Adding some extra protein to your morning breakfast is easy with this copycat Starbucks egg bites recipe.
Put down the sugary cereals and pre-packaged energy bars, and stop skipping your breakfast!
Breaking a fast should not include a massive dose of sugar or lots of dense carbs if you want to lose weight.
Simple ingredients, whole foods, and protein are great ways to start the day.
Press the reset button with these delicious egg bites, you can make them better than Starbucks, and they will be way healthier too!
Women begin their hormonal decline even before menopause.
Estrogen accounts for keeping muscle on and fat off. It also helps us to metabolize carbohydrates.
As we lose this hormone, we become more prone to insulin resistance as we age. Without adequate protein, we begin to lose muscle.
In fact, loss of muscle (sarcopenia) affects 1/4 of aging adults.
Involuntary muscle loss is often associated with:
- obesity
- high blood pressure
- osteoporosis
- type 2 diabetes
Eggs: The Perfect Protein
Eggs happen to be the perfect protein. This is because they contain all 9 essential amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, exactly what your muscles need to stay fit and strong.
So when I say "press the reset button," I literally mean eggs for breakfast can be the start of a really healthy day.
Unless of course you are sensitive or intolerant to eggs.
If that's the case or if you don't eat eggs because you are a vegan or vegetarian then substitute the eggs with blended tofu, olive oil and nutritional yeast flakes!
Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites without A Sous Vide Machine
Starbucks egg bites are made a la sous vide. A fancy French culinary term for submerging vacuum-sealed plastic bags of food into a water bath and letting it cook.
It involves using a "water oven" and a fancy thermometer or a sous vide cooker.
You must be somewhat of a chemist to cook using this technique. Exact temperatures are to be maintained for each ingredient to ensure all food-borne bacteria and viruses are killed.
So, throw away the boiling water, thermometer and chemistry book and grab the following:
- cupcake tray or muffin pan
- blender
- olive oil nonstick spray
- whole food ingredients
Why I don't Boil Any food in Plastic
Heating plastic in most bags that are not considered food grade can leach chemicals like Bisphenol A, a known hormone disruptor.
No thanks, hormones are already being disrupted in menopause; we don't need any extra nudging in that department!
In fact, I actually don't even own a microwave (I heat things up the old-school Italian grandma style...on the stove).
I personally only store my food in glass containers and would never even consider boiling what I'm going to ingest in plastic.
Comparing the Taste of Starbucks Egg Bites vs Homemade
Cooking food sous vide style will make your egg bites taste like small souffles.
This is because little air bubbles appear in the eggs causing the eggs to "inflate" or "blow up," as in the French word, souffler.
When you bake your egg bites in a pressure cooker, toaster oven, or large oven, the texture of the egg bites is a bit denser and less airy.
Powering Up The Protein At Menopause
The process of aging causes us to lose muscle mass.
Protein is made up of amino acids which are the building blocks of lean muscle.
Without enough protein in our menopausal years, we lose the definition and tone of our muscles, and we find it so much harder to gain lean mass.
But, of course, fat likes to creep in place of muscle leading to the muffin top of the non-egg bite kind!
What Are My Menopausal Protein Needs?
What's In Starbucks Egg Bites?
When looking up the ingredients for these little bites of yum from Starbucks' site, I got a little scared when I read these four words:
Contains Bioengineered Food Ingredients
Also known as genetically modified or genetically engineered foods. Changing the DNA structure of food has some potential risks on the health of humans, and as for menopausal women with fluctuating hormones, why take the chance?
Let's look at some of the questionable ingredients:
- Their cottage cheese contains 2 % Or Less Of Whey, Salt, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Carrageenan, Mono- And Diglycerides, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Natural Flavors, Vitamin A Palmitate, and Carbon Dioxide.
- Monterey jack cheese contains Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Potato Starch, Powdered Cellulose, Natamycin.
- Rice starch and potato starch are used for fillers.
- They use canola oil.
What's In A Homemade Version of Healthy Egg Bites?
Step One
Place a large skillet, I use a healthy ceramic, Green Pan, on the stove over medium flame.
Add in the Pancetta and cook it until it gets crispy.
I prefer Pancetta to bacon bits unless, of course, you are using leftover crispy chopped bacon. Bacon bits are filled with food additives typically used in cured meats.
If you deal with hot flashes, you might want to read more about "natural flavorings" and food preservatives in cured meats and how they can contribute to uncomfortable menopause symptoms.
After removing the Pancetta, sautee the mushrooms and broccoli in the pan with the leftover oil leftover from the Pancetta.
Step Two
Get out your muffin cups and spray the bottom of each cup with a little nonstick spray.
I am not a fan of canola oil due to how heavily processed the extraction process is, so I use an olive oil spray.
You can also use unbleached, chlorine free parchment paper cupcake liners instead of the spray.
Especially if you want them to look nice individually while serving them at a brunch.
Step Three
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked Pancetta, mushrooms, broccoli and chopped-up power greens and place them evenly into the muffin tins.
Step Four
Step Five
Remove from the oven and serve them immediately.
Serve them with the following options:
- dollop of sour cream
- tablespoon of salsa
- side salad
- hot sauce (in moderation if you tend towards constipation)
Rise and Shine, Mother Clucker!
There are many different ways to make these egg bite recipes, so I say, "go with the (healthy) ingredients you love!"
Remember, what you start with at the beginning of your day will help set the ground rules for how you feel throughout the day.
This copycat recipe will cost you less money and will be a great breakfast or post-workout contribution if you are looking to hack your weight loss.
Easy Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites Recipe (Power Up Your Protein)
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Power up your protein in the morning with this super easy copycat Starbucks egg bites recipe! Adding extra protein to your diet especially when breaking a fast can set you up for more lean muscle and fewer sugar cravings throughout the day.
Ingredients
Egg Bites
- 1 cup of organic broccoli florets (chopped up)
- 1 package of uncured pancetta
- 1/3 package of sliced portobello (chopped up)
- Ground Pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of power greens (or spinach, kale, etc) (chopped up)
- 7 eggs
- 3 TB sour cream
- Dill handful
- 1 oz goat cheese
Instructions
How to Arrange the Muffin Pan
- Turn on the oven to 350 deg
- Spray the tins with organic olive oil
- Scoop 1 TB of the pancetta, broccoli, mushroom and greens mixture into each muffin cup
- Pour the egg mixture halfway into the muffin cups covering the already included ingredients.
- Put in the oven for 20 minutes
Preparing the Egg Mixture
- Crack 7 eggs into a mixer
- Add in the sour cream
- Add in 1 oz of goat cheese
- Add in the dill
- Mix on low until eggs, cream and cheese are combined
Notes
You can substitute or omit the pancetta if you do not eat pork products.
Pancetta is naturally salty, so no extra salt is needed for these ingredients if you choose to use it.
If you cannot tolerate eggs due to dietary sensitivities or if you are a vegan or vegetarian, replace the eggs with the following:
- 10 oz of firm tofu
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 3 TBS nutritional yeast flakes
- Blend all 3 ingredients and add them to the muffin tins
You can substitute the goat cheese with any other cheese you prefer that is somewhat soft and can be blended.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: egg bites, copycat Starbucks egg bites, gluten free egg bites
Products I Use
Glass Containers
Cupcake Tin
Greenpan
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Easy Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites Recipe
by DR. BIANCA BELDINI
September 17, 2022
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