Protein-Packed Quiche with a Chickpea Crust

I returned from a lab ski trip today (which turned into a snowshoeing trip since it was raining and the slopes were icy), and my hubby immediately requested I make him another protein-packed quiche. He has recently gotten very into weightlifting and is surviving on egg whites, chicken breasts, broccoli, spinach, and grapefruit for the time being. Poor guy. I came up with this quiche recipe several weeks ago to spice things up for him a bit and have been making one every week since then.

This quiche is made completely of egg whites and is packed with spinach and turkey bacon. I only needed to add a touch of blue cheese since a little goes a long way. The interesting part of this recipe is that instead of a standard pastry crust, I decided to develop a more nutritious crust made from chickpeas, whole wheat flour, and a touch of olive oil – I even managed to sneak some of his protein powder in it!

Protein-Packed Quiche with a Chickpea Crust
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup scoop protein powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 pieces turkey bacon
2 1/4 cups egg whites
1 cup milk
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1 ounce crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Pulse chickpeas, flour, protein powder, and olive oil in a food processor and spread dough evenly over the greased pie pan. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes at 350ºF or until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from heat and crumble.

Whisk together the bacon, egg whites, milk, spinach, blue cheese, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth; pour into the pie pan over the prebaked crust. Bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes or until set. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 202 calories, 7.7g fat, 4.3g fiber, and 17.0g protein per serving
Cost: $0.85 per serving