This Creamed Spinach With Egg Recipe Makes For The Perfect First Trimester Breakfast

Have you ever wished for a healthy, satisfying, ready in minutes meal that not only tastes amazing but helps deliver the right nutrition to you and your baby? If so, this Creamed Spinach With Egg Recipe is just for you.

Of course, you can eat it throughout pregnancy and postpartum as well. (In fact, as someone well beyond postpartum, this is still one of my favorite meals to prep for a week of insanely healthy breakfasts.)

But, did you know that this meal has two really powerful ingredients that make it not only a delicious meal, but a powerful investment in your baby’s brain power, emotional health and your own health as well?

Yep – it’s true! Read on to find out more. Or scroll down to get the recipe right away.

How Does Spinach Help Build Your Baby’s Brain Power?

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Many people believe that spinach is a pregnancy superfood because it has the B vitamin folic acid, which helps prevent birth defects like spina bifida. But, here’s something amazing, your baby’s risk for this is over by the 8th week of pregnancy. I hope that gives you reason to sigh a breath of relief and pat yourself on the back. It’s very probable that worry is behind you. But the benefits of spinach do not go away!

Spinach, has one very important nutrient in spades, iron. Did you know that about 17% of pregnant women have iron deficiencies so great it can cause anemia? And another 45% have enough iron deficiencies to cause problems for herself or her baby, even if she hasn’t reached an anemic state yet?

Iron is essential for the function of all cells in the body and brain. It has important roles in oxygen delivery, electron transport, and enzymatic activity.

All things that are crucial for for your babies brain. So what happens with severe iron deficiency?

Newborns with iron deficiency have compromised recognition memory, slower speed of processing, and poorer bonding. These continue even if iron deficiencies are fixed in the postnatal period.

And moms with iron deficiencies have their own struggles. So while I know that iron supplementation has its place, I also know that what we put in our mouths every day also matters.

So much that Dr. Michael K. Georgieff calls pregnancy nutrition with a focus on adequate iron, “an investment in the mental health of the next generation and an investment in society.” Pretty crazy what a difference food can make right?

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Why Eggs Are So Great For Pregnancy

Did you know that a babies brain development is the most rapid the first 1000 days? That’s conception to 24 months.

Eggs are a great choice for pregnant people because they pack a nutritional punch in several ways. They’re loaded with protein, which is crucial for growing your baby’s organs and muscles. Plus, they’re chock-full of choline, a big deal for brain development for both you and your little one, especially in those early stages. Research has shown that choline improves DHA accumulation in baby’s brain, which may improve lifelong cognitive health.

You may get these from a prenatal vitamin – if you have one with a separate fish oil or omega 3 component. And while I fully support supplementation in pregnancy to make sure your bases are covered, I still believe whole food is where the real solutions are.

One study explored the synergistic effects of nutrients in eggs on the impact of fetal neurodevelopment. The study tried to answer a question. Do babies brains change when moms eat more eggs?

The answer they found was yes!

Women who consumed more eggs had babies with more advanced nervous system development at 36 weeks. When looking at the combination of choline, lutein, and zeaxanthin from the women’s full diet (not just eggs) they found more advanced nervous systems at 32 weeks and at 36 weeks with the addition of DHA. They did not see such advancements when assessing nutrients independent from each other.

So what does this tell us about eating eggs in pregnancy? Not only are eggs full of nutrients, but those nutrients work better when they’re together. Here’s a win for whole foods, like eggs!

Looking for one on one support with your nutrition during pregnancy? Connect with a liscened dietician through Nourish. Whether you’re navigating pregnancy or healing postpartum, expert guidance can make all the difference. It’s convenient, personalized, and most sessions are covered by insurance.

Ingredients For Creamed Spinach With Egg

You will need the following ingredients to make my creamed spinach with egg bake:

• Butter
• Garlic
• Nutmeg
• Freshly Cracked Pepper
• Spinach
• Eggs
• Whole Milk
• Cream Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese

In addition, a big piece of crusty bread or half an avocado on top will really push the deliciousness of this recipe over the top!

How To Make The Creamed Spinach With Egg Bake

This breakfast is insanely easy to make. Especially if you food prep it, which I will show you next.

1. Add the butter, garlic, nutmeg, freshly cracked pepper, whole milk cream cheese and parmesan cheese to the ramekin. Give them all a quick stir. It does not have to be smooth as it will all melt together.
2. Layer spinach on top and stir together.
3. Crack 2 eggs on top and place in oven.
4. Bake and garnish with a slice of crispy bread or half of an avocado.

Check out the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

Macros Counting For This Recipe

If you are here from my birth class and are counting whole food protein and fuit and vegetable servings – here’s the breakdown for this recipe.

As made, this recipe has 33 grams for protein. If you choose to cut the fat in half (see below) it goes down to 29. Which is still pretty great for the first meal of the day!

You also get 2 servings of vegetable. Add a third if you top with half an avocado!

See, those numbers are not so hard to reach after all!

If you haven’t taken my childbirth class yet, make sure to jump in to find out more about pregnancy nutrition as you prepare to bring your perfect baby to the world.

Too Much Fat In This Recipe For You ?

I always aim for about 1/4 of each plate to be fat/protein. There are many fat-soluble vitamins crucial for pregnancy including vitamin A, vital for fetal growth and development, especially in the formation of organs and vision, vitamin D, essential for calcium absorption and bone development in the baby, and vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant and supports immune function.

I will admit, this recipe leans a bit heavy on the side of fat. You can cut out half of the butter, whole milk, parmesan cheese and cream cheese and still have a delicious meal when you are done.

How To Meal Prep This So You Only Have To Cook Once All Week

This meal is best served hot, soon after it is cooked. But I don’t like getting all the ingredients out every day. That just takes too much time and makes too much of a mess.

I like that add all the ingredients, except for the eggs into mason jars. These should stay good in your fridge for about a week.

When you go to cook them, simply dump the ingredients from the mason jar into the ramekin. Bake for 3 minutes and remove from oven. Stir the melty, cheese cream and spinach together until the spinach is well coated in the cream. This will prevent the spinach from getting over cooked or burnt, and make sure all the cheeses and cream melt together.

Add the two eggs on top. Place back in the oven and bake another 10-14 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

How To Air Fryer Cook This Creamed Spinach With Egg Recipe

I love making this in the air fryer instead of the oven. I put it in the airfryer just like this. It feels much more efficient, and I don’t have to wait for the oven to preheat. I just pop it in, set the time and go.

(If I meal prep, I still follow the instructions above adding 3 minutes with just the ingredients that were in the mason jar before stirring then adding the eggs.)

Set the temperature to 320 degrees Fahrenheit and the timer to 12 minutes. After 10 minutes, its best to check the dish every minute to get the eggs exactly how you like them.