New Mexican Egg Bake Recipe
June 1, 2010 Written by JP [Font too small?]One of our favorite places to visit is Santa Fe, New Mexico. There was a period of time when we even considered relocating there. The desert landscape is incredibly beautiful. The weather is milder than you might expect in summer and winter. The people are warm and generous. We are happy there because it melds many of the finer aspects of small town living with some of the cultural benefits you’d associated with “big city life” – fine dining, a vibrant art scene and a top-notch opera company. The following recipe is our little homage to Santa Fe and something we prepare when we are longing for “The City Different”.
It’s easy to get into a rut when preparing eggs. You can hard boil them, serve them over easy, scrambled or sunny side up. When living a low carb lifestyle, as we do, egg casseroles and quiches are not on the program because they tend to include flour – usually in the form of a crust. However, just a few small changes transform plain old eggs into a lusciously light egg bake that will remind you of the tastiest and most satisfying of quiches.
This egg bake works equally well for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can serve it with bacon or sausage for the first meal of the day. For lunch or dinner it can be accompanied by a basic or elaborate salad. But best of all, you can incorporate any number of healthy herbs, spices, vegetables or other ingredients into this egg bake. Try replacing the green salsa verde in my recipe with red salsa (mild or spicy), which is is equally delicious. You are only limited by your imagination.
New Mexican Egg Bake Recipe
6 large, organic, omega-3 enriched eggs
2 1/2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
1 cup of green salsa (“verde”)
1 cup of organic sour cream
1/2 cup diced chives
black pepper & NutraSalt to taste
Nutritional Content – Calories: 260. Protein: 10 grams. “Net Carbs”: 5 grams. Fiber: 1 gram. Fat: 22 grams. Based on a serving size of 1 slice with a total of 8 slices per recipe.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 °F. Spread the salsa in the bottom of an 9 ” glass pie pan. Distribute the shredded cheese on top of the salsa, along the bottom and sides of the pan. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl and add the chopped chives, freshly ground pepper and salt as desired. Incorporate a cup of sour cream into the egg mixture. Pour the egg and sour cream combination over the salsa and cheese base. Bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. The time will vary based on individual oven considerations. Start checking for doneness after about 30 minutes. The top and edges will look slightly brown and the center will seem pretty set when you jiggle the pan. If the top browns before the center is completely set, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the egg bake. This will prevent the surface from burning and allow for the middle to continue to cook through.
There are plenty of good reasons to include well sourced eggs into your diet. I’ve covered that topic quite extensively in the past. So today I want to turn my attention to another element of this recipe – the salsa verde. Two of the primary ingredients of the salsa we used are cilantro leaves and tomatillos.
Cilantro and tomatillos have quite a bit in common when it comes to health promoting properties. Modern science has demonstrated that Coriandrum sativum or Cilantro and Physalis philadelphica or tomatillos are excellent sources of antioxidant carotenoids such as beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. Preliminary evidence suggests that these antioxidants may protect against a variety of ills including chemically-induced liver damage and heavy metal poisoning. In addition, components of both foods have exhibited anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties in laboratory experiments. The hope is that these results will also manifest themselves in those who consume cilantro leaves and tomatillos on a regular basis. (1,2,3,4,5,6)
My New Mexican Egg Bake also works very well for those who like to entertain. You can bake it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. It reheats beautifully in the oven or microwave when you’re ready to serve it to your guests. Similarly, it handles quite well as a “leftover” meal or snack. The other aspect that I find particularly attractive about this dish is that it looks elegant, but doesn’t cost a bundle to make. Preparing healthy food shouldn’t be out of reach for anyone, including those on a tight budget. I think today’s recipe is a good example of how to practically apply this philosophy.
Note: Please check out the “Comments & Updates” section of this blog – at the bottom of the page. You can find the latest research about this topic there!
Be well!
JP
Tags: Eggs, Herbs, Low Carb
Posted in Food and Drink, Nutrition, Recipes
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:16 pm
I would have a hard time waiting for 45 minutes to eat this!
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 am
It’s worth it, Anne! Give it a shot sometime! 🙂
Be well!
JP
June 4th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Hello JP,
woah, the pic above reminds me so much of our holiday in greece. They made a similar looking omlette and called it “traditional greece breakfast omlette”, they varried the cheese (sometimes it was feta in sometimes sth. other) and the veggies. Its a very filling breakfast and i loved it! But i also loved the high carb sweet little pancakes ♥ (i only eat them on holiday 😉 )
ot: i just discoverd your absolutley delicious ice cream “ben&jerrys”, omg! love it! this should be verboten! 😉
Stay healthy,
Nina K.
June 4th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Good day, Nina!
How dare you mention Ben & Jerry’s here! 😉 Only kidding. I love ice cream. In fact, I’m planning on making some of our own the summer – low-carb sytle. Real (non-homogenized) cream. Real vanilla beans. Organic, omega-3 eggs. Berries? Natural sugar substitutes. The works!
Who says ice cream can’t be healthy? 🙂
Be well!
JP
June 5th, 2010 at 5:41 am
JP, that sounds like a invitation 😉
…i try to come soon, whens the ice cream ready? 🙂
wish you and yours a sunny-funny weekend ☼☼☼
Nina K. (eating ben & jerrys cherry garcia *yummy*)
June 5th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
I wish you and husband the same! 🙂
Enjoy your cool treat! 😉
Be well!
JP
May 18th, 2015 at 7:48 am
Update: 05/18/20:
http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/5/3449/htm
Nutrients. 2015 May 11;7(5):3449-63.
One Egg per Day Improves Inflammation when Compared to an Oatmeal-Based Breakfast without Increasing Other Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Diabetic Patients.
There is concern that egg intake may increase blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, we have previously shown that eggs reduce inflammation in patients at risk for T2DM, including obese subjects and those with metabolic syndrome. Thus, we hypothesized that egg intake would not alter plasma glucose in T2DM patients when compared to oatmeal intake. Our primary endpoints for this clinical intervention were plasma glucose and the inflammatory markers tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin 6 (IL-6). As secondary endpoints, we evaluated additional parameters of glucose metabolism, dyslipidemias, oxidative stress and inflammation. Twenty-nine subjects, 35-65 years with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values <9% were recruited and randomly allocated to consume isocaloric breakfasts containing either one egg/day or 40 g of oatmeal with 472 mL of lactose-free milk/day for five weeks. Following a three-week washout period, subjects were assigned to the alternate breakfast. At the end of each period, we measured all primary and secondary endpoints. Subjects completed four-day dietary recalls and one exercise questionnaire for each breakfast period. There were no significant differences in plasma glucose, our primary endpoint, plasma lipids, lipoprotein size or subfraction concentrations, insulin, HbA1c, apolipoprotein B, oxidized LDL or C-reactive protein. However, after adjusting for gender, age and body mass index, aspartate amino-transferase (AST) (p < 0.05) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (p < 0.01), one of our primary endpoints were significantly reduced during the egg period. These results suggest that compared to an oatmeal-based breakfast, eggs do not have any detrimental effects on lipoprotein or glucose metabolism in T2DM. In contrast, eggs reduce AST and TNF-α in this population characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation. Be well! JP
June 17th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Updated 06/17/16:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09637486.2016.1196654?journalCode=iijf20
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2016 Jun 16:1-9.
The effects of the combination of egg and fiber on appetite, glycemic response and food intake in normal weight adults – a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.
This study evaluated appetite and glycemic effects of egg-based breakfasts, containing high and moderate protein (30 g protein and 20 g protein +7 g fiber, respectively) compared to a low-protein cereal breakfast (10 g protein) examined in healthy adults (N = 48; age 24 ± 1 yr; BMI 23 ± 1 kg/m2; mean ± SE). Meals provided 390 kcal/serving and equal fat content. Food intake was measured at an ad libitum lunch meal and blood glucose response was measured. Visual analog scales (VAS) were used to assess hunger, satisfaction, fullness, and prospective food intake. The egg-based breakfast meal with high protein produced greater overall satiety (p < 0.0001), and both high protein and moderate protein with fiber egg-based breakfasts reduced postprandial glycemic response (p < 0.005) and food intake (p < 0.05) at subsequent meal (by 135 kcal and 69 kcal; effect sizes 0.44 and 0.23, respectively) compared to a cereal-based breakfast with low protein and fiber. Be well! JP