What are Life Cuisine Egg Bites?
The Life Cuisine brand (from Nestlé, who makes Lean Cuisine) was launched earlier this year to cater to “every lifestyle” with low carb, meatless, high protein, and gluten free options.
These egg bites are part of the low carb lineup and the only traditional breakfast items in the entire Life Cuisine line (although I would eat the gluten-free pizzas or the high protein taco bowl for breakfast). These sous vide egg bites come in two varieties: 1) Tomato & Spinach Egg White (also comes with mozzarella) and 2) Uncured Turkey Bacon & Aged White Cheddar (also comes with cottage cheese).
How are they?
Most frozen products don’t look particularly appetizing when pulled from the freezer and the same goes for these frozen mounds. After being prepared for two minutes in the microwave, the aesthetics of the product do not increase as the egg bites keep their shape, but do puff out a little. The puff foreshadows their fluffy and light taste, which is consistent with what one might expect from a sous vide-prepared product.
Both varieties have predominantly an egg taste with a hint of other flavors.
The Tomato & Spinach Egg White one naturally lacks some of the creaminess that yolk provides. I could faintly taste the tomato and spinach, but there is not nearly as much tomato and spinach as shown on the box, which is a little misleading. However, the mozzarella cheese does come through. I would also add more pepper and salt to this one.
The turkey bacon in the other variety is prevalent, which also adds some saltiness. This one is higher in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium (see nutrition facts below). There’s more bacon and cheese in this egg bite and they’re better distributed, which results in a slightly more flavorful product.
Anything else you need to know?
These are light tasting products, which is a nice way to start your day if you are eating these for breakfast. After eating two of them (one of each variety), I thought I might need to supplement my breakfast, but I was surprisingly not hungry. Thanks, protein!
However, it should be noted that I am a smaller-framed individual and I can definitely see others needing more than two egg bites or adding items to their breakfast to feel satisfied.
Conclusion:
Life Cuisine Egg Bites do the trick if you are looking for a light and adequate tasting, quick, easy, and relatively healthy breakfast. At the same time, you can probably also just scramble an egg.
DISCLOSURE: I received a free samples of the products. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 4.5 oz (1 package of 2 egg bites)
Purchased at: Received from Life Cuisine
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Uncured Turkey Bacon & Aged White Cheddar), 6 out of 10 (Tomato & Spinach Egg White)
Nutrition Facts: (1 package) Uncured Turkey Bacon & Aged White Cheddar – 280 calories, 18 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 185 milligrams of cholesterol, 810 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugar, 0 grams of added sugars, and 18 grams of protein. Tomato & Spinach Egg White – 190 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 610 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugar, 0 grams of added sugars, and 15 grams of protein.
I don’t get it. How are there 6 carbs in each egg bite? You can basically make regular eggs with cheese and spinach or bacon and it would basically be carb-free.
It’s frustrating when companies tout their products as “low carb” when they’re not actually that low carb for what they are. I mean, if we’re comparing them to French toast, then sure, they’re low carb. But these are just eggs.
What’s worse, they’re snack size–a little over 30 grams each–so it’s not even like the 12 carbs you get per package are spread out over a filling meal. By comparison, the similar Jimmy Dean Frittatas are about twice the size and have between 3-5 fewer carbs.
You suck, Nestle.
“How do these have so many carbs?” was the first thing I thought about these.
I actually just had the tomato and spinach ones for breakfast (on sale at the local grocery store, 3/$10), and feeling the same curiosity, I went and reviewed the ingredients… even though it’s not as prevalent as the egg whites themselves, the cheeses, or even the tomatoes, it does contain rice starch, which is likely used for texture purposes.
It’s true that one could scramble eggs with tomato, cheese, and spinach, but remember that the trade-off here is the additional carbs and lower calories for the cooking time saved. More time and ingredients would be needed if you want to take the reduced fat/calorie route with using only the egg whites (assuming that you don’t already have pre-separated egg whites purchased)
The Bacon & Cheddar ones taste almost identical to the Starbucks ones (despite using White Cheddar and Turkey Bacon vs. Gruyere and regular bacon). They nailed it texture wise. I’ve had some other brands of egg bites hoping to get something close to Starbucks, but nothing came close until these ones. Pretty expensive in my area at $4.49 per box, with one serving of 2 bites per box.
The carbs come from the milk & cottage cheese. I am a big fan of Starbucks egg bites & I think these are just as good. I paid $3.35 at Publix Starbucks charges 4.45. I think Starbucks are a smudge bigger.