Take an imaginary walk in the early morning sun, across the dewy grass towards your chicken coop. You can hear your hens gently clucking to one another. Quietly you put your hand into their nest to find a clutch of freshly laid, still warm eggs. What a wonderful healthy meal those eggs will make for you.
Well, at least that’s how most of us would like to collect our eggs. The reality is that we often buy our eggs from the store, and discover them when we open the fridge door pondering what to cook for this meal. Eggs can easily become the basis for a very sustaining and healthy meal, as when you enjoy an egg you’re actually eating a nutritional wonder package.
Eggs are one of the most complete foods you can eat. Most of us will thrive on the high quality protein they contain, as well as their wealth of essential vitamins and minerals. It seems surprising that just their high cholesterol level gave them a very undeserved bad reputation. The fact is that we can all enjoy eggs, in moderation, like every other high quality natural food.
Children especially benefit from the concentrated nutrition of eggs; they can appeal to almost the pickiest eater with the tiniest appetite. Try offering soft boiled eggs with buttered toast sticks that can be dipped into the yolk. Or soft scrambled eggs.
A breakfast egg is a great addition to your diet, and will keep you going all morning. But eggs can be the basis for a delicious main meal. If you keep some eggs in the fridge, along with some pantry basics, you’ll always be able to create a healthy and sustaining main meal, quickly. Here are some delicious and tasty egg recipes for you to try:
8 Egg Recipes to Brighten Up Your Morning
Packed With Protein
Did you know each egg contains around 6g of protein? Even better, the protein is complete in all the essential amino acids, and is the most easily absorbed form of protein. This makes it ideal for elderly people, who often lack adequate digestible protein sources in their diet.
Cholesterol, Yes – But…
Eggs have received some bad press in the last few decades, including an unfair reputation for boosting cholesterol levels that could lead to clogged arteries and heart attacks. Yes, eggs do contain a large amount of cholesterol – about 270mg each – but they also contain lecithin in the yolk, which helps your body emulsify the cholesterol and digest it effectively.
Lecithin also helps build the protective myelin sheath on your nerve cells; so with each egg you’re becoming less prone to degenerative nerve diseases as you age.
Vitamins And Minerals
Each egg supplies a vast range of vitamins and minerals – the iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and all the B group vitamins, all essential to life. Most of these nutrients are in the yolk, as the white is almost completely protein. You could almost call eggs ‘the multivitamin you can eat’!
Buy The Best Eggs
The nutrient content of your eggs will reflect the diet of the chickens that laid them. “You are what you eat” applies to chickens too! The healthiest and best tasting eggs come from organic certified farms where the hens free range on grassy pastures. This boosts their omega-3 status too. Once you’ve eaten a fresh organic egg you’ll never be able to buy factory eggs again!
Should I Eat Them Raw?
Eggs contain avidin, a protein which can block your body from absorbing biotin, one of the B-complex vitamins. Avidin is deactivated by cooking though, so for the best nutritional value, enjoy your eggs cooked.
The Classic Omelette
This is the classic French egg dish to make a fast main meal: Whisk two eggs in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and some clipped fresh herbs then pour into a hot pan until cooked. Then just fold over and serve with salad greens. By the way, French cooks are passionate about cooking their eggs with respect. Pick up any French cookery book to discover a wealth of new creative ways to cook eggs.
Egg In a Potato
Bake a large potato, take a slice off the long side and scoop out most of the center, then gently break an egg into the hole. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese then return to the oven for a few minutes until the egg is cooked. Serve with a crisp salad or steamed green beans. This is a filling meal with almost no dishes to wash!
Make Your Egg The Centerpiece Of Your Salad
Create a colorful salad first with some greens, tomato, avocado, and cooked chick peas (garbanzo beans). Boil an egg for five minutes then carefully shell it. Sit the egg on top of the salad, then break it gently open just as you serve it. Any dressing will go well with this salad.
However you choose to serve them, eggs are definitely a versatile component to a wonderful array of dishes!
