Eggs, They're What's For Breakfast

Eggs have gotten a bad reputation in the past for being high in cholesterol. Recent research is showing that eggs actually assist in increasing good cholesterol. Additionally, they are not as fattening as you might think and because the are high in protein, eggs are very filling and energizing. Including them in breakfast is a great start to your day. The number of calories in a large egg is 75 and it contains many nutrients including folate and vitamin D.

If you are still concerned about cholesterol and fat intake with the egg, the best thing to do is limit the consumption. The people who eat egg white alone are definitely on to something because of the significant reduction in fast and maintenance of protein. If you do decide to eat the whole egg, certainly do not do so every day but perhaps twice a week max. There have been recent studies linking daily egg yolk consumption to diabetes so it is best to play it safe. Do not eat them everyday.

Egg recipes can be so varied and delicious. My favorite eggs for breakfast recipe is probably the Western omelette sans mushrooms. It calls for:

eggs

ham

tomato

green pepper

red pepper

onion

cheese

olive oil

salt, pepper and oregano

1. Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

2. As it is heating, crack 2-3 large eggs into a bowl. Toss the shells. Add a few drops of water or milk to the bowl and whip vigorously. For an extra fluffy omelette, add a dash of baking soda.

3. Pour the beaten egg into the fying pan. Keep heat at medium and watch closely to avoid burning. As the edges are solidified and the middle begins to solidify, add the additional ingredients to one half of the area only (the diced ham, diced tomatoes, diced red and green peppers, and mushrooms if desired.)

4. Using a spatula, fold the egg over. Use the half that has no ingredients added on it to cover the other half. You should now have a half circle instead of a full circle shape.

5. Reduce heat to low and add the shredded cheese of your choice (cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, etc.) on top of the omelette.

6. Allow the cheese melt a little and then remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle a dash of optional salt and black pepper on top and enjoy.

Of course, for this recipe, you can use as many or as few ingredients are you desire. You just don't want the omelette to overflow or be unable to fold. So if you choose many ingredients, you should use each sparingly.

 Another type of omelette that I love is the steak omelette. You can try the above technique substituting the small cubes of diced ham with larger cubes of steak.

If you ever eat breakfast out and are looking for a steak omelette, IHOP prepares a delicious one.

The way I often prepare an egg omelette when I have limited time and ingredients is by using egg, cheese (mozzarella) and onion only. See the pic below.:

I think these photos make the eggs look a bit scrambled, but oh, well. They're certainly not. I would be however be remissed to not say that I do enjoy the variety in preparing eggs. They can be eaten in an omelette, scrambled, sunny side up, boiled or in dishes at dinner time as opposed to breakfast time (i.e.- in fried rice). So, ode to the egg!

Below is a photo depicting another way that I enjoy having eggs. I enjoy eating fried eggs or Sunnyside up eggs that have some spices on them such as salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper. Prepared this way, the eggs for breakfast can go well with melted cheese and fajita wraps that can readily by purchased at the grocery store.

Additionally, hard boiled eggs are a breakfast staple for my family. Eggs are high in protein and other nutrients. Eggs are inexpensive and preparing eggs is convenient and not too time consuming. Putting some eggs to boil in a pot of water on the stove is probably one of the most if not the most convenient way to prepare eggs. There is the added benefit of easy clean up. It will not take as long to wash the pot and remove the residues. After scrambling eggs, frying eggs or making an egg omelette for example, clean up would take a greater amount of time than it would for the hard boiled eggs. Hard boiled eggs are delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare.