Egg Cup Breakfast

When I was growing up, if I asked my dad what he wanted for breakfast, he always gave the same answer: Steak, eggs and hash browns.  We usually laughed at my dad, because really? Steak and eggs for breakfast?  Dad was a breakfast guy.

I don't like to eat in the morning.  I think I've mentioned this before.  I don't like to cook in the morning even more than I don't like to eat in the morning.  In fact, it could be why I don't like to eat in the morning.  Never mind, I'm starting to sound cranky- like it's morning.

Anyway, breakfast is important.  It starts the day and we need our blood sugar levels to come up.  After all we've just been fasting for 8 hours. (Hence the name, break fast- breakfast.) Ta da!

Protein is the best way to start the day. (Hmmm, maybe my dad was on to something.)  For me that means eggs.  I'll 86 the steak and hash browns.  To make life a little easier I decided to make egg cups.  Since I was already making egg cups, it seemed like a good idea to make 12 and put some in the refrigerator for the week.  Now I just pop one of these out and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Breakfast is a little more palatable when it's fast, and there's no mess!

 This isn't so much a recipe as a method.  That is a statement I repeat a lot.  You know way more about the way I cook than is strictly necessary. lol.

Anyway, I just added lean meat, ham and turkey, to the muffin tin.  I added a tiny bit of Parmesan cheese and cracked an egg into the tin.  Bake at 350 for 12 min.

 For the scrambled version I added 1 Tbl cottage cheese per 2 eggs to a bowl and then the eggs and some salt and pepper.  As with the other cups I added a tiny bit of cheese (maybe 1/2 teaspoon) and then the egg.  Bake 350 for 12 min.

 I also did some without the meat.  For those I added the Parmesan directly to the scrambled eggs along with the cottage cheese. I also added a Tbl. diced ham per every 2 eggs.  No salt because the cheeses are so salty.  I did use cooking spray so the eggs wouldn't stick.  Bake at 350 for 12 min. Delicious.

The hardest thing has been keeping my family out of my eggs.  :)  Guess I'll have to make some for them also.

How to get all that Protein on a Budget

 Dieters and diabetics alike eat protein!  It keeps us full, it keeps us happy and it doesn't cause sugar spikes.  For most people protein means meat.  Meat is expensive!  One of the biggest reasons that people think they can't stick to a healthy living plan, is how expensive healthy food is.  Mac-n-cheese is cheap.  Steak is not.  Even Chicken is so expensive, unless you are willing to buy the whole bird, and a dieter usually only wants the white meat. And then there is the "the-hormones-in-the-meat-are-making-us-fat" argument.  I don't know if that is true or not.  This is what I know:

1) I want to eat.
2) I want it to taste good.
3) I want it to be healthy to fuel my body.
4) I want to cook one meal for the whole family (see number 2).
5) I want to be able to afford to eat this way.

I don't consider any of these wants unreasonable.  But to accomplish them all, I buy in bulk.  I buy from a place called Zaycon foods.  I buy the beef which is 97/3 and tasty.  I buy the chicken, which is boneless, skinless, hormone free and not previously frozen- so fresh.  I do buy it in 40 lb increments. It is worth it to me.  I get it home and repackage the meat into quart sized freezer bags and I add marinades to about 1/2 of what I get.  That way, I take a package out of the freezer in the morning and by dinner time, I have a nice marinated chicken breast to cook up.  Easy!  I pay $1.00-$2.00 less per pound by doing this.  When you buy 80 lbs of meat that adds up!  I think it takes my family of 6 3-5 months to go through this much chicken.  Although, some days we are having beef, but we mostly eat chicken.

For me the quality is better that my local grocery store and the price is lower, so it is worth the extra work of rebagging. I know for others this is not the case, but for me it works.

What do you do to keep the cost of eating correctly down?

By the way, I am including a link to Zaycon Foods here for you.  Go ahead and take a look.  See if they deliver in your area of the country. If so, give it a try and let me know what you think.  They have a lot of great products.  And before anyone asks, NO! +Zaycon Foods  did not pay me to write this. Yes! I like the service that much! And the only sort of compensation I might get is that if you buy something, and go through my link, I get $1.00 off on my next order.  It is not enough for me to write a blog post.  I have to actually like them.  :)

https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf1982