If you’re looking to eat healthier, one of the best things you can do to make that happen is to make eating healthier easy.
Like stupid easy.
So easy, you hardly have to think about it.
One way to accomplish this is to prepare your meals in advance so you know exactly what’s in them, and so that when you’re pressed for time, you don’t default to eating whatever unhealthy options are on hand or getting expensive, no-good-for-you fast food. When it’s time to eat, you just grab your ready-made meal from the fridge or freezer.
You know, meal prep.
One make-ahead meal I’ve been enjoying recently is a high-protein breakfast bake. I got the idea from a fella named Johnny Hadac on Instagram who serves up easy, affordable meal prep recipes for people looking to lose weight/eat better.
This breakfast bake takes about 15 minutes to prep. The thing that takes the most time is dicing up your veggies. Bake time is about 35 minutes.
When you’re done, you’ll have six tasty, high-protein, low-carb mini breakfast casseroles that will leave your belly feeling nice and full, but without a ton of calories.
Just take a look at the macro breakdown for each bake:
- Protein: 50 grams
- Carbs: 12 grams
- Fat: 22 grams
- Total Calories: 452
Cost per bake is $3.50.
You’d pay about $13 for a similar breakfast bake from one of those companies that sell ready-to-eat meals online. I know, because I’ve bought them before.
So these babies are tasty, healthy, and cost-effective.
Here’s how to make them.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 24 ounces egg whites
- 24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
- 12 ounces mild cheddar cheese
- 6 precooked chicken sausages (you can buy them already cooked)
- 1 onion
- 3 bell peppers
- Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Queue up the Art of Manliness Podcast
Great to listen to while you’re prepping these.
Dice Onion and Bell Peppers
![A super easy bowl of chopped vegetables on a table.](https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2024/02/onion_peppers.jpg)
This is what will take most of your time.
Lay Out Six Cooking Pans on a Table
![Five aluminum foil pans containing a super easy and high-protein breakfast bake, neatly arranged on a wooden table.](https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2024/02/pans.jpg)
We’re going to prep 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. It 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 in Each Pan
Add ½ Cup of Egg Whites to Each Pan
Add ½ Cup of Low-Fat Cottage Cheese to Each Pan
![A person effortlessly scooping cottage cheese into a pan while preparing a Super Easy High-Protein breakfast bake.](https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2024/02/cottage.jpg)
If cottage cheese makes you squeamish, don’t worry, you don’t taste it. But it gives the bake more protein and some bulk.
Add 1 Diced Sausage to Each Pan
I used Al Fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages. Why? Because it was the only precooked chicken sausage available at my local Walmart Neighborhood Market. You could use whatever precooked meat you want to use: bacon, ham, ground beef, whatever. I used chicken sausage because it’s lower in fat and higher in 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 Ingredients Together
You can also add other seasonings as desired, like Old Bay. You know I love me some Old Bay!
Bake in the Oven for 35 Minutes
Bam! A Week’s Worth of High-Protein Breakfasts
If you baked them in the aluminum pans, just slide them onto a plate to reheat in the microwave. ~90 seconds should do the trick.
These actually taste really good cold.
I like to hit mine with some sort of hot sauce before consuming.
Enjoy!