Skinny Broccoli, Egg, and Cheese Bites

I know we all have very busy schedules and limited time for cooking. It seem this lack of time has led to bad food choices just because we reach for the quick fix. I created this recipe for those of you whom love breakfast food and have limited time. My suggestion is to make these yummy little omelet bites on a Sunday night, and you will be covered for breakfast and/or snacks for at least 3 days! Remember, it is all about preparation, whether it be making these or any other low glycemic recipe.

Ingredients

• 10 large egg whites

• 2 large whole eggs

• 3 1/2 cups broccoli, fresh and chopped (about 1 packaged bushel)

• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa red or white

• 2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese (or your choice) shredded (so delicious or follow your heart)

• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (kitehill)

• 2 tbsp vegan grated parmesean cheese (follow your heart)

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1/4-1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 spray Pam cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook 1 1/2 cups of quinoa. If you are not sure how to cook quinoa, first rinse the quinoa. Next, add 3 cups of water to the 1 1/2 cups quinoa and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Once you bring the quinoa/water mixture to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer on low for 20 minutes.

2. Remove lid when the quinoa is done, and remove from the heat. While the quinoa is cooking, rinse and chop the broccoli into small pieces.

3. Add the chopped broccoli and 1 cup of water to a large pan and cook on medium to high heat until all of the water is gone. This typically takes about 10 minutes and I like to brown the broccoli slightly. Browning the broccoli gives it a great flavor in my opinion!

4. While the broccoli and quinoa are cooking, add eggs, egg whites, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, spray butter, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to a large bowl. Whisk the egg mixture for at least 2 minutes, until well blended.

5. Next, add the mild cheddar and mozzarella cheese and mix well. Once the quinoa and broccoli are finished cooking, add to the egg mixture and mix well again.

6. Spray 2 muffin pans with cooking spray and make sure to coat well! You can use a mini muffin tin and/or a regular muffin tin. The only difference will be an additional 5 minutes cooking time for the larger muffins. Add mixture to the muffin tin spaces and make sure not to overfill! Add a sprinkle of cheese on top of each egg mixture if desired.

7. For regular muffin tin, bake for 25 minutes and broil for 1-2 minutes to reach desired brownness. For mini muffin tin, bake for 20 minutes and broil for 1 minute if necessary. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before you remove from tins.

8. First, I use a toothpick to scrape the perimeter of each egg muffin to loosen it up. Then a carefully work them out of the tin. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO COAT THE TIN WELL, OTHERWISE THEY MAKE STICK AND FALL APART! ENJOY right away or store in an airtight sealed contained.