If you’ve been following a long lately, then you know that I’m on a bit of a health and fitness kick. And when I say kick, I hope it’s a long, drawn-out kick and that this isn’t all going to fizzle out anytime soon. I have a true passion for real, whole foods, and a true passion for treating my body right with diet and exercise. I feel 110% better when I’m eating right and I feel even better when I’m exercising daily.
I’ve learned a lot since this all started last August. I’ve really changed my way of thinking about food, my feelings towards food, and how I consume food. I’ve also learned a lot about food in general and what types of foods are important to fueling our body. One thing that surprises most is that healthy fats and especially health cooking fats are really good for them! I feel like we’ve played the “non-fat” and “low-calorie” game for so long that people get really nervous about consuming healthy fats because they also come with more calories. If you learn anything in this recipe post, I hope that you learn that healthy fats like Armour Premium All-Natural Lard are healthy to consume and you should consume these fats on a regular basis.
Let’s get to the recipe & then I’ll tell you a little more about why I’ve chosen to add lard into my cooking and meal prep routine.
Ingredients:
1. 2 tbsp Armour Premium All-Natural Lard
2. 1 red pepper, chopped
3. 1 orange pepper, chopped
4. 1 red onion, chopped
5. 7-8 eggs
6. 1/2 lb ground beef, browned
7. Handful of spinach, chopped
8. 1 jalapeno, minced
9. Handful of cilantro, chopped
10. Taco Seasoning (I make mine homemade and use this recipe from A Simple Pantry).
I found Armour Premium All-Natural Lard in the baking aisle at my local Walmart.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown hamburger with a small amount (1/2 tsp or so) of Armour Premium All-Natural Lard. I usually buy pretty lean ground beef and find that adding a small amount of lard helps it to cook and taste so delicious.
3. Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water to ground beef and let simmer.
4. Chop up onions, peppers, jalapeños, cilantro and spinach.
5. Cook onions, peppers and jalapeños in 1tbsp of Armour Premium All-Natural Lard until they begin to soften.
6. Whisk 7-8 eggs in a large mixing bowl.
7. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl.
8. Coat 8×8 baking dish in Armour Premium All-Natural Lard to prevent sticking.
9. Pour in egg mixture.
10. Bake for 35-38min. Check frequently at the end. You’re looking for a nice golden crispy top and when a butter knife or toothpick is inserted, it should come out clean.
Pro Tip: I cooked the entire 1lb of hamburger and added taco seasoning. After adding half to the egg bake, I had enough leftover for two taco salads for work lunches for the week. Now that’s a win in my book!
When it comes to breakfasts, I don’t have a whole lot of time in the morning so egg bakes are truly my saving grace. I make an egg bake every weekend and then warm-up a slice in the microwave during the week before work. The protein in the eggs and the meat helps to keep me full and I’m usually not reaching for a light snack until 10am or so.
I’ve used different cooking fats when creating my egg bakes, but I have to tell you that using Armour Premium All-Natural Lard has really changed the game for me. It’s one of the healthiest cooking fats you can use, it has heart-heatlhy monounsaturated fats which are believed to lower bad cholesterol AND it’s a better source of monounsaturated fats than coconut oil! That’s huge! I was mainly using coconut oil before! I can’t wait to try it when I roast sweet potatoes for Kenna and I. It has a lower smoke-point so it won’t smoke at high temperatures like some cooking oils.
Have I convinced you yet? Not quite there?
Armour Premium All-Natural Lard is also gluten-free, it’s natural, it has zero trans fats and it’s Whole30 compliant! I mean, it really doesn’t get much better than that.
What’s your favorite healthy breakfast food?
Have you ever cooked with lard before?
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We are making this next week! Can’t wait to try it!