My life in eggs.

Don't get concerned about the title - this is not about to be a post about my lady bits or reproductive anything, I swear. I have a Paleo stumbling block, which I'm a bit stuck on. Paleo and really, any awesome eating, encourages QUALITY. Free range, organic, grassfed, no cage, happy life, etc. That's all fine and dandy, and I'm sure it does taste awesome, but this girl's got a mortgage. A big one. One that will be paid off when I'm 40. That's awesome - but it does get in the way of free-range goodness.

My husband eats at least 4 eggs a day, for breakfast. I eat two. That's six eggs (big math here) on a daily basis. I know it doesn't sound like it could be a budget buster, but let's do the math. I went to the Farmer's Market this weekend - and those happy chickens are apparently the next Oprahs because their eggs were $5/dozen. That's $0.42 an egg. Still cheaper than what I'd be up to in my former Starbucks Drive Thru Life (tm) but that means my husband and I, were we free range loving folk, would be eating $2.50 a DAY in eggs. Just for breakfast!

Let's rock that over a year. Would you spend $912.50 on eggs? Let's compare. My love/hate SuperWalmart relationship continues. Their eggs are $1.87 for EIGHTEEN. Let's round up to $0.11 an egg. Which means we have a $0.66 a day egg habit. Translates to $240.90 a year in eggs.

That means in order for me to eat those healthy, happy eggs - I have to have almost $700 more a year in my food budget. And that's just the eggs! What about grassfed beef? Buffalo? Bison? Organic chicken?

I won't be winning any awards for this post - but a girl's gotta eat, and I'm not talking about $900 worth of eggs. I'll do my best Paleo, but I'm not down for my grocery bill looking like a house payment.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

I love breakfast. Mainly pancakes, but since I've been trying to low carb it a bit - our household's become huge fans of the frittata. In case you too are trying to surprise your out-of-town friends with just how darn skinny you've gotten in their absence - I present my Ham and Asparagus Frittata. So darn delicious, you'll be doubly thrilled that it helps you get into your skinny jeans.

Ham and Asparagus Frittata

- 2/3 cup chopped 33%-less-sodium ham
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded low-fat Jarlsberg cheese (mmm)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 large eggs
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
- 1/2 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat your broiler and wrap the handle of your pan in foil.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together your eggs, egg whites, ham, cheese, black pepper and salt. Then heat your skillet (I use a 9" pan) over medium heat and coat it with cooking spray like you're hosing out a fire. Do you want all your hard work stuff to the pan?

Add in the bell pepper, onion and asparagus and saute for 3-4 minutes until everything is softened and delicious. Add in your egg mixture and cook, covered for about 3-4 minutes or until it's just a little jiggly and not quite set. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning on top. Place your pan (foil covered handle and all!) into the broiler for 2-3 minutes. This moves REALLY fast, so don't walk away!

Remove it from the broiler when the eggs have set and cut into four wedges. Let it cool a bit and enjoy! :)