Bye Bye Bacon Frittata

Last night, as I was working, I rediscovered Hungry Girl.  Hungry Girl is a woman, not a nutritionist, who loves food but fights the same battles as basically everyone in the world who loves to eat but doesn't want to eat themselves crazy.  She offers low calorie recipes and tip and tricks to help you stay on track.  As I was browsing through the contents of one of her cookbooks, there was a recipe for a frittata that seemed interesting.  I perused a couple of online recipes looking for low fat, low cal frittata recipes, and I got the jist of how to create a healthy, delicious frittata.

So I did!  This morning for breakfast, I created what I call the Bye Bye Bacon Frittata.  And let me tell you, it was so good! And I didn't feel guilty eating it.  It was full of veggies (green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, onions), and I used reduced fat cheddar cheese.  To cut back on cholesterol, I only used 1 whole egg, and just the whites from the rest. 

The catch was the bacon.  I called it Bye Bye Bacon because I had 5 pieces of bacon left in my fridge.  Now, if I'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier, I don't think bacon should be part of my meals.  At least not much.  So, this was my farewell moment with the bacon that I dearly love.  I spent a long time debating how I could possibly fix something with bacon and not have it full of fat, so I thought - "Why not just take out all the fat?"  So I did.  I tenderly snipped off ALL the fat from the bacon with kitchen shears, AND then I cooked it on a George Foreman grill, so that squeezed out even MORE greasy fat. 

Here's the recipe and a couple pictures.  It was very delicious, and one serving was JUST the right amount!

Bye Bye Bacon Frittata

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 whole egg
2/3 cup water
1/2 a green pepper
1/2 a red pepper
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 an onion
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Bacon pieces (I used 5 slices)

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a small baking pan (I used a 8x8ish pan).  Slice bell peppers into strips, slice cucumber (then I halved the slices), and set aside.  Chop onion and sautee in water until tender.  Place all the vegetables in the pan.  Trim the fat from the bacon, and cut the bacon meat into half-inch strips.  Cook on a George Foreman-like grill to remove more grease and fat.  Add the bacon to the pan with the vegetables.  Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese in the pan.  In a bowl, combine the egg whites, the whole egg, and 2/3 cup water.  Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk until fluffy.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and bacon in the pan.  Cook for 30 minutes.  During the last 2 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the frittata and let it continue to cook.  When done, slice into quarters and serve!

Makes 4 servings.  Add a tablespoon of salsa for a little bonus!

Bye Bye Bacon Frittata with Tbsp of Salsa