Breakfast Chicken Egg Muffin

    Being a school teacher, I get up really early to get to work. I try to squeeze out every last second of sleep in my bed as I can. I will sleep through breakfast, fixing my hair etc. I lay out my clothes the night before and pack my lunch box because I don't want to get up any earlier. One of the biggest issues I have is breakfast. On days that I am feeling great, I will get up and make an egg or some sausage or bacon. On days that I am rushed, I grab coffee, skip breakfast and I am starving all day. I would cave to a little dark chocolate here and there or lots of fruit and snacking. I noticed that I wasn't seeing any change in my body weight or toning.
      I started today by making sure that I am putting things in order so that I quit skipping breakfast and I am adding more protein and veggies. I am making containers of veggies that I can eat without needing a microwave. I am making big salads topped with meat and sunflower seeds for my lunches. I am not packing fruit as a snack and I am not buying chocolate to keep in our house. I am also being creative with ways to pre-make breakfast.
     This morning I ate a few strips of bacon and coffee since I knew I had an early lunch and I was out of school by 1. Tonight I made Chicken Egg Muffins for tomorrows breakfast.
      I leave for OBX, NC in about 5 weeks and my hope is to cut out almost all of my sugar for the entire 5 weeks (I may let myself have a little one day a week!) During this time I will be monitoring my weight and watching to see if I notice a toner, leaner body.


Try these muffins for breakfast.  You can make a lot and freeze them or just a few and refrigerate them for up to a week.

Breakfast Chicken Egg Muffin

Ingredients:

 4 Eggs, whisked

1/4 tsp Rosemary

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Garlic

Pepper to taste

1/2 Chicken Breast, cooked and shredded

1/4 tomato, diced

The above ingredients are enough for 4 breakfast muffins.

Process:

1. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Line a muffin tin with muffin cup foil or paper.
3. Fill muffin cups with egg mixture.
4.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

What do I do when.. Q&A time.

Our Fridge  prepared for lunches and Breakfasts for the next day

I have had some great feedback from my previous blogs. I have also had a lot of questions from people trying to eat healthier. Here are a few of the questions with some of my advice. Before you read this- go to Costco and invest in TUPPERWARE. I hope you find some answers to any questions you had. If not, ask me questions and I will do my best to answer them.  

1.) If I buy veggies and fruits and just throw them in a drawer- I tend to forget about them and they go bad before I can salvage them for a meal. Do I have to grocery shop every day for fresh veggies?

I have gotten into the routine of washing it all, cutting it, packaging it for lunches or putting it with the other foods that I am going to make a meal with. This is my OCD showing but it is a great way to make sure I don't waist great food. This only takes about 30 minutes once you've got your Tupperware/baggies and routine set in place.

2.) I eat more fruit because it is small and it seems more easily accessible. How can I get more vegetables in my diet?

In an attempt to eat less fruit, I decided to cut and package veggies, pre- cook and package veggies and keep them more accessible than my fruits. I have been grabbing the carrots, tomatoes and celery over the pineapple and strawberries.

3.) Lunch is HARD to do because I work, what do you do for lunch?

My best advice here is- make extra! I always make extra pieces of chicken or extra meat for leftovers. I throw it on a salad or with some steam fresh veggies and it is a perfect lunch. Another great idea is to make some soup on Sunday and pre-package it into Tupperware for the week. Most soups can be frozen and saved for later in the week.

4.) What Can I do for Breakfast besides Eggs?

Eggs can raise your cholesterol so I have been told to eat no more than 6 a week. Other options are muffins- check out some of the muffins on the blog, Meat (sausage, bacon, ham, leftover steaks etc.) and sweet potato hash, fruit with some nuts and seeds or pancakes (we have had pancakes leftover from dinner and they are fine reheated in the morning.)

5.) How do you work all day, come home, exercise and prepare meals?

I have an amazing husband who helps me, motivates me and encourages me daily. He will jump in and cook meals if he is home first. We have an I cook, you clean system. We generally help prepare the menu's, grocery shop and organize our meals together. I prepare our lunches and get the coffee set up the night before. I pre-make a lot of the meals on Sundays. Because I eat healthy, I have more energy and (a lot of days Brandon begs me to go run off my energy). I think the keys here are: Preparation and a partner who encourages you or joins in your healthier lifestyle with you(it doesn't have to be a spouse, it could be a friend- I have a friend who does Sunday cook day with her daughter and then they package the meals and distribute for the week).

Eating healthy can work for you and to stay consistent, you have to stay organized. If you go to your fridge and there isn't any food, you will devour anything you can find. There have been days where I walk in and will literally eat whatever is in front of me. On my prepared days, it is veggies or fruit but on my unprepared days it is chocolate or less healthy items.

What are your healthy tips for others? What do you do that helps you to eat veggies over fruits or chocolates?