Yum!

If you're interested in a low-fat, low-calorie recipe that is filling, nutritious, quick and simple, here's one I came up with today, with a little help from my trusty Hungry Girl Egg Mug. I've made the Egg Mug for many a relative, and while they all think it's going to be rubbery and gross as they're made in the microwave, they end up hooked on them because, of course, they are neither rubbery nor gross.

Let's start with the Egg Mug recipe, which is basically an egg souffle, not rubbery but instead creamy due to the inclusion of The Laughing Cow Light, Creamy Swiss Original (for which I used a photo of the Florentine version of the Egg Mug):

Per serving (entire mug): 95 calories, 2g fat, 14.5g protein

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
One wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, cut into pieces

Directions:
Spray a large microwave-safe mug lightly with nonstick spray. Add egg substitute and cheese and stir. Microwave for about a minute. Stir gently, and then microwave for another 30 - 45 seconds, until scramble is just set. Stir and enjoy!

That's the official recipe and cooking time. With the mug I use, in my microwave, it works best with 50 seconds, then another 50. But experiment with the time, and if you're inclined to jazz it up, Hungry Girl provides add-in options, like spinach for the Florentine version.

The Egg Mug, btw, is the perfect breakfast or snack. If you get the munchies in-between lunch and dinner, they're wonderful. Oftentimes if I'm scheduled to work when I would regularly be eating a meal, I'll have one right before leaving the house.

To assemble the breakfast burrito, I start with a La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortillas, add two slices of turkey bacon that I cook in the oven rather than nuking or cooking atop the stove, then add the egg mug, which comes out very fluffy and stays hot for quite a while. By the time you get to the end of your burrito, even if you eat slowly - as you should - it's still toasty.

I discovered these tortillas on my own, but Hungry Girl loves 'em too. They are enormous, and so filled with fiber that they fill you up. Each tortilla has just 80 calories, 8g protein, and 12g fiber. That said, you need to know up front that they don't taste like regular tortillas...at all. If you think of them as wraps rather than tortillas, you will be less surprised when you bite into one.

Depending on the brand of turkey bacon you buy, the total calorie count for this breakfast burrito is 220 - 250 calories. Hungry Girl recommends Jenny-O because at 20 calories per slice it's the lowest, but we just buy whatever Costco has, which tends to be Louis Rich, at 35 calories a slice. Regardless, the calories from the turkey come mainly from fat, but remember, you're using egg whites and low-fat cheese for the remainder of the recipe.

If you're a stickler about never going over 30% fat in any recipe, this one won't quite work, but I see it as a trade off given the low calorie count. When I eat this burrito before going in to work, I often add a bowl of strawberries or a medium-sized apple, which adds a limited number of calories and evens out the percentage of fat as a meal.

If you try my breakfast burrito, or any of the components therein, please let me know. And if you've got a great recipe to share, please do that as well.

Yum!