A few of my good friends are egg haters. I get it. If you think about the etiology of an egg...it's weird. As a self-proclaimed "pescatarian" who dabbles in Jewish penicillin and homemade turkey meatballs, I rely on eggs as one of my "go to" sources of protein. During the week, my breakfasts typically consist of a Siggi's thrown into my bag, then eaten in haste with the neon blue glow of my computer screen as ambiance. Now as a working girl, the weekends are my opportunity to enjoy a leisurely and warm breakfast, typically accompanied by Williamsburg mayo on some form of sprouted grain. In honor of Passover and in an effort to utilize my matzo in a more highbrow way than slathered with Earth Balance, I found inspiration from a recipe in the New York Times. I stayed pretty true to the recipe linked above, except that I used half egg whites and half whole eggs, replaced white matzo with oat bran, used Earth Balance instead of butter, added no salt whatsoever since my wild nova was on the saltier side, and laced fat-free greek yogurt with extra dill. Although I love my morning yogurt speckled with chia, this breakfast was a lovely change of pace and temperature.
Eggs, what are you good for?!
It is hard to discuss eggs without discussing the issue of cholesterol. A healthy person should consume no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day. One egg has about 185 milligrams of cholesterol, all contained in the yolk. If you have one whole egg a day and limit your total cholesterol, you should be within your daily limit. (As a side note, cholesterol is typically found in animal products and saturated fats.) Most people eat more than one egg at a time and, in addition, may have meat, full fat dairy, or other sources of cholesterol during the course of the same day. Cholesterol dense items should be limited regardless, so the choice of sacrifice is up to you. Personally, if I am adding cheese to my eggs, then I will typically go with all egg whites. In the recipe above, I did a combo and, for each serving, I used one whole egg. Here are some quick egg-centric tidbits:
- One whole egg provides 70 calories and 6 grams of protein.
- Eggs contain Vitamins A, D, B12, choline, and selenium.
- Eggs are one of the few food sources of vitamin D, which assists with calcium absorption in the body.
- Eggs also contain antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which are beneficial for eye health.
- Eggs are an easy and affordable source of high quality complete protein.
- Starting your day with a protein packed breakfast as opposed to a carb loaded one, helps promote weight loss and increases energy.
- Opt for organic, free range eggs to support humanely raised chickens that are not fed additives or antibiotics.
If you have diabetes or heart disease, it is important to limit yolk consumption to no more than three a week.