Want to serve a low-cost food full of high quality protein and lutein? Try cooking an egg for dinner, lunch or breakfast.
Eggs are a high quality source of protein. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein. Our bodies can make some amino acids from others, depending upon our bodies’ need at the time. Some amino acids we cannot make and need to get from our food. We can get these from eggs, as they are full of the eight essential amino acids.
They are also a good source of lutein, the phytochemical necessary to prevent macular degeneration disease. Our eyes are one of the most important part of our bodies. It is important to keep them healthy as we age. One egg has 252 micrograms of lutein. Another good source of lutein are dark green vegetables. It is best to get lutein from the food that we eat.
Recently, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines highlighted the need for us to eat less saturated fat. Eggs have a limited amount of saturated fat, just over one and one half grams. In comparison, a quarter pounder with cheese has eleven grams of saturated fat.
Handle eggs with care. Here are a few points to review.
Do not eat raw eggs. This includes “health food” milk shakes with raw eggs, Caesar salad, hollandaise sauce and any other foods like homemade mayonnaise, ice cream or eggnog made from recipes in which the raw egg ingredients are not cooked. Instead, use a commercially prepared pasteurized eggs or egg substitutes.
Buy eggs from a refrigerator display case. Do not purchase eggs anywhere that are not refrigerated. Any bacteria present in the egg can grow quickly if stored at room temperature. At the store, choose Grade A or AA eggs with clean, crack free shells.
Take eggs straight home and store them immediately in the refrigerator at 40 °F or slightly below. Store them in the grocery carton in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door. Keep a cooler in your car to keep cold foods cold.
Do not wash eggs. Washing eggs could remove the protective mineral oil coating put on at the plant and could increase the potential for bacteria on the shell to enter the egg.
If you celebrate Easter, you may celebrate with the custom of dying Easter eggs. In my home, we used natural dyes as well as the commercial color tablets. My dad’s job was to dye the eggs in onion skins. Here is a nature color chart. It is a great way for children to learn about color found in nature.
Dyeing Eggs with Natural Color
1. Except for spices, place a handful – or two or three handfuls – of a dyestuff in a saucepan.
2. Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dyestuff. This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of dyestuff.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat.
4. Simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color. Keep in mind that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
5. Strain the dye mixture into a liquid measuring cup.
6. Add 2 to 3 teaspoonful of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid. Pour the mixture into a small bowl that is deep enough to cover the eggs.
7. Use a slotted spoon or a wire egg holder from a dyeing kit to lower the eggs into the hot liquid.
8. Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color. Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy.
After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.
Fresh beets, cranberries, radishes or frozen raspberries -Pinkish red
Yellow onion skins – Orange
Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin – Delicate yellow
Ground turmeric – Yellow
Spinach leaves – Pale green
Yellow Delicious apple peels – Green/gold
Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves – Blue
Strong brewed coffee – Beige to brown
Dill seeds – Brown/gold
Chili powder – Brown/orange
Purple or red grape juice or beet juice – Grey
