In the Kitchen: Crust-less Quiche Lorraine with Spinach

I had been naughty this week, finishing up a whole box of chocolates given to me by a friend who had attended the "Salon de Chocolat" Exhibition. Feeling guilty, I have been walking more than usual, and today, I decided to have a healthy start. So for breakfast I figured I better start my high-protein diet: a crust-less Quiche Lorraine with Spinach.



RECIPE: Crust-less Quiche Lorraine with SPinach
PREHEAT OVEN: 190*F (375*C)
100 gm. of lardon (or cut up bacon) - cook in low-medium heat until it is semi-crispy. Place on a paper towel to drain off excess fat.
1 tbsp. chopped onion - caramelize in the same pan lardon was cook on for a minute or 2. Set aside.
1 handful of spinach - cut up into fine strips
6 eggs - whisk to aerate a bit
1 tbsp. of shredded parmesan cheese ( or you can use other hard-type cheese)
Mix all of the above ingredients and season with pepper. Pour into a greased/floured baking pan and put into the oven. After you close the oven door, bring down the temperature to 175*F (350*C) and bake for 10 minutes; after which, turn on your browning element if you have one and bake for another 7 - 10 minutes. I am using a convection oven...baking time may be a little longer for regular ovens.
Serve this with your usual fruit juice, or in my case...



I served it with a glass of freshly juiced green apples, spinach, carrots, and broccoli.



Or, you may opt to make a light meal out of this. It can be served with a side salad...in this case I made spinach salad sprinkled with dehydrated echalote, herbes des Provence, salt and pepper, and drizzled with apple-cider vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, and garnished with a tomato.



To round it off, for dessert, the choice of fresh kiwi and raspberries made it a more anti-oxidant packed meal!

I'm being good and have avoided the carbs, so far. If you want some bread with this, go for the whole wheat or cereal breads.

NUTRITIONAL NOTES:
When I eat kiwifruit, I wait for the skin to get a bit wrinkled as this is the time they get to be sweet. Kiwis contain about as much potassium as bananas; rich in vitamins A, C and E, and its black seeds can be crushed to produce kiwi fruit oil (I wonder how many fruits we need to get 1tsp. of kiwi oil?), which is very rich in alfa-linoleic Acid (an important Omega-3 essential fatty acid. Kiwifruits are useful in improving asthmatic conditions in children, and in decreasing the probability of colon cancer by providing a good amount of dietary fiber. Please be aware that kiwifruits can cause an allergic reaction in some individuals.(Kiwi-Fruit.info)

So colorful and decorative for dessert preparations, raspberries contain significant amounts of polyphenol antioxidant; a rich source of vitamin C, manganese; contain B vitamins 1-3, with considerable amounts of folic acid, magnesium, copper and iron. You get as much as 20% fiber per total weight. (WikipediA)

I am a big fan of spinach. I incorporate it in my meal planning as much as I can, when I can get a hold of it. It is a rich source for iron and a little bit of calcium. It is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or boiled for about 4 minutes (to benefit from it's folate content). It is also rich in vitamins A (and lutein), C, E, K; magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, vitamin B2, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid (vitamin b-9), copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids.(WikipediA)