Every now and then I get tired of looking at the standard egg scramble on my plate at 9 a.m. Since eggs aren’t really my thing, I like to switch up my breakfast recipes every once in a while – both in style and flavor. Our senses work together; what our eyes find appealing has an effect on what our taste buds find appealing. A huge part of eating clean is enjoying what I eat – not constantly wishing I were eating something else. So when I’m not craving eggs, I need my eyes to crave them – then my palate will do the same.

When I woke up this morning, I was not interested in an egg scramble, but I knew I needed a good source of protein before heading to the gym. I opted for eggs instead of peanut butter (although peanut butter is another great alternative for packing in protein before a gym session), but I took a different approach to their appearance. I had seen a few pictures on Pinterest of these “egg cups” and decided to try them out for myself. Low and behold, the Simple Food Simple Life egg muffin (something about the phrase “egg cup” doesn’t thrill me) was born. It kept me energized at the gym without leaving me overstuffed. This recipe makes four egg muffins; I don’t recommend eating all four before exercising, but the remaining two or three muffins can be stored in the refrigerator and easily reheated for breakfast tomorrow morning.

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons skim milk

½ oz. kale, finely chopped (spinach can be substituted)

½ oz. red onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp. feta

1 oz. Canadian bacon, chopped

Cooking spray

Muffin tin

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Crack eggs in a bowl and add milk, mixing until milk and yolk fully blend together. Add kale, feta, red onion and Canadian bacon to mixture. Coat the muffin tin with cooking spray (only coat four muffin holes). Pour mixture into each of the muffin holes, filling about 3/4 of the hole. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until inside is no longer runny.