Apple, Chicken, and Spinach Egg White Omelet Bake

I always try to keep my breakfasts interesting and filling.  My main goal is usually to make something on Sunday that I can eat throughout the week.  A large baked egg white omelet easily lasts the whole week and is very portable.  When my husband and I went to Baltimore a couple of months ago I had a delicious omelet with chicken and apples in it, so this was my attempt at recreating it.

INGREDIENTS

• Coconut Oil Cooking Spray
• 4 cups liquid egg whites
• 2 chicken breasts, saute'd in coconut oil cooking spray, and cubed
• 3 Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and diced
• 4 oz. Spinach leaves, chopped
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with coconut oil spray

Saute the chicken in the coconut oil cooking spray until thoroughly cooked

In a large bowl, mix the chicken, apples, spinach, egg whites, and spices 

Pour into the pan and cook for 30-40 minutes (until egg whites are set)

Squashed

The past week has been a whirlwind.  So busy I didn't have much time to make anything pretty or spectacular.  I am up to a full case load at work, I've gotten back into my pre-work workouts at the gym, which is both exhausting and exhilarating, and I've overall just been preparing mostly easy meals because I've been getting home around 7:30 every night.

Here are a couple highlights:

Baked Butternut Squash served with a mixture of sauteed peas, corn, mushrooms, spinach, and brown rice:

And today's breakfast:  egg whites mixed with sauteed spinach, salsa, and a little bit of reduced fat mozzarrella:

Today I also made a delicious protein smoothie with the egg white protein I mentioned before.  I used almond milk, strawberry egg white protein powder, half a banana, and a handful of blueberries.  I then proceeded to spill 90% of it on my coffee table and living room carpet!  :o(   The 10% that I got to drink was delicious!

I hope to make some more interesting things this week.  The challenge food of the week is Kabocha, which is also known as a Japanese pumpkin.  I'll let you all know what I come up with!!

My kind of convenience food...

Mornings for me can be pretty hectic and fast-paced.  Wake up at 4:30, throw down some nonfat greek yogurt with blueberries and flax seeds, and rush off to the gym for my morning workout.  Shower at the gym, get on the road to be in West Orange by 7:45ish.  Post-workout re-fueling is very important, and should never be neglected, no matter what kind of time crunch you are under.  I wouldn't be able to get through the first part of the day without it.  However, I try as often as possible to utilize real food rather than protein shakes if possible. 

And thus, I began experimenting.  Hungry Girl has a lot of recipes for "egg mugs" which can be delicious and nutritionally are perfect for a post-workout blend of protein and carbs, but if you are anywhere near as uncoordinated as I am, using a fork and operating a motor vehicle should not be done simultaneously. 

And so I give you, a true egg muffin!  For 5 days worth, I blended 1 1/4 cups of liquid egg whites with chili powder, red pepper, hot sauce, shredded fresh baby spinach, and diced fresh green pepper.  I divided them evenly amongst 5 muffin cups coated with non-stick spray.  Popped the tray in the oven for 12 minutes at 350, and voila...a week's worth of quick, convenient, nutritious post-workout meals.  Just keep in a tupperware in the fridge.  In the morning, put it on an Arnold's Wheat Sandwich Thin, pop it in the toaster for a few minutes to warm, wrap it in foil and it should stay warm for you to eat after your workout on the morning commute.