These Low Carb Egg Muffins are packed with protein and other nutrients, and are absolutely delicious! Easy to make ahead and enjoy for breakfast, a healthy snack, or for any meal of the day. Perfect for Meatless Monday too!
End-of-summer news flash!!! My {almost } 13-year-old daughter, Miss SiSi, decided to become a {lacto ovo} vegetarian 2 weeks ago.
I’m a little hesitant writing this, knowing that teenagers have a penchant for spur-of-the-moment decisions. And, she could change her mind at any minute.
But, I’m going with it for now, because over half the meals we eat, are already plant-based, so from a cooking perspective, I think it will be easy, as long as my “boys” get a little meat from time to time 🙂
And even though Mr. Spicy, Big Tex, and I are omnivores/flexitarians, I definitely think a mostly plant-based diet is a very healthy way to eat, so I’m here to support her decision 100%.
The thing is, though, that there’s no way this RD mama is going to let her daughter live off macaroni and cheese and buttered noodles every day.
Sheesh! What would you think of me if I allowed something like that?!
And that’s where these Low Carb Egg Muffins w/ VEGETABLES come in to play when SiSi heads back to school next week.
Chock full of some of her favorite ingredients {other than pasta!} these low-carb egg muffins are the perfect thing to pack in a nutritious school {or work} lunch!
I’ll be honest and tell you that my girl isn’t a huge veggie eater {and if I had to be perfectly honest with you, I would tell you that she could probably live off of CARBS, topped with butter of course, on a daily basis}.
But she humors me by eating tomatoes and olives on a regular basis. And, I’ve discovered that spinach and onions {when chopped up and cooked} are acceptable things to add in to foods.
Notice I said “add-in” NOT sneak. Sorry for shouting, it’s just that I am very anti-sneak when it comes to kids and vegetables…
These low carb egg muffins are perfect to pack in a school lunch!
In addition to tomatoes, olives, onions, and spinach, they also contain another one of SiSi’s favorite foods, feta cheese, which, in her opinion, makes everything more palatable.
As in, “Yes Mom, I will have a little Greek Salad ALONG with my feta cheese.” Ha!
Work with me here friends…if feta cheese is what it takes to get my daughter to eat some greens, then I’m all for it!
And, finally, in addition to the feta cheese, the eggs and quinoa provide some protein for my daughter, which I’m all for. Especially if it makes her a little less crabby moody, ahem, emotional, when she gets home from school.
Ah…teenagers…
Wish me luck over these next several years 🙂
Low Carb Egg Muffins Serving Suggestions & Ingredient Substitutions
- SERVING IDEAS
- Breakfast “On-the-Go” 2 muffins + a piece of fruit;
- Brown Bag Lunch 2 muffins + a piece of fruit + veggie sticks;
- Afternoon Snack 1 muffin + a piece of fruit;
- Family Dinner for Busy School Nights 2 muffins + salad + fresh fruit.
- RECIPE VARIATIONS
- Italian Low Carb Egg Muffins {tomatoes, spinach, fresh basil, mozzarella and Parmesan}
- Dairy Free Very Veggie Muffins {tomatoes, onion, garlic, spinach, zucchini, & artichoke hearts}
- Make Mine w/ Meat Muffins {onions, tomato, chopped ham or crumbled Italian turkey sausage, and cheddar}
Need some other vegetarian school lunch ideas? Here’s what I have planned for packing for SiSi’s school lunches, all served with a piece of fruit and/or veggies {carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, and cucumbers are her favorites}…
Vegetarian School Lunch Ideas
- Amazingly Addictive Artichoke Squares-So easy to make ahead of time in big batches and freeze/defrost for lunches!
- Vegetarian refried beans with cheese and rice
- Veggie Sandwich w/ goat cheese, tomato slices, lettuce, cucumbers, and avocado
- Tomato Soup {This homemade tomato soup is my all-time favorite, OR Trader Joes Organic Cream of Tomato Soup is quite tasty} + a cheese sandwich
- Pasta with marinara sauce and ricotta cheese.
- PB and J Sandwich
- Vegetarian Chili topped with cheese
P.S. Check out my new Pinterest Board, Family-Friendly Vegetarian Recipes, for more tween/teen-friendly vegetarian recipe ideas the whole family will {fingers crossed} love!
Low Carb Egg Muffins w/ Veggies & Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups baby spinach, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion*
- 1 cup chopped or sliced tomatoes {cherry or grape tomatoes work well}
- 1/2 cup chopped {pitted} kalamata olives
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 2 teaspoons high oleic sunflower oil, plus optional extra for greasing muffin tins
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup cooked quinoa*
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit, and prepare 12 silicone muffin holders on a baking sheet, or grease a 12 cup muffin tin with oil and set aside.
- Chop vegetables and heat a skillet to medium. Add vegetable oil and onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute for another minute, then add spinach and saute until wilted, about 1 minute. Turn off heat and stir in olives and oregano, and set aside.
- Place eggs in a blender or mixing bowl and blend/mix until well combined. Pour eggs in to a mixing bowl {if using a blender} then add quinoa, feta cheese, veggie mixture, and salt, and stir until well combined.
- Pour mixture in to silicone cups or greased muffin tins, dividing equally, and bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until eggs have set and muffins are a light golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving, or may be chilled and eaten cold, or re-heated in a microwave the next day.
Notes
- *Omit onions for a Low FODMAP option.
- If you have precooked quinoa in your fridge, it works perfectly in this recipe, but if you are cooking it specifically for this recipe I recommend making a big batch {2 cups water per each cup of dry, rinsed quinoa} and saving the extra for leftovers.
Nutrition
I love hearing from you! Have you made low-carb egg muffins before? What ingredients would you add to these muffins? What are your favorite vegetarian brown bag lunch ideas? Do you have {or have had} a teenager? Tips please, pretty, pretty please!!!
