I love when food is fancy and easy; the trifecta is fancy, healthy, and EASY.

Easy: I made this brunch in my little kitchen with three women, two newborns, and my daughter, who spent the entire time screaming her head off in an attempt to get me to hold her so that she could maul my face and suck on my chin. She likes me a lot.

Fancy: Anything edible in the shape of a spiral is, in fact, fancy.

Healthy: An egg is 70 calories and 6 grams of protein. Egg white is 4 grams of that protein, with only 17 calories. Eggs are healthy when eaten with the yolk, most definitely. If you’re watching calories, however, bulk up the whites. This dish has 10 egg whites in it (only 170 calories…WOW). Buy the egg whites that come in the carton if you don’t feel like separating all the eggs (measure out 1 1/4 c.).  Spinach is fantastic for you and should be eaten in abundance. In the half cup we use for this recipe, you’d get only 20 calories and a nutso amount of vitamins. Lowfat dairy – the milk and cheese – provides us with calcium, protein, and vitamin D. I used low-fat cheddar but American, Swiss, Havarti, ricotta, or mozzarella would all taste great. If you use mozzarella or ricotta, use a pinch more salt.

All of this goodness leaves you with a meal that looks impressive, TASTES DELICIOUS, and clocks in at 198 calories and 20 grams of protein per serving. DO it. Serve with salad for an easy dinner!

Fancy (But Healthy) Egg Spirals

Serves 4

1/2 c. thawed and squeezed-dry frozen spinach*

1/4 c. skim or low-fat milk

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 1/4 c. egg whites (or 10 egg whites)

5 eggs

1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/2 c. grated or shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (or any cheese you have on hand)

*Take a heaping cup of frozen spinach and place in a glass bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Pick up spinach with your hand and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place squeeze-dried spinach into a 1/2 c. measuring cup. Continue the process with more frozen spinach until you have a heaping 1/2 c., packed. 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 18 x 13 rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, then line completely with parchment paper (up each side as well). Spray parchment with cooking spray liberally.

2. Whisk milk and flour together in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Add egg whites, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.

4. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Evenly sprinkle mixture with spinach and cheese.

5. Place onto the middle rack in the oven and bake for about 11 minutes.

6. Remove sheet from oven and, starting at a short end, pull up parchment paper gently, letting the egg roll over itself into a tight cylinder. This sounds difficult, but I promise, it’s not. It WANTS to roll up, and does it quite nicely. 

7. Slice cylinder into sections and serve warm.