ZooFit Recipe of the Week: Keto Casserole

While not every diet is for every person in the world, some diets are beginning to prove themselves as very beneficial, provided you adhere to the guidelines in a healthy manner. ANY diet can be exploited and made unhealthy. Vegans eat Oreos and Teddy Grahams touting “they’re vegan”. Sure, they aren’t made from any animal product, but does that make it a great choice for a healthy diet?

Keto gets a pretty bad rep, mainly because it’s a VERY easy lifestyle to exploit. Cheese and bacon? That’s Keto! Yes, you can eat cheese and bacon on the Keto lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean you should be eating it every day, with every meal.

Keto is the low-carb, high-(healthy)fat diet where the body produces ketones to be used for energy. Lowering the carbohydrate intake reduces the glucose and insulin our body produces, and in essence, burning fat instead of carbs for energy.

Keto has become very popular for weight loss, but it’s more than that. Following a HEALTHY Keto lifestyle, full of fresh green veggies, moderate protein, and healthy fats like avocado, nuts, and seeds has been shown to help fight cancer and diabetes (because it eliminates ALL sugar).

The tricky part with Keto isn’t the “no sugar” rule. Honestly, even trying it for a week, many people don’t report feeling cravings. The healthy fats take care of that.  The tricky part is planning your meals.

Meal prepping is key for success on the ketogenic lifestyle, and this week’s recipe will give you a jump start with the most important meal of the day.

This breakfast casserole has evolved quite a lot since I found the original online while researching the Keto diet back in 2017. Originally with lots of meat, I’ve whittled it down to a super tasty casserole which will give you six meals.

While this is a breakfast casserole, it is certainly not limited to enjoying only in the morning. Have it for lunch, or brunch, or even at dinner time. Make this a one-stop shop for a healthy Keto-friendly meal.

Keto Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 leek or scallion
• 1 can of mushroom slices, or 4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1/3 cup olive oil, divided
• 18 stalks of asparagus (approximately one bunch)- can substitute for another low-carb green veggie, like broccoli
• 10 eggs
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• OPTIONAL- 1/4 cup shredded natural cheese (omit to make it Paleo-friendly
• OPTIONAL- 4 slices bacon (omit to make it vegetarian)
• salt and pepper
• Add spices as desired for taste

Directions

1. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil. Rinse, trim and thinly slice the leek. Add leeks, mushrooms, and kale to the baking dish.
2. If using bacon, cook in a frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes on each side. It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through, as you will add it to the casserole, but enough to start releasing fat and flavor. Remove from pan, saving the grease for frying the veggies. Cut into small pieces and set aside.
3. Break asparagus for tender stalks and saute in the frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil or bacon grease, until browned.
4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, remaining olive oil, coconut milk, onion powder, tapioca flour, cheese and/or bacon, if using (and other desired spices). Whisk to combine and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture over leeks. Add asparagus on top.
6. Set the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until set in the middle. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil if the casserole is getting too brown around the edges before it’s cooked through. After 40 minutes, turn oven off and let casserole passively cook until golden brown on top.
7. Divide into 6 portions and save in an airtight container for up to six days.