If there’s something you need to know about me, it’s that I love eggs. When asked what food I couldn’t live without, that might be my top food. Now, contrary to popular belief, I don’t eat eggs everyday, but I most certainly could. I just love the taste, I love how you can eat them hot, cold, sweet, or savory, you can mix them up or eat them sunny side up. The possibilities are endless. They tie almost any dish together and even bind things together. They are really the best things ever (in my humble RD opinion.)
Yes, I’m a dietitian, and yes I think eggs can fit into your diet, plain and simple. While I love eggs, I also recognize that some people can develop an intolerance too them and know they are not right for everyone.That being said, for those that have no intolerance to eggs, they should rejoice in knowing eggs can be a part of a healthy balanced diet.
Quality over Quantity
As with any part of your life, I like to stress quality over quantity. As it relates to food, this is (in my opinion) incredibly important within reason and budget. I’d much prefer you to focus on quality of your food (i.e. where it comes from and what’s in it) than quantity (i.e. calories, macros, etc.)
While quantity does matter, quality matters first and foremost. You may be able to get abs in the short term, but you gain health in the long term by caring about what food you are eating and where it comes from. Eggs are no different.
When eggs get so much hate, I think it’s over generalized. I, agree, not all eggs are created equally. Have you ever had an egg from a free range chicken? Usually the yolk is bright orange & tasty. An egg from an unknown source found in the grocery store (you know the cartons that don’t specify their source?), pale yolk and flavorless.
The better the quality, the better it is for your health as it will be higher in vitamins, minerals, and taste. I highly recommend if you are unable to source eggs in your backyard or your friends backyard that you spend money on good eggs, because, after all, you’re a good egg 😉
What’s in an Egg
So glad you asked. An egg contains macronutrients & micronutrients that complete a healthy diet. They contain protein & fat as well as vitamins, minerals, and more. Here’s a bit of a macro overview:
Calories: 70 Protein: 6g Fat: 5g Carbohydrate: 0g
Sounds like a nice little snack, am I right?!
As for a micro overview, an egg is a good source of: vitamin D, calcium, iron, b vitamins, zinc, iodine, selenium, choline, etc. all of which deserve their own post, so stay tuned. Just know that when you eat real food, your body LOVES the real nutrition & real vitamins/minerals.
Nellie’s Free Range Eggs
Nellie’s Eggs are free range and Certified Humane. If you check out their website, you’ll see they are proud of their chickens. They follow the highest standards of humane farm animal care.On top of being both a company that produces free range eggs and being Certified Humane, they were also the first certified B-corp egg company. Nellie’s is dedicated to using their business for good. Read more here.
The best part? Nellie’s is available in many national grocers so you can grab a pack the next time you grocery shop. Just look for the purple label! Make sure to crack an egg open and admire the orange yolk, then you can enjoy the taste.
5-Ingredient Egg Bake Casserole
Okay, now for the recipe you have been waiting for. Okay, maybe you haven’t been but this is one of my favorite make-ahead recipes. Not to mention, you may have all the ingredients you need on hand to make this. 5-Ingredients is all you need and you’ll be on your way to having a healthy breakfast casserole made for you and/or your family.
Use this as a meal prep dish for the week or for a breakfast gathering. It holds up well in the fridge so you don’t have to feel scrambled when making this, as you can make it ahead. Even more short on time? Grab frozen hash browns, heat them up, and use them in place of the sweet potatoes for a similar taste.
Don’t get bogged down on the ingredients, if you have eggs, milk, salt & pepper, the rest can be improvised. Have broccoli instead of peppers? Use broccoli! Cheddar cheese instead of goat? Great, use it! Make this recipe your own and enjoy!
Note: when I talk about 5-Ingredients I leave out the oils & spices as it’s assumed that most people have those ingredients already at their disposal!
Preheat oven to 400°F & grease a large 9″x13″ baking dish
In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil & saute potatoes until browned
Add peppers and saute with potatoes for 3 minutes
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk eggs with milk & salt & pepper until frothy, set aside
Remove potato & pepper mixture from heat and add to baking dish
Pour egg mixture over potatoes & peppers, and stir to mix evenly.
Optional: crumble goat cheese and add on top of egg mixture
Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until center is cooked through
Feel free to spruce up this egg bake any way you wish! You can add mushrooms, onions, broccoli, spinach, maybe even some breakfast sausage. The beauty of the egg bake is that the eggs do most of the work by cooking up and binding everything nicely together. You may even want to pair it with my Apple Ricotta Stuffed French Toast Casserole for a breakfast of champions this year.
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