Healthy Cookie: Breakfast Incredi-bowl!

People argue that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, their logic being that it gives you the energy you need to get through your day.

I disagree.

If that were the reason for breakfast’s importance, then all meals would be equally as imperative. Is it not also the purpose of both lunch and dinner to fuel us with energy in order to complete our day? No offense to breakfast, but it does no better a job in completing said task than the day’s other essential meals do.

Now, I do agree on one thing: breakfast is the most important meal of the day; not because of the fuel it provides (although that is essential), but because it gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Did you ever find yourself lying in bed on a Sunday morning as a child, with no desire to rise from your slumber, only to experiences the smell of maple syrup or frying eggs wafting from the kitchen and twirling through your nostrils? The second you experience that rush, you catapult out of bed and into the kitchen. In a split-second, you go from “I never want to get out of bed” to “Hello morning, how are you today?”

Now, said motivation is harder to muster if you know you have a low-cal, low-fat breakfast waiting for you. That usually means something like plain oatmeal, fruit, a bland cereal, or some naked egg whites. I don’t know about you, but when there are treats such as sweet cinnamon rolls or fluffy pancakes to entice you out of bed, why would you ever want to wake up to any of that low-fat crap?

That’s where the Incredi-bowl comes in. Filled up with fluffy scrambled eggs, melted cheddar cheese AND a cheesy sauce, crisp broccoli, golden hashbrown potatoes, sweet onions, and colorful peppers (and juicy bacon if you’re a meat eater), this dish gives you a flavorful kick in the butt for under 300 calories (even less if you go the no-bacon vegetarian route)! Better yet, this bowl is packing 31 grams of protein!

Hello! If this doesn’t give you a reason to get up and the fuel to get moving, then nothing will. It’s super cheesy, flavorful, substantial, and DELICIOUS.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. This bowl is delicious anytime of day! In fact, I often make it for dinner.
2. You can find the Potatoes O’Brien in the frozen section of your grocery store with the french fries.

Breakfast Incredi-bowl

Recipe adapted from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:

• 1 tray Green Giant Just for One Broccoli & Cheese Sauce
• 3/4 cup frozen potatoes O’Brien (like the kind by Ore-Ida)
• 3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
• zero-calorie butter spray (like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
• 1 slice Canadian bacon, chopped
• 2 tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• kosher salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare broccoli & cheese sauce according to package instructions. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add egg substitute and scramble for 2 – 3 minutes, until fully cooked. Place scrambled egg substitute in a microwave-safe bowl and set aside.
3. Remove pan from heat, re-spray with nonstick spray, and return pan to the stove. Raise heat to medium-high and spritz with butter spray. Add potatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes until thawed and lightly browned.
4. Add Canadian bacon and cook until hot and a little crispy, about 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until potatoes are soft and tender. Spritz with more butter spray & mix.
5. Add potato/bacon mixture to the bowl with the egg scramble. Add broccoli & cheese sauce and mix to combine.
6. Sprinkle shredded cheese, chives, garlic, and salt on top of the bowl & mix to combine. Microwave for 30 – 45 seconds, until cheese has melted. Grab a sturdy fork and dig in!

Serving Size: entire bowl with meat
Calories: 262
Fat: 3.5g
Sodium: 1,306mg
Carbs: 23.5g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 31g

Without the meat, you’ll be looking at 220 calories!