Perfect Food – Eggs – The amazing versatility of the “perfect” food
We as a culture seem to have a real love-hate kind of relationship with the egg. It used to be that eggs were absolutely terrible for your health, loaded with cholesterol and all other kinds of “bad nasties”. Yet today, the egg is seen as a staple of a healthy diet and you have to do your very best to eat as many of them as humanly possible every single week.
The truth of the matter is that the egg is chock full of vitamins, minerals and even iron while also being low in calories. This makes it healthy and a great food when you are on a diet. Since they contain so much protein they can help keep you feeling full for a long time.
Eggs are also incredibly versatility when it comes to cooking and meal preparation. You can use them for breakfast, baking and also an additional ingredient to a full dinner. There really isn’t a more perfect food or ingredient as the egg – and it isn’t even close!
Cooking them “as is” can produce scrambled eggs, over easy eggs, hard or soft boiled, poached eggs and a million other variations, but they are also staples in a variety of different dishes ranging from mayonnaise to meringue and everything in between!
Regardless of the size, color, or type of egg we are talking about there’s just something about this amazing little source of protein that can completely transform more dishes than we could ever go on to explore.
Without the egg meatloaf would fall apart, sponge cakes would not be spongy, Hollandaise sauce would be without a Holland. Life without the perfect egg is hard to imagine.
The Color of Eggs
But what is it about the differences in egg sizes and colors that we have to pay attention to? Well, let’s dive right in and find out!
The color of eggs has next to no difference whatsoever on the egg inside.
The most important thing you can realize right off of the bat is that eggs from a chicken come in about 1000 different colors, ranging from the whitest of white to the darkest of brown and everything in between – some with speckles, some with spots, and some with streaks.
At the same time, there is no real fundamental difference that the color on the outside of the egg makes when it comes to the inside of the shell. Different breeds of chicken lay different color eggs, and there is no difference whatsoever between the egg with a white shell and the egg with a dark brown one other than the kind of chicken that laid it.
The difference in color just comes from the color of the ear lobe of the chicken. Crazy right! So if the chicken has white ear lobes than the egg will almost always be white. If they have red ear lobes they will almost always be brown. This is really the only difference between white and brown eggs.
You may have noticed that brown eggs usually cost more. This is because white chickens grow faster and cost less to raise. This is why factories prefer them. Brown chickens take longer to raise but usually produce slightly larger eggs. That is why organic eggs are usually brown rather than white.
What About The Size of Different Eggs?
There are definitely different sizes of eggs as anyone that has ever visited a grocery store understands. Most grocery stores carry small eggs, large eggs, and extra large eggs – and some will even carry eggs from other birds (like ducks) that are incredibly small.
There are few factors that determine egg size but the main factor is the size of the chicken. Bigger chickens usually produce bigger eggs and smaller chickens tend to produce smaller eggs. This is not always true, but it is for the most part.
All in all though that is really the only difference when it comes to egg sizes. There usually isn’t any flavor difference or preferred usage for different sizes of eggs. Sometimes a recipe will call for a certain sized egg but that has nothing to do with flavor, it is just the recipe needing a specific portion size.
Again, it all comes down to choosing the right egg for your specific needs. Most recipes are going to call for large -sized eggs, but if you have different sized eggs that you are going to be working with keep in mind this usually won’t have any big impact on the finished product!
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What You Need to Know about the Nutrition of Eggs
Eggs are a great choice for meals or snacks, as they contain a treasure trove of nutrition, while also being very affordable and versatile. Today, we’re going to share some information about the incredible nutrition of eggs. Once you’ve learned just how beneficial eggs are to your health, you may see that you want to add more of them to your daily diet in the future.
Eggs Provide Many Nutrients
A typical egg contains only seventy-five calories and it comes with seven grams of protein. The protein in an egg is of superb quality and it will help to fuel muscle development and give you more energy throughout the day. Also, it will help you to feel full since protein leaves you feeling satiated longer. So eating eggs is a great way to help you get your portions under control and achieve or maintain your ideal weight. Thats why eggs are you usually a centerpiece of many established diet plans.
In addition to protein, eggs come with five grams of fat, as well as just over a gram and a half of saturated fat. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, iron and carotenoids. Eggs are also powerhouses in terms of fighting disease, due to their zeaxanthin content and lutein content. Lutein is not well known but it is very beneficial to eye health.
As you can see, eggs offer a lot of positives. The yolks of eggs have been given a bad name over the years due to the amount of cholesterol the contain. Many people have avoided eggs in the past for this reason but new studies show that there is tons of value in eating the yolks. In other words, the risk of taking in too much cholesterol via moderate consumption of eggs has basically been debunked.
If you’re still worried about cholesterol in egg yolks, you should probably eat mostly egg whites with yolks mixed in from time to time. This will help give you get the great benefits the yolk offers while also minimizing you cholesterol and calorie intake.
All in all eggs are one of the best “bang for your buck” nutritious foods out there. Eating eggs in a consistent basis will help you get many vital vitamins and nutrients you may not normally get in other foods.
Not Raw But Cooked Eggs
We don’t recommend eating raw eggs. For safety reasons we believe they should always be cooked. There are so many great ways to enjoy cooked eggs and add them to your diet. For example, Eggs Benedict are wonderful and this famous dish really has a gourmet quality. Other options include frittatas, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, egg salad and so much more.
Now that you have the inside scoop on the nutrition of eggs, why not get some at the grocery store today? If you want a healthier version of classic bacon and eggs, consider an egg-white omelet with chopped veggies and grated, low-fat cheese and a few slices of turkey bacon. This is a great way to power up on protein or other nutrients in the morning.
