Eggs are a great meatless protein source. Three whole eggs constitute a serving of lean protein and 14 egg whites — which is a lot of food! — are a serving of leanest protein. (Need a refresher on the lean, leaner, leanest concept?)

For this meal for two, we used a half-and-half approach. The recipe used one full serving of whole eggs and one of egg whites. This yielded two generous servings that were half lean/half leanest — which we treated as leaner, and therefore used a bit of healthy fat in the prep. (The egg whites really bulked up the meal, hence our use of them to achieve a greater volume of food.)

Ingredients

• 3 whole eggs
• 2 cups of EggBeaters egg whites
• 1 summer squash, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 bunch of purslane, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of basil, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• non stick cooking spray
• 3 green onions, sliced thin to garnish
• 5 basil leaves, sliced thin to garnish

Preparation

• preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• put cast iron skillet or oven safe pan over medium low heat to get the pan hot
• In a saute pan, add the squash, bell pepper and purslane with the olive oil, garlic, a healthy pinch of salt and the herbs. saute the veggies until they are just cooked and starting to soften.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg whites, 2 teaspoons of water and good amount of cracked black pepper. whisk the eggs well.
• Turn the heat up on the cast iron skillet to medium high.
• Spray the cast iron skillet with non stick cooking spray and transfer the vegetables into the skillet, distribute evenly and then pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes on the cooktop before transferring the skillet to the oven to bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
• Test for doneness, using a sharp knife in the center, if it comes out mostly clean, it’s done.
• Cut into slices, top with the green onion and basil, and enjoy.

Experiment with your own mix of veggies.