Make Ahead Freezer Breakfast Burritos

this Recipe

Breakfast burritos! Friends, I am so excited to share this time-saving recipe with you. I’ve been making these for years and they are a life-saver on busy mornings when you need breakfast but don’t have time to put it together.

I’m there. Almost everyday, in fact. You’d think that an almost 3-hour window in the morning would be enough to fit in exercise, playing with Vander, feeding us all breakfast, packing lunches/snacks for the day and getting ready for work but it’s not. Without fail, by the time 8AM rolls around I’m barely dressed, holding V and trying to piece together our meals for the day. Good times.

Thankfully, I usually have these in my freezer. A frozen burrito stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs, homemade tempeh sausage, black beans, salsa and hot peppers, if ya like. I make a batch on the weekends then roll and freeze. Done. Eating made easy, essential on busy mornings.

Wait? These burritos have eggs. Aren’t you predominantly plant-based!? That’s a question I get often from readers, especially those who love my vegan creations.

Yup, I eat eggs. Often in fact. And while I am not vegan, I do prefer to eat plant-based most of the time. However, my diet does include eggs (and yogurt! And cheese!)—not only because I love them, but also for their nutritional benefits.

When I become pregnant, I started heavily researching essential nutrients for me and babe. And, while you can absolutely be fully plant-based while pregnant, there was one nutrient that kept coming up over and over again in my research- choline. Like folate, choline is essential in nervous system and brain development and the amount that’s in most prenatal vitamins isn’t enough. There’s also a strong association with pregnancy and infancy choline exposure and improved infant cognition.

Researchers at Cornell University recently published evidence that infants exposed to higher levels of maternal choline (930 mg/day) during the third trimester have improved information processing speed during the first year of life, which is an indicator of cognition and intelligence.

Similar studies have been conducted in rodents and show that the cognitive effects of maternal exposure to choline last far beyond infancy. Of course, whether the same is true in humans is yet to be determined but, there’s enough evidence for me that choline is essential in brain development and something that I didn’t want to chance.

It’s why I ate eggs throughout my pregnancy and why I give them to Vander. One large egg contains 147mg of choline, compared to 57mg of 1 cup of soymilk- the highest amount in plant-based foods. As infants need 150mg of choline a day, one egg easily fills the requirement. For V, I usually just scramble an egg for breakfast or mash one with a ripe banana for 2-ingredient pancakes.

Pregnant mamas and moms to young babes- I know what an important topic this is. Therefore, let me know any questions you have regarding choline intake. I want to make sure you are getting all of the information you need- I was surprised how little I knew about it before I started diving into the literature.

Quick word about this sausage… it’s amazing! Those of you who have my cookbook will probably recognize this recipe but if not then you must try it. Even if you aren’t vegetarian. Everyone I make it for loves the flavor and how much it actually resembles sausage. It’s worth the time and effort, once you try it- you will find yourself putting it on everything. We also love it tossed with pasta and roasted zucchini. YUM.

To freeze, I make all of the burritos, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Since I usually eat the burritos within 4-5 weeks of making them, I don’t do anything else. However, if you are planning on storing them for long-term use, then you’ll probably want a layer of foil over the plastic for extra protection.

To reheat, remove foil and plastic, then heat in the microwave or in a toaster oven/regular oven. I go with 50-60% power so that the whole thing heats through without making the tortilla soggy. I listed directions that work best with my microwave, but make sure to test it with yours- you may need more/less.

Did I mention that almost any filling works in these? Load them up with your favorites. In addition to my tempeh sausage and beans I do a healthy portion of salsa and pickled jalapenos.

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