Baked Egg and Vegetable Cups with Feta

Why it works

Eggs are among the most complete protein sources out there, and the cheapest per gram, and baking them in a muffin tin turns them into something you can eat standing up. Two cups deliver 18 grams of protein at breakfast, which is exactly where most people are shortest. Intake typically skews hard toward dinner, and spreading it across the day supports muscle retention better than eating the same total in one sitting. The yolks carry choline, which your body turns into acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter central to memory, and most people fall short of the recommended intake without ever knowing it. Squeezing the spinach dry before it goes in is not fussiness. Wet spinach makes the cups weep and collapse in storage.

Ingredients

• 10 large eggs
• 200 g spinach, wilted and squeezed very dry
• 2 roasted red peppers, chopped
• 80 g feta, crumbled
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 60 ml milk
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, and a little salt
• Olive oil for the tin

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C and oil a 12-hole muffin tin thoroughly, including the top surface, since egg welds itself to anything it touches.
2. Wilt the spinach, cool it, then squeeze it dry in a clean cloth. This step decides whether the cups hold together for five days or turn watery by Tuesday.
3. Whisk the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper, then stir in the spinach, peppers, spring onion, and most of the feta.
4. Divide between the holes, filling each about three quarters, and top with the remaining feta.
5. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until set and puffed. They deflate as they cool, which is normal. Cool completely before boxing, or condensation makes them soggy.