Keeping Life Simple: Kale and Beef Bacon Egg Casserole

For the past two months I've had to work the dreaded 12 hour, 7am - 7pm work shifts while my current employer has been on the hunt for another manager to join our team. The days are extremely long and there is absolutely no chance of me going to the gym on my lunch break. So in order for me to work those long shifts and still get my workout on, I've been going to the gym in the morning before work. To make things easier. I make my protein shake and pack my lunch bag the night before. My morning goes something like this: wake up at 4:45am, throw my gym clothes on, grab my food and rush out the door to catch the 5:02am train. Timing is very important at this hour because the subways are only running about every 20-30 minutes and if I miss the train, I waste very valuable gym time. Along the ride there I drink my protein shake and take my supplements, which are BCAAs, L-Carnitine, and green tea extract. I get to the gym, throw down my stuff and begin my workout. Once I'm done, I rush to the showers and get ready for work, luckily for me it's only a block away. When I get to work, I get settled and eat my post-workout breakfast meal which consists of my protein (eggs) and carb (sweet potato).  

You might think I am crazy for waking up so early to go to the gym, but this just works for me. Not only do I insure that I make it to the gym. It also boosts my mood and gets those feel-good endorphins going! I seriously can't tell you how many mornings I've been asked "why are you in such a good mood!?!".  It is the workout, baby!

If you've read any of my posts or follow me on facebook, then you probably know by now, I'm always looking for ways to make my fit-life easier. Well, a couple weeks ago I started feeling really burnt out from cooking my breakfast each night. I thought to myself, all my other meals were already pre-made and packed so why not my breakfast? I decided I'd try and pre-make my eggs for that week. I was pretty sure it would work, since I've done it before with eggs in my silicone muffin cups. I made this egg casserole recipe by just throwing a few ingredients into my loaf pan and hoping for a good turn out. I wasn't sure if it would work because any time I've ever seen a recipe for an egg casserole, it included some sort of bread layer on the bottom of the pan. I'm not really sure why that is because my egg casserole came out amazing with only 3 simple ingredients: egg, kale, and beef bacon.


In case you wondering about the beef bacon, I found it at Trader Joe's. It is uncured nitrate free and tastes nothing like pork bacon. It has only 2.5g of fat per serving and 6g of protein per slice. I'm in love with this stuff!


You could get really creative with this recipe by adding all sorts of fun ingredients, and if you are worried about the high fat content, then you could always cut down the amount of whole eggs and replace them with more egg whites. I prefer to use the whole eggs because it helps me to stay fuller longer! I think this week, I may even try adding cooked sweet potato to the bottom of the mixture and see how that goes. I imagine it would probably be a delicious addition to my casserole! 


Please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear your feedback!

xoxo
Amber

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Coat pan with cooking oil, fill the pan up half way with chopped raw kale. Then cut two pieces of beef bacon into small pieces and layer over the kale.

Step 2: In a separate bowl scramble 6 eggs with 3/4 cup of egg whites. Pour over the kale and beef bacon, then add in the seasonings of your choice. 

Step 3:  Cook at 350 for 30-35 or until the top of the eggs are completely cooked.

Step 4: Remove egg casserole from the pan with a spatula and let cool. Once cooled, cut into 6 thick slices and package up. Enjoy!