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How many of you are fans of Starbucks egg bites? Me, too, at least once in awhile… Largely more dairy than egg (who doesn’t love cheese?), egg bites can easily turn into a grab-and-go breakfast or snack during the day, if you aren’t doing that already. However, if you’re eating clean, you likely already know standard dairy, and some eggs for that matter, aren’t your cleanest sources of fat or protein.

When God created animals and all the plant sources we eat, they had a particular quality. And, as said in the Bible for God’s creation, Genesis 1:12, “…God saw that it was good.” (And, I have my own explanation why He called these creations ‘good’ rather than great.) All the animals roamed the land, grazing off of all the grasses, seeds, and other fruit-bearing sources of food that naturally grew from their outdoor environments. People of that time ate lean and clean sources of animal fat and protein.

Less Space to Roam Means Poorer Quality
Then came farming methods, industrialization, and efforts to make more for less money. And there went food quality! Using less land and water often meant smaller environments for these animals to exercise and forage. This eventually led to poorer and poorer sanitary conditions, if you get my drift, stressed or less than ideal animal health, and the need for antibiotics. Today, use of antibiotics on the farmed animals we eat have been frowned upon and largely done away with. However, animals feeding on genetically modified sources and lacking natural sunlight and ample space to grow still are still health concerns, both for the animal-welfare activist and those eating clean.

Pasteurization–Just Another Process that Doesn’t Help Our Bodies
Most dairy (and many other liquid food sources) also go through the process of pasteurization, and even “extra pasteurization,” for longer shelf life and reduced spoilage. Do you remember learning about pasteurization in school? I do! I remember having a children’s book about good ole Louis Pasteur, the French scientist who coined the term in 1856. Pasteur’s discovery of heating liquids to a specific temperature to kill harmful bacteria, however, wasn’t new. The concept has apparently been around since the 1200s. You can read more about the pros and cons of pasteurization and the varying types in “9 Myths of Pasteurization (or Homogenization) + Better Options,” written by Rebekah Edwards for DrAxe.com.

As an aside, if you haven’t checked out the books Keto Diet and Eat Dirt, both by Dr. Josh Axe, a doctor of natural medicine and a clinical nutritionist, I highly recommend them. Each book may have a different focus, but there are overlapping concerns about how our culture, and the food we eat, are weakening our immune systems and overall health.

So, as I was saying, dairy just isn’t what it used to be. The pasteurization process is actually killing good bacteria, enzymes and vitamins we need to keep our gut microbiome healthy, as written by Body Ecology in “The Pasteurized Foods You Should Consider Avoiding and the Healthy Reasons Why.” For many, dairy actually causes inflammation, and it (along with grains) is eliminated in the standard paleo diet. There are just so many processes within the food industry we need to be more informed about, and our food quality is one of them.

Now, I’m not trying to discourage you from using dairy. But, if you’re looking at what you put into your body as a means to heal, you might just consider looking at all your options before grabbing any heavy whipping cream (HWC), or any other keto-friendly dairy (and eggs) out there. I tend to buy raw organic pasture-raised dairy whenever possible, and opt to limit it’s use. But that’s just me. 😉

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Gruyere Cheese Egg Bites

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by J. Irish, Ketolicious Eats Course: Breakfast, SnackCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

minutes

Calories

288

kcal

For those of you always finding yourself on the run to work or play, try my recipe for egg bites. This recipe makes 12 egg bites, using a standard oven.

Macro breakdown: 1 net carb | 19g protein | 22g fat per serving, using the essential (not optional) ingredients and six slices of bacon. Using four sausage links creates similar macros, with slightly higher grams of fat and protein.

Ingredients

6 large 6 organic pasture-raised eggs
2 cups 2 raw gruyere cheese, shredded or chopped–I like the cheaper brand carried by Trader Joe’s that is imported from Switzerland.
1/4 cup 1/4 raw organic cheddar cheese–I like Organic Valley or Organic Pastures brands.
2/3 cup 2/3 organic pasture-raised whole milk cottage cheese–I use Good Culture, Organic Valley and Green Valley brands.
1/3 cup 1/3 organic raw whole-milk heavy whipping cream (HWC) or not “extra pasteurized”–I use Organic Pastures or Straus Family Creamery brands.
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 organic black ground pepper
1/2 cup 1/2 kale, spinach and chard frozen blend veggies, optional
1 stalk 1 green onions, optional
1/4 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
4 4 cage-free or humanely-raised pork or chicken sausage links, zero-added sugar whenever possible, or 4-6 strips of cage-free or humanely-raised pork bacon, diced
Supplies
oven-safe Pyrex or Anchor Hocking bowl or container, 4-cup capacity
heavy-gauge steel muffin tin for 12 muffins–Personally, I prefer all ceramic-coated bakeware.
food processor, small food chopper or blender
mixing bowl with a pour spout, 2 qt (not needed if using a blender)
2 cups 2 water

Directions

Put your 4-cup Pyrex bowl, half full of water, in the top oven rack near the middle. Then preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Combine all the dairy ingredients in your food processor or blender, along with the eggs and ground pepper, and puree until all the cheese bits are not visible. If you’re using the smaller 5-cup food chopper, you may need to do this in two batches so ingredients don’t overflow out of the top of the chopper.
Then, if you’re adding in greens, add them to the food processor (or blender) and pulse puree until the leaves are chopped to a smaller size. Again, if you’re using the smaller food chopper, you may need to pulse chop some of the greens in two batches if you find your chopped is already 3/4 full. You can also hand-chop the greens and put them into the larger mixing bowl separately prior to pouring into your muffin tin.
Now pour the ingredients from the food chopper or processor to your large mixing bowl with the pour spout. Skip this step if you’re using a blender.
Add any sausage or bacon bits (and chopped greens, if you chopped them by hand), and stir well.
Grease your muffin tin with ghee, coconut oil or other fat. I find that if I use quality ceramic-coated bakeware, I don’t need to coat the tin when making egg bites. Enough of the fat from the dairy will naturally make release from the muffin tin easy.
Pour the ingredients from your mixing bowl or blender to each opening in the muffin tin until each is almost filled to the top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. The egg bites will rise as they bake and then fall back down to their original size after removing from the oven.
Allow to sit for five minutes before serving, and enjoy!

Notes

When adding extra ingredients, such as the greens, green onions and bell pepper, try to limit the amount to no more than 2/3 cup. Otherwise, you’ll find you have way more egg and cheese mixture than your muffin tin can hold. Additionally, if you like the simple taste of Starbucks egg bites, it’s good not to over do the extra ingredients and let the cheese flavor stand out.
Egg bites can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.