Egg it On!
Shirred eggs are simply baked eggs. With the cottage cheese craze overwhelming the interwebs, did you know that eggs are ranked as the highest of all quality proteins because they contain all the essential amino acids and have a high digestibility score?
Want more protein? Eat more eggs!
Eggs are Good and Good for You. While other foods, such as protein powder, lean meats, and some beans, may offer more protein per serving, eggs are consistently ranked at the top for overall protein quality.
If you are new here, welcome to the Good and Good for You™ newsletter, a quick 5-minute read with ideas and info on ways to help improve your life – including a tasty and healthful recipe.
This issue shares:
- Best Life Living Tip: Breaking the Fast
- Self-Care Strategy: Show Some Respect
- Ideas and Inspiration: Fresh Eggs Daily
- Good and Good for You™ Recipe: Shirred Spinach and Mushroom Eggs in Muffin Cups ( + Shirred Eggs for One!)
Thanks for reading. Modern life is busy, and we’re inundated. Glad to see you here to find ways to improve your life. Remember, little things add up.
This issue shares two versions of the classic breakfast egg recipe: Shirred Spinach and Mushroom Eggs in Muffin Cups for 12 or a Shirred Egg for one that will that will get you going sunny side up!
Both are less than 80 calories per serving — and barely register for WW points — Read on for more…
Best Life Living Tip
There’s a lot of information about intermittent fasting and skipping breakfast. It doesn’t work for me. You do you.
Breakfast can get you off to a good start. It is considered by many the most important meal of the day — and the one we have the least time to prepare for and the shortest time to eat.
5 Simple Tips for a Better Breakfast
- Hydrate First
Drink a glass of water before coffee – your body’s been without fluids all night. - Start with Protein
Eggs, Greek yogurt, or nut butter help you feel full longer and curb cravings. - Add Fiber
Whole grains, fruit, or veggies like spinach and mushrooms in these Shirred Spinach and Mushroom Eggs in Muffin Cups keep digestion steady and energy even. - Don’t Skip It
A piece of fruit with a handful of nuts is better than running on empty. - Plan Ahead
Prep your shirred egg to bake or hard-boiled eggs so mornings are grab-and-go easy.
Eating breakfast can lead to improved concentration and enhanced performance from the classroom to the boardroom.
Self-Care Strategy
Make breakfast an act of self-respect. Breakfast isn’t just a meal — it’s a moment to care for yourself before the world starts asking things of you. When you begin your day with calm and intention, you set the tone for everything that follows.
Try this:
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Slow down. Take a few minutes to sit, breathe, and be present before diving into the day.
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Skip the doomscrolling. Use that time for something uplifting — I’ve been working on my Duolingo French lessons and really love it.
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Stack your habits. Pair breakfast with a grounding ritual: gratitude, a class like Duolingo or setting an intention for the day.
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Celebrate consistency. A mindful morning most days matters far more than perfection.
Because how you start your day shapes how you live it. Remember, as long as you are doing what is good and good for you most of the time you are heading in the right direction.
Ideas and Inspiration
If you want to know more about eggs, you need to follow Lisa Steele of @FreshEggsDaily
Back during the pandemic, I had her on as a guest for Cookbooks with Virginia.
Lisa is a 5th-generation chicken-keeping expert and popular author who shares backyard poultry tips, egg facts, recipes, and more from her farm in Maine.
Good and Good for You Living Spotlight
Journaling and writing down goals provide clarity, helping you define objectives with precision. It fosters self-reflection, aiding in understanding motivations and potential obstacles.
Graceful and grateful are words to live by — check out my Grateful and Graceful Gratitude Journal.
- Graceful is full of grace, elegance, and beauty, and reflects how a person treats others through acts of kindness and generosity.
- Gratitude can be a coping tool for anxiety. Regularly practicing gratitude combats negative thinking patterns by keeping thoughts focused on the present.
THIS is how you can do it!
Make it Count
With a minimum of hands-on time, you can make a fresh, hot breakfast while your coffee is brewing. Baked Eggs are as simple as putting a dollop of something tasty on the bottom of a ramekin — it could be store-bought salsa, tomato puree, cooked greens, chopped ham, last night’s leftover vegetables, you name it — and topping it with an egg. Pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes until the white is set but the yoke is still runny. It’s just that simple.
Want Shirred Eggs for a crowd? (Hello, upcoming holidays…) Then give my Shirred Spinach and Mushroom Eggs in Muffin Cups a try.
Thank you for reading. For more tips, inspiration, and healthy recipes, follow @virginiawillis on Instagram. If you choose what’s Good and Good for You™ most of the time, you’re headed in the right direction. You’ve got this!
Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis
Shirred Spinach and Mushroom Eggs in Muffin Cups
Ingredients
- 8 ounces mushrooms such as cremini, white button, or oyster, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 12-ounce bag frozen chopped spinach
- 2 garlic cloves very finely chopped
- 12 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan, preferably nonstick, with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper; cook until the mushrooms begin to release their liquids, about 3 minutes. Add the frozen chopped spinach and garlic. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are tender and the mixture is dry, 5 to 7 minutes. Divide the mushroom spinach mixture equally between the 12 muffin tin cups. (There’s no need to pack it down; leave it rough and shaggy.)
- One a time, crack 1 egg into the center of each muffin cup. Using the tip of a toothpick, insert the point into the white of each egg and wiggle it slightly so some of the egg white reaches the bottom of the muffin cup. (This helps ensure the cups will remain intact once removed from the tin.)
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the whites are set and the yolks are still loose, 10 to 12 minutes. (There will be varying degrees of doneness depending on where they are in the oven, which conveniently creates a selection of soft, medium, or hard-cooked eggs for guests.)
- Transfer to a warmed serving platter. Garnish with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Shirred Egg for 1
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons charred tomato salsa or the filling of your choice
- 1 large egg
- Red pepper flakes Piment d'Espelette, or ground chilies, to taste
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the filling in the bottom of a heatproof ramekin. Crack an egg on top and season with red pepper, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny, or to your taste, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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