If you want to eat healthier, making healthy eating effortless is one of the best things you can do. So effortless that you barely have to think about it. One way to achieve this is by preparing your meals in advance so that you know exactly what’s in them. This way, when you’re short on time, you won’t end up eating unhealthy options or opting for expensive, unhealthy fast food. When it’s time to eat, you simply grab your pre-made meal from the fridge or freezer. This is known as meal prep. One make-ahead meal that I’ve recently enjoyed is a high-protein breakfast bake. I was inspired by a gentleman named Johnny Hadac on Instagram, who shares easy, affordable meal prep recipes for individuals looking to lose weight or eat better. Preparing this breakfast bake takes about 15 minutes. The most time-consuming part is dicing your veggies. The bake time is around 35 minutes. Once done, you’ll have six delicious, high-protein, low-carb mini breakfast casseroles that will leave you feeling satisfied without consuming a lot of calories. Here’s the macro breakdown for each bake: Protein: 50 gramsCarbs: 12 gramsFat: 22 gramsTotal Calories: 452The cost per bake is $3.50. If you bought a similar breakfast bake from a company that sells ready-to-eat meals online, you’d pay about $13. So, these mini breakfast casseroles are not only delicious and healthy, but also cost-effective. Here’s how to prepare them.Ingredients6 eggs24 ounces egg whites24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese12 ounces mild cheddar cheese6 precooked chicken sausages (you can buy them already cooked)1 onion3 bell peppersSalt and pepperPreheat oven to 400 degrees FahrenheitQueue up the Art of Manliness Podcast–great to listen to while you’re prepping these.Dice the onion and bell peppers
This will be the most time-consuming part.Lay Out Six Cooking Pans on a Table
We’re going to prepare these like they’re on a Henry Ford Model-T assembly line. I used these aluminum meal prep pans that you can buy at most grocery stores. I recommend doing the same when you first try this out. If you decide to make this a regular thing, you can buy some Pyrex pans. This will save you money, and you’ll be able to reheat your bake in the microwave right in the dish. Spray each pan with cooking spray
Crack one egg into each pan
Add ½ cup of egg whites to each pan
Add ½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese to each pan
If you’re not a fan of cottage cheese, rest assured that you won’t taste it. However, it adds protein and some substance to the bake. Add 1 diced sausage to each pan
I used Al Fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages because they were the only pre-cooked chicken sausages available at my local Walmart Neighborhood Market. You could use any pre-cooked meat of your choice, such as bacon, ham, or ground beef. I chose chicken sausage because it has lower fat and higher protein. Add ¼ cup of mild cheddar cheese to each pan
Add a handful of veggies to each pan
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix the ingredients together. You can also add other seasonings as desired, such as Old Bay. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Voila! You have a week’s worth of high-protein breakfastsIf you baked them in the aluminum pans, just slide them onto a plate to reheat in the microwave. About 90 seconds should be sufficient. These breakfast casseroles actually taste great when cold. I like to add some hot sauce before consuming. Enjoy!
