Jeni shares her savory Mini Quinoa Frittatas

This quick and easy recipe for is a must for anyone in need of a healthy breakfast for busy week-day mornings. If you follow Dr. Perricone’s anti-inflammatory diet, you’ll appreciate that each serving has the familiar proportions of one egg plus one egg white, a serving of whole-grain quinoa, herbs, veggies, and even a little coconut oil baked right in.

The individual frittatas can be prepared during the weekend and frozen; they go straight from freezer to microwave to out the door in minutes, no fork necessary. Best of all, I developed this recipe so you can customize to your family’s tastes. Just use a total of about 2 cups of vegetables plus 1 ½ cup of additional veggies, meats, and/or cheeses (in place of the spinach, Canadian bacon, and feta used here). Try a meat/dairy-free tomato and mushroom version… use diced shallots or fresh herbs in place of the chives… endless possibilities!
This recipe makes 12 frittatas if baked in a standard sized pan with ⅓-cup capacity muffin cups. Serving size is two frittatas.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs plus 6 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste
• ⅛ scant tsp nutmeg (omit if making a cheese-free variation)
• 1 tbsp minced chives
• 2 medium cloves of garlic, finely minced (about 1 tbsp)
• 2 ½ cups cooked quinoa
• ¾ cup fully-cooked canadian bacon, diced
• ¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 cups fresh spinach, slightly chopped and very loosely packed

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs and whites with the coconut oil until well blended. Whisk in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, chives, and garlic.

Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in the quinoa, canadian bacon, feta, and spinach.

Ladle mixture into a well-greased 12-cup muffin pan, to ¼ of an inch from the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until frittatas are moist but set (if using a dark pan, they may brown slightly around the edges). Remove from oven and rest in pan for five minutes. Gently slide a knife around the edges to loosen and remove from pan. Serve while still nice and hot with your favorite fruit for a complete Perricone-approved breakfast!

To freeze: Allow to cool completely. Once cooled, wrap frittatas tightly with plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and store in freezer. When “one of those mornings” happen, simply remove two frittatas from the freezer, unwrap completely, microwave on a paper towel-lined plate for about one and a half minutes, and enjoy with a side of fruit!

Do you ever cook breakfast in advance?