a fork and mix them well)
4. Add herbs and black or cayenne pepper and mix, set aside
5. Place veggies and crumbled or grated cheese, equally distributed, into prepared muffin tins
6. Carefully and slowly pour in the egg mixture
7. Optional: Top with additional cheese or any of the other toppings you choose. Note: if choosing avocado you will want to submerge it slightly to prevent burning.
8. Bake at 350⁰ for 24-28 minutes

These muffins are extremely freezable once cooled entirely. Reheat them in a toaster oven. Microwaves are extremely toxic and will make them rubbery. To pack and take… I like to heat at home and then put into an insulated lunch box like this one (shown below) that holds 16oz and is leakproof for chili, soup, Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) whatever you’ve made ahead.

Variations are endless, here’s a meat-lovers idea with a pizza twist:

Ingredients

¾ pound unsweetened mild Italian sausage (beef or pork)
2 cloves garlic, minced (omit if garlic sensitive)
dash of crushed red pepper
⅔ Cup sundried tomatoes (soften by soaking in water if the very hard kind), sliced into approximately ⅛ inch strips
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend OR ½ teaspoon each dried basil, dried oregano, plus ¼ teaspoon each dried sage, dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried, marjoram
1 teaspoon onion powder
9 large eggs
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Coconut or olive oil for cooking

Optional: Cheese? Keep it dairy free by grating ⅔ cup of Lizzonetti almond mozzerella. Other toppings? Try Hempler’s sugar free bacon, cooked and crumbled, sauteed mushrooms…

Preparation

1. Coat muffin tins or use silicon non-stick and BPA-free baking cups
2. Preheat oven to 350⁰
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 teaspoon coconut oil, let melt, or use olive oil. Add the sausage and a dash of crushed red pepper. Break up lumps of sausage with a wooden spoon. If using the garlic, add it to the pan when the sausage is halfway browned.
4. Once the sausage is nearly browned, add the sundried tomatoes.
5. Whisk eggs (I use a fork and mix them well)
6. Add herbs and seasonings and mix well
7. Add sausage mixture to the egg mixture and mix well
8. Carefully and slowly pour equal amounts into the prepared muffin tins
9. Optional: Top with additional cheese if desired
10. Bake at 350⁰ for 24-28 minutes

If you make these, please let me know what you think and feel free to suggest any variations in the comments, below. Enjoy!