Quinoa Zucchini Egg Muffins-A Breakfast Delight!

Because I head to work at 7am and work 12 hour shifts, I basically take a refrigerator's worth of food to work with me each day.  Matt seriously makes fun of me sometimes because of how large my breakfast/lunch/snack bag is.  And I will be the first to admit, my breakfast/lunch/snack bag is really large.  I mean, it's seriously huge some days.  Recently I came across a recipe for Pecan Quinoa Zucchini Frittatas in The Forest Feast, a book I mentioned in a post on Carrot Zucchini Ribbon Pasta a couple weeks ago. (BTW- this recipe is still in the weekly rotation in our home. It's still that good. We had it tonight.  I am not kidding.  It's really good.)  I immediately knew that these egg muffins would be a fine addition to my workday weekend food bag.  

Man, I was not wrong.  They were a mighty fine addition.  These little egg muffins of joy are hearty, delicious, and full of protein.  I have made several varieties of these egg muffins and have enjoyed each of them.  I basically sautee any vegetables I have in the fridge, add the veggies to two cups of quinoa and 4-6 eggs, add some additional spices to the mix, and bake these beauties up for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  And they aren't bad for you (as long as you don't add a block of cheese or anything.) I am currently doing Weight Watchers to help loose some of my baby weight.  According to the recipe guide, these sweet little breakfast cups of protein range from 2-3 points per muffin depending on what you put in them.  The ones pictured are 3 points each.  Recently I have been sticking with quinoa, veggies, and egg which keeps each muffin at 2 points each.  Heck yes!  I will have ten, please.  (Okay, maybe three instead.  I need to keep myself in control of the breakfast/lunch/snack bag overload a little bit at least.)

These muffins have now joined my Friday-prep-for-the-weekend-meals routine.  I have been enjoying these with a banana or raspberries and on special days, a decaf soy latte.  I have definitely noticed I am not starving approximately two hours later like when just eating cheerios or oatmeal for breakfast.  This recipe is super easy to adapt to whatever you have in your fridge.  If you try a variation on this recipe, let me know.  I am always looking to try something new!  I hope you enjoy!

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Quinoa Zucchini Egg Muffins
-Adapted from Pecan Quinoa Zucchini Frittatas from The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson

1/2 cup of dry quinoa (approximately 2 cups when cooked)
2 zucchinis, grated
4 eggs
1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan (or your cheese of choice)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together.  Spoon into greased muffin tins or into paper liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes until egg is set.  Makes 8-9 muffins.

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