Tag: folate

Eggcetera, Eggcetera, Eggcetera

Eggs are so versatile, you can make them part of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or picnic, eggcetera, eggcetera, eggcetera. High in protein, low in carbs and full of essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, eggs are an almost perfect food.

The concern that consuming eggs will raise blood cholesterol was diminished by studies a few years ago only to be resurrected this year. Perhaps that will mean you don’t want to eat eggs for every meal or even every day, but eating the occasional egg as part of a balanced, healthy diet leaves the risk factor most likely low.
quiche
If you were going to fill a day with eggs, you could begin with a breakfast of scrambled, fried, poached, or soft boiled eggs. Eggs Benedict, biscuits filled with eggs and sausage, and easily customized omelets along with French toast are longstanding favorites.

In my family, there’s a lot of enthusiasm for breakfast tacos. Scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon topped with hot sauce and folded into a corn tortilla does make a filling and delicious combination. Alternatively, a gluten-free, dairy-free pancake filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a tiny bit of strawberry jelly makes a great dairy-free alternative taco.

That brings me to non-dairy scrambled eggs. When my oldest son was two, we discovered that giving him dairy resulted in significant congestion and irritability. My second son was so allergic I could not consume dairy when I was breastfeeding him without also medicating him. After a couple of days on medication that kept him awake, I opted for no dairy.

During that first phase without dairy, I began substituting water for milk in scrambled eggs. I discovered I preferred the fluffier result so I never reverted to the traditional addition of milk. Last year, I ran across a POPSUGAR post on the secret ingredient for fluffy scrambled eggs. They got it right – water!

If you’re not up early enough for breakfast, you can always have eggs for brunch. My mom had a recipe called Brunch Eggs. It’s a great option for special occasion brunches because you can make it in advance then bake just before serving. Here’s the recipe:

Brunch Eggs

8 slices white bread, crust removed
Butter, softened
5 eggs
1 pint half & half
Salt to taste
8 oz grated Old English cheese (can substitute a mixture of sharp & mild cheddar)

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 8 x 10 oven-safe baking dish with olive oil spray.

Butter each slice of bread on both sides. Tear into bite-size pieces and place in prepared dish.

In large bowl, whisk 5 eggs. Whisk in half & half. Add salt to taste and stir. Pour mixture over bread. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

This recipe is easily made gluten-free by substituting gluten-free bread. It will take a little more determination and experimentation to make it dairy-free. There are many milk substitutes, but some work better than others when heated or as part of a specific flavor profile. Non-dairy cheeses also vary widely in flavor and meltability.

For lunch, I like egg salad. I make several different versions. Choosing one depends on the day and ingredients available. They’re all good on bread, crackers, or wrapped in lettuce. My other most common lunch egg option is tuna salad with boiled eggs included.

At snack time, I most often choose deviled eggs. I make a traditional mayo/mustard version unless I’m feeling fancy, then I upgrade to bleu cheese with tarragon. My mother made deviled eggs with butter, vinegar, salt & pepper.

When I’m flying, a boiled egg is my preferred snack. Because of the unpredictable timing of stops and availability of gluten-free food, I always want to have something on hand. A peeled, boiled egg is easy to carry through an airport and on a plane. If you prefer, pickled eggs would work as well.

At dinner time, I love a fritatta. I can fill it with leftover or newly sautéed vegetables; bacon, sausage, or salami; and cheese or cream cheese. Since there’s no crust, I don’t have to worry about creating a gluten-free version. If you prefer crust on your egg pies, you can always opt for quiche.

Eggs don’t have to be the main feature of the meal. Served atop steamed asparagus with a sprinkle of parmesan or as the crown on bibimbop, they bring a delightful finishing touch.

A day filled with eggs won’t leave you lacking for dessert. Custard or custard pie, meringue, soufflé, bread pudding, creme brûlée, cheesecake, and ice cream contain significant amounts of egg. Other desserts use eggs as a binder–cake, cookies, brownies, cream pies, and pudding.

It takes more than one day to exhaust the many ways you can prepare those little jewels with 70 calories, 6 grams of protein, 1 gram of carbohydrate, and 65 mg of sodium plus all 9 essential amino acids that cannot be made by your body in addition to iron, vitamins A,D,E, & B12, folate, selenium, lutein, zeaxanthin, and choline. The amount of nutrition packed in such a small package is impressive, but the usefulness of eggs doesn’t stop there.

Eggs bring the element of fun to Easter. They can be blown out of their shells to boggle the minds of children. The yolks can serve as the binder for tempera paint. Eggcetera, eggcetera, eggcetera.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024687/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30874756

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-looking-at-eggs-cholesterol-and-heart-disease/

https://www.popsugar.com/food/Scrambled-Eggs-Water-43048421

http://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/get-know-breakfast-foods/

http://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/easiest-egg-salad-ever/
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Get to Know Some Other Breakfast Foods

Last week we learned about cereal, now let’s get to know some other breakfast foods. More than 80% of us eat breakfast at home. If you’re like me, you eat it in pjs with a cup of hot coffee in hand. There’s no end to the possible breakfast options, so we’ll take a look at some of the more popular items we choose at home.
eggs
Eggs
Eggs are king of the traditional American breakfast. Simple to cook in a variety of ways in only a few minutes, an egg is packed with protein and low in carbohydrates. One egg has 70 calories, 6 grams of protein, 1 gram of carbohydrate, and 65 mg of sodium. The high protein and low carb content make eggs an ideal choice for diabetics.

Unlike most foods, eggs contain all 9 essential amino acids that cannot be made by your body plus iron, vitamins A,D,E, & B12, folate, selenium, lutein, zeaxanthin, and choline. Eggs also provide the primary source of cholesterol in the American diet. One egg has 195 mg.

Because blood cholesterol has been of concern in heart disease, for many years Dietary Guidelines recommended limiting consumption of cholesterol thereby giving eggs a bad rap. This changed in 2015. The Guideline regarding cholesterol was removed because it is now recognized that dietary cholesterol plays no role in blood cholesterol.

With that concern removed, it’s hard to find a better food to get you going in the morning.*

Ever drink a glass of orange juice with your eggs?
Apparently a lot of us do. About two billion dollars worth of orange juice are purchased in the US each year. The largest selling brand is Tropicana Pure Premium.

Orange Juice

An 8 oz glass of Tropicana Pure Premium No Pulp Orange Juice has 110 calories, 2 grams of protein, 0 fat, 0 sodium, 450 mg of potassium, 22 grams of naturally occurring sugars and a total of 26 grams of carbs. A glass of this juice also provides 120%** of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, 2% of the daily value for calcium, 10% for thiamine, 4% for riboflavin & niacin, 6% vitamin B6, 15% folate, and 6% magnesium.

oranges
How does that compare with an orange?

Orange

One large orange has about 86 calories, 2 grams of protein, 0 fat, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 17 grams of sugars and 22 total grams of carbs. It also has 163% of the RDA of vitamin C plus naturally occurring calcium (7% RDA), vitamin A (8%), and iron (1%).

Looks like an orange has less calories, more fiber, more calcium, more vitamin A, more iron and 43% more vitamin C, but lacks the added thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and magnesium.

If you are choosing orange juice for vitamin C, you’ll get significantly more from eating an orange plus the benefit of 4 grams of dietary fiber and 5% more calcium.

Before choosing store bought orange juice, you should also be aware that in spite of the “not from concentrate” verbiage on the label, this type of orange juice is processed by having the oxygen removed so it can be stored in vats for up to a year. This process removes the flavor. A flavor pack is then added so that when it’s bottled it will taste like orange juice. Because the flavor pack is made from orange by-products, it is not considered an ingredient, and therefore isn’t required to appear on the label despite the fact that the by-products are chemically altered. 1)

yogurt

What about yogurt for breakfast?

Up until two years ago, Greek yogurt sales were skyrocketing. While the growth has now slowed to a moderate level, you can’t pass a dairy cabinet without seeing a wide array of single serving yogurt options. Many of those convenient cups are occupying our breakfast tables, but not all single serving yogurt is created equal.

The top selling brand of yogurt is Chobani, so let’s start there.

Non-fat Greek Yogurt
Chobani 5.3 oz non-fat Greek yogurt contains 80 calories, 15 grams of protein, 0 fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 55 mg sodium, 4 grams of sugars and a total of 6 carbs, 15% of the RDA of calcium, and 6% of potassium. This yogurt is also full of probiotic live and active cultures that help your digestive tract.

That’s twice as much protein as an egg for only 10 additional calories. Plain Greek yogurt is also low in carbohydrates and has a significant amount of calcium making it another good choice for diabetics.

Plain yogurt? Yuck! What about flavored yogurt?

Blackberry Yogurt
One 5.3 oz container of Chobani Greek Yogurt with Blackberry on the Bottom contains 120 calories, 12 grams of protein, 0 fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 50 mg of sodium, 16 grams of sugars and a total of 18 carbs, 15% of the RDA of calcium, and 6% of potassium. Like plain yogurt, this version is also full of probiotic live and active cultures that help your digestive tract.

While blackberries may account for some of the sugar listed on the label, evaporated cane sugar is the 2nd ingredient, meaning that many of the 16 grams of sugar come from added sugars. The sugar adds most of the 40 additional calories. Although the protein content is still high at 12 grams and the probiotics are present, added sugar makes this yogurt less healthy in general than plain yogurt and doubly bad for diabetics and those with heart disease.

I understand why flavored yogurt is tempting. Yogurt can be a bit tangy on its own. I eat 1/3 – 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt for breakfast most mornings. Rather than adding sugar, sweetener or honey, I top it with about a tbsp of golden raisins and 10 raw almonds. As a breakfast, this is crunchy, filling, and just sweet enough. The nuts and raisins both add protein, the nuts add fiber, and the raisins add carbs. This combination is also quick and doesn’t require cooking.

While I find Greek yogurt convenient, many people prefer the portability of breakfast bars. The top selling nutrition/health bar is Clif.

Clif Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bar

In one Clif Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bar you’ll find 250 calories, 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, 150 mg sodium, 7% RDA of potassium, 5 grams of dietary fiber & 4 grams of insoluble fiber, 20 grams of sugars and 44 grams of total carbohydrates. It is also fortified with vitamins & minerals.

Although this bar offers a good amount of protein and fiber, the calorie count is high and the total amount of carbohydrates is very high. These bars are not an option for those who are gluten-free, and they cannot be characterized as a good choice for those who are diabetic or at risk for heart disease.

Of course there are other breakfast bars with varying amounts of protein, fat, and sugar so you may find one that fits your eating plan. You won’t find one that beats eggs or plain Greek yogurt in nutrition per calorie.

Of all the foods we’ve learned about so far, eggs and non-fat plain Greek yogurt offer the best high protein, low fat, low carb breakfast choice.

Next up, we’ll look at some popular on-the-go breakfast sandwiches and then we’ll be ready to move on to lunch and dinner.

Should we explore coffee? Probably, but right now I’d rather just have another cup. Until next week…

*Eggs are one of the 7 top allergens. Approximately 2% of children are allergic to eggs, but 70% outgrow the allergy by the time they’re 16. http://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies/types-food-allergy/egg-allergy If you have an egg allergy, please avoid eating eggs and products containing them.
**Percent of daily values listed are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your DV may be higher or lower based on your calorie needs.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

1)http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/100-percent-orange-juice-artificial_n_913395.html
http://gizmodo.com/5825909/orange-juice-is-artificially-flavored-to-taste-like-oranges