Egg Bites! Quick, Easy and Macro-Friendly

Egg bites are an easy to prep, inexpensive meal and snack option. They’re high in protein, 9-11 grams per bite, and low in calories, 90-100 calories per bite, to fit your macro needs. They are also very easy to grab and eat when you’re in a hurry.

Prep time can take as little as 5 minutes, depending on the ingredients you chose. This is a versatile recipe where you can switch up vegetables and additional protein options. Whether you prefer ham, lean chicken or turkey breakfast sausage, or use a plant-based protein option like Beyond Breakfast Sausage crumbles, they mix and bake well in this egg dish. You can also skip the addition of a meat or plant-based protein and just increase the vegetables for fewer calories and sodium, and more fiber. Using a lower fat or fat free cheese will also save calories.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole egg (approximately) OR, increase Egg White/Liquid Egg to 2-3/4 cup

• 1-3/4 cup Egg White or Liquid Egg

• 1/2-1 cup diced vegetables of choice

• 3/4 cup or 85 grams pre-made hashbrowns or diced potatoes (found in the refrigerator section)

• 2/3 cup or 100 grams cooked and cooled Diced Ham, Crumbled Chicken or Turkey Bacon, or Lean ground Turkey or Chicken Sausage

• 3/4 cup or 85 grams of low-fat shredded cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400° F

• If using whole eggs, add to mixing bowl and beat well. Then, add additional egg whites or liquid egg, mix well.

• Evenly distribute egg mixture into muffin tin.

• Distribute additional ingredients evenly between each muffin. Lightly stir each to mix ingredients.

• Bake on 400° F for 18-22 minutes.

• Stores well for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Freezing will change texture, many will not like the texture change, but give it a shot, you may not mind it.

• Eat cold or reheated.

Final nutrition will depend on the ingredients used. Expect a single egg bite to range from:

• 90-100 calories

• 9-11 grams of Protein

• 2-4 grams of Fat

• 2-4 grams of Carbohydrates

Questions I'm asked when it comes to baking and cooking include whether to use weighted or volume measurements. Weighted measurements for ingredients like meat, potatoes and cheese are more accurate than volume-based measurements from measure cups. Small food scales can be a great tool to have for cooking, baking and meal-prep. No food scale? No problem, using measuring cups can be a lot easier than weighting out ingredients and yeild similar results, especially when making smaller batches.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between liquid eggs and egg whites? When it comes to calories and protein, there is no difference. They both have around 25 calories and 5 grams of protein per a 3-tablespoon serving.

What is different is liquid eggs have vitamins and minerals added to them, as well as Beta-Carotene (a precursor to Vitamin A) for the yellow color. Almost all of eggs nutrition come from the egg yolk, which is removed to reduce the calories and fat, leaving egg whites as a great protein source but almost no micronutrients are left. Eggs are a great source of water soluble and fat-soluble vitamins, like B-vitamins, Vitamin D (hard to get naturally in foods), vitamin A, and Biotin. Liquid eggs add back the nutrients lost through removing the yolk. Some brands of liquid eggs include seasonings like onion and garlic powder as well, double check the ingredient list if you're sensitive to some seasonings.

I prefer to use liquid eggs when making my egg bites for the week. Asides from the additional micronutrients, I prefer the yellow color of the egg bites when using liquid eggs. I also use 4-5 whole eggs for the added healthy fats that eggs provide.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think and what variations you've found that work great. This is a great recipe to try new combinations of vegetables, cheese, and breakfast meat.