Eggvocating

I figured it'd be appropriate to make my next post about eggs considering I titled myself as the, "egg-vocate." Eggs are by FAR one of my favorite, most treasured foods and I also think that eggs have been severely misunderstood in our culture.

Mmm eggs.

Nearly every morning I poach an egg for breakfast. As a child, eggs were fundamental in my home. My mother was a single, working-mom who tried whenever she had the chance, to make me breakfast before school. Nearly every morning meal consisted of some type of egg dish and it wasn't until I started studying nutrition, I realized just how much that morning egg jump started my day. Eggs have massively contributed to my mood, energy, ability to think and even my metabolism. Eggs are filled with nutrients good for our cells, and they have fat which can be used for our daily energy expenditure. Without my morning egg, my functioning level is low.

Let the chickens run in the sun.

Not just any chicken egg can give you such tremendous health benefits. In order to reap the advantages that eggs have to offer, you have to commit to eating organic, free-range chicken eggs. Chickens that are allowed to pasture receive exercise and sunlight. Exercised chickens have twice as many omega-3 fatty acids in their eggs as compared to factory farmed eggs. Sun exposure lets chickens produce up to six times the amount of vitamin D in their eggs, compared to a chicken who never sees sunlight. All of the omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D in these eggs transfer to you when you eat them.



Eat the yolk.

Many people choose to eat only egg whites, believing it will protect them from elevated cholesterol levels. The truth is, food cholesterol doesn't really raise your blood cholesterol levels, saturated fat does, and organic free-range chicken eggs have 1/4 less saturated fat than a factory farmed egg does. The benefits of these eggs for your body substantially outweigh the costs of ingesting a little bit of saturated fat. Almost all of the nutrients and protein that are in eggs are inside the yolk and not the white, so don't be afraid to eat the entire egg.

I found this picture on a website called, Tasting Buds and it shows the difference between a factory-farmed egg and a farm-fresh egg.

http://thetastingbuds.com/2010/03/farm-fresh-eggs-vs-conventional-factory-farm-eggs-a-photographic-comparison/

Notice the egg on the top right which is a yellow-brown color. That's the farm-fresh egg. It's color indicates that it is filled with many more nutrients because of the chicken's diet and exercise routine. The egg on the bottom is a factory-farmed chicken egg and it is much lighter in color and not as solid in structure, indicating it's nutrient supply is lower. If you were to look at these two eggs eye-level, you'd find that the farm-fresh egg sticks up like this ( and the commercially produced egg is relatively flat like this |.



I love eggs and you should too. They carry an amazing supply of protein and nutrients and they have inevitably made my mornings better. If you're on a tight schedule, you might want to hard boil a batch of eggs at the beginning of the week and store them in the fridge. This way, you can have your daily egg without the time and trouble of cooking each morning.

How eggciting.