Lightened Up Cheesy Egg Casserole

My friends and I had been planning a New Year's brunch for several weeks. I was really looking forward to it, but then my Stronger U session began the day before the brunch. At first, I was frustrated because brunch is pretty much my favorite meal. However, I decided before starting Stronger U that I was going to fully commit, so I began trying to figure out how I could bring a meal that would fit my goals without making me feel defeated.

For Christmas brunch with my family, I made this casserole. It was really delicious--super creamy and cheesy--but with way more fat and calories than my current plan allows. I decided to tweak it a bit for my on-plan brunch, and it worked out really well. In fact, I'm going to tweak it some more in the future to try to lower the fat even more while keeping the protein in check (use fat free cottage cheese or mozzarella, replace all the butter with light butter, etc.).

This recipe is easy to modify by using different seasonings or adding meat or veggies. Consider this one your basic template, and adjust it to suit your preference!

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LIGHTENED UP CHEESY EGG CASSEROLE (serves 12)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup light butter, melted

16 ounce 1% fat cottage cheese

2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 egg whites plus 5 whole eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9x13” pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Stir together butters, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt.

Whisk in eggs and whisk until combined (mixture will be lumpy).

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until browned and set in the middle. Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing into 12 portions and serving.

Your nutrition stats will vary depending on your ingredients, but made as described, MyFitnessPal nutrition stats per serving follow: 182 calories, 11g fat, 5g carb, 15g protein