1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Pour oil into a large skillet. Cook garlic over medium-high heat for about one minute.
3. Add breakfast sausage to garlic. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes or until browned, crumbling and breaking with a spatula.
4. Fill a medium pot with water (about half full). Set on high heat to boil. Add broccoli and blanch for 5-7 minutes. While boiling, fill a bowl with ice-water. Once the broccoli has boiled, plunge into an ice bath to stop cooking for 1-2 minutes, drain, and pat dry.
5. Whisk eggs, heavy cream, half of the cheese, parsley, sea salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl.
6. Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 casserole dish. Place sausage at the bottom. Add broccoli or cauliflower and stir together. Pour egg mixture over sausage and broccoli. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, until eggs are set and medium-firm, and cheese is melted.
8. Serve with sliced avocado on top.

Nutrition information (1/9 of the recipe, with 1/8 avocado): 321 calories, 27 grams fat, 3 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 1 gram net carbs, 17 grams protein

Health Benefits of Keto Zone Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Avocados

The addition of fresh avocados adds texture, flavor, and great health benefits. They include:

• Carotenoids: These amazing nutrients support eye health and reduce inflammation
• Carotenoid Absorption: Avocado also increases the absorption of carotenoids from other foods. When eaten alongside vegetables, they can increase absorption between 200-400%.
• Healthy Fats: Avocado’s fats can help you get in the Keto Zone and improve your health. Their fats are heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory, and they promote healthy blood sugars.
• Fiber: Avocados offer 3-4 grams of fiber per ½ cup to promote gut health, blood sugar control, and optimal cholesterol levels (1).
• Cancer prevention and cell death: Avocados (specifically avocado extract) have been studied and determined to help prevent the occurrence of cancers in the mouth, skin, breast and prostate gland (2).
• Vitamin E: Avocados are the best fruit source of vitamin E, an essential vitamin that protects against many diseases and helps maintains overall health.  Specifically, it is an antioxidant that supports brain, cardiovascular, and respiratory health.

Eggs

The base of this breakfast casserole is eggs. They promote health in the entire body, including:

• Improved HDL cholesterol levels, by up to a 10% increase with 2 eggs per day (3, 4)
• Adequate choline, lutein, and zeaxanthin intake. Choline builds cell membranes and plays a role in brain function and memory (5). Lutein and zeaxanthin are powerful antioxidants that promote eye health in the retina (6).
• Improved triglycerides by as much as 16-18% decrease when eating pasture-raised high omega-3 eggs (7).
• Good protein intake can improve satiety and weight loss especially compared to eating carbohydrates.

Broccoli

It doesn’t get much healthier than broccoli. Like most vegetables, broccoli promotes overall health and wellness with potent antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and more. It fights cancer cells, supports brain, health, and supports heart health. But, broccoli is special beyond these attributes. It’s also detoxifying.

Two of the best Keto Zone vegetable options are broccoli and cauliflower. These sulfur-containing veggies provide a 1-2-3 detoxifying power punch of nutrients for the body. They are high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, anti-cancer, and more (8). To read why they should be a part of your diet, check out these 8 Proven Benefits.

Garlic

Garlic is an amazing vegetable. It is incredibly heart-healthy and promotes healthy cholesterol levels. What’s more, it’s highly anti-inflammatory and a strong antioxidant, which means less damage to blood vessel cells (where plaques get lodged and do damage), less oxidative stress, and more healing (9). Additionally, garlic is anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, and overall health-benefiting.

To read about all of garlic’s great proven benefits, check out this post.

Bottom Line

You can make a Christmas Breakfast Casserole that’s in the Keto Zone, delicious, and nutritious. It will feed your family, or make several servings for yourself.