It’s hard to believe last summer, we were waiting … and waiting for one of our chickens to lay an egg. Let me tell you, this summer, we have eggs. Lots of eggs. Our four chickens are each laying an egg a day right now. That’s 1.33 eggs per day for each of us. Oh my.
So we’re eating eggs … and more eggs around here. Eggs, with the help of an army of publicists, have mostly repaired the villainous status they held in the eighties. (Take note, Mel Gibson.) But when I’m trekking out to the hen house to collect the eggs each evening, I find it nearly impossible not to think about cholesterol.
In 1984, in an article called “Hold the Eggs and Butter,” Time Magazine reported on a major ten-year study on dietary cholesterol. “Anybody who takes the results seriously may never be able to look at an egg or a steak the same way again,” the authors wrote. Then they relayed the then-current recommendation that women eat less than 225 mg of cholesterol a day, the amount in a single egg. And thus Egg Beaters and margarine became staples in refrigerators across America.
Since then, a number of studies have vindicated eggs, which, by the way, humans have been ingesting since about 1500 BCE. Today eggs are more likely to be celebrated than disparaged in articles with titles like, “The Incredible Edible Egg” and “The Sunny Side of Eggs”. They’re said to be rich in protein, zinc, vitamin D and other nutrients. And about that cholesterol? A 2007 study of nearly 10,000 adults demonstrated no correlation between moderate consumption (about 6 eggs a week) and cardiovascular disease or strokes. Then another study of 4,000 volunteers, the results just released, revealed no association between eating eggs and the risk of developing diabetes.
So eggs are back on the menu across America. And I’ve decided to take something else off my menu: breaking nutrition news. I still read it; I just don’t take it all that seriously. Micheal Pollan compares nutrition scientists to surgeons 360 years ago:
Nutrition science, which after all only got started less than two hundred years ago, is today approximately where surgery was in the year 1650 – very promising, and very interesting to watch, but are you ready to let them operate on you? I think I’ll wait awhile.
He advises that people simply focus on cooking and eating real food – food our great grandmothers would have eaten, that eventually rots, and that contains ingredients we can pronounce. Pollan’s advice makes sense to me. And it’s much simpler than trying to keep track of which micro-nutrient prevents diseases in lab rats and which foods contain choline, omega 3s, or whatever nutrients are in vogue at the moment. Instead, let’s go back to eating real food and taking pleasure in it for how it tastes and makes us feel.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Want a healthy diet? Forget nutrition science and eat real food. #health” quote=”Want a healthy diet? Forget nutrition science and eat real food.” theme=”style1″]
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Other than breakfast items, the recipes I make that use the most eggs are all for ice cream. Using eggs to make a custard base is a great method for yummy ice cream and I employ it frequently. Custard only uses the yolks, though, so I end up having lots of whites left over. There are plenty of dishes that call for eggs whites but usually I use them for extending scrambled eggs.
Thanks for the idea. I never would have thought of it myself. Truly, we get in such a rut with our egg dishes.
I absolutely agree with your last paragraph. I’m a certified nutritionist and I always advise people the best thing they can do is eat moderately but always choose whole foods. Fresh is best. Frozen and dried tie for second. Canned (preferably home canned) is last. Processed “foods” should be avoided at all costs. If we eat a varied diet with whole foods, then we’re getting our nutritional needs. Eating with the seasons seems to help considerably as well. Have you ever noticed that heavier foods are more available in winter and they suit us well…but when the temps heat up, lighter foods are ready to harvest and our bodies usually prefer lighter foods in higher temps.
Oh yes, we’re also trying to eat more seasonally. This time of year, it’s so much fun! (In February, not quite so much.)
Hi, Abby. I found you through the Frugal Kiwi (love, love LOVE her!) and have just subscribed.
As a home canner and gardener I like your natural approach to living whole. I especially like your reference to surgery/ nutrition science. A definite chuckle!
Hi. Glad you found me!
I love a roasted veggie Frittata.
I’ve been pondering getting a couple of chooks (chickens in Down Under speak), but I think I’d better get the bees settled in before I start lobbying for poultry.
Sounds delicious. Whenever you’re ready for them, I think you’ll love keeping chickens. Perhaps I will be brave enough for bees someday too.
Thanks for putting eggs back on my food list. My cholesterol was slightly elevated but was brought back into range with a low dose of Lipitor. However, my doctor had still villainized eggs…making me afraid to eat them. I never ate them in excess to begin with, but had pretty much cut them out altogether from my diet. Great news!!!
I definitely think it’s worth bringing some studies in to discuss with your doctor. You could start your research here; they list a couple of the studies that have vindicated eggs in the last decade. There are others.:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/04/12/paranoia-over-eggs-was-misplaced/
I’m jealous of your in-yard egg supply! I tend to eat ~2 a day which gets pricey quick. As for Conventional Wisdom when it comes to diet, I tossed that out the window a couple of years ago and haven’t looked back. I eliminated all grains, started eating meat again after 20 years, and drastically increased my fat and protein intake. The first thing that happened was I lost 30 pounds and gained more energy than I knew what to do with.
You’re lucky that you get to have your eggs and eat them too, enjoy!
Oh, and as for a favorite way to cook them up, I prefer a simple omelet with just a little salt, pepper, and zaatar.
I’m glad you figured out what works for you. Yum, that omelet sounds delicious – and simple.
I try and always keep hard cooked eggs on hand. Use the oldest eggs for this since they peel the easiest. I usually add a hard cooked egg to salads. How about scrambled eggs wrapped in tortillas with salsa and sprouts? How about a frittata with beans and fresh garden greens or other veges? french toast? Shall I keep going?
Oh, now I’m hungry. Yes, we eat lots of hard cooked eggs around here too. Thank goodness my son likes eggs of all varieties. I love your ideas, especially French Toast. Thanks!
I forget, do you eat meat? I just made spaghetti carbonara which includes three eggs, at least the way I make it. The parsley was out of the yard, as was the garlic. We’re visiting family in Ireland right now so the eggs weren’t from our yard, but from my parent’s neighbour. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhubarbpie/4849295193/ The bacon was local too. For dessert? Gooseberry pie.
Yes, we eat meat. And now I want a gooseberry pie too. I love that photo!
I make scrambled eggs in the microwave. Don’t forget to puncture the yolks before you cook them !
Yes, it sounds like it could be quite disastrous if you forget.
I love eggs! I like quiches, spanish tortilla (aka frittata), and baking with eggs. And you can always give excess to your friends 🙂
I love Spanish tortilla too! And quiches. There are so many good ideas here.
I like soft boiled. I gently set 3 eggs in rapidly boiling water and cook them for exactly 4:45 seconds from when the water starts boiling again. It is only 4:30 if the eggs are coming straight from the coop and not the fridge. Pull them out, run them under cold water for 10 seconds to stop the cooking, split them open with a knife and scoop them out with a spoon. I like the whites to be solid but the yolk to still be runny. Of course the cook time varies altitude, the important thing is to figure out what it is for your set up and do it exactly the same each time.
IMHO hard-boiling really fresh eggs is the culinary equivalent of making tacos out of grass-finished beef. Leave that for the pour suburban liberals who have to shop at whole foods.
If your egg carton ever does full then make a custard!
Well it appears that the chicken came first!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38238685/ns/technology_and_science-science/