More about eggs, because… well, because. Plus, another recipe!

Egg Substitutes: Liquid egg products formulated as substitutes for whole eggs. Such products contain egg white. The yolk is replaced with other ingredients such as non-fat milk, tofu, vegetable oils, emulsifiers, stabilizers, antioxidants, gum, artificial color, minerals and vitamins. Because of the dairy and additives, these are not generally part of the THM® program.

Cholesterol: One Large egg contains 213 mg cholesterol. Despite rumors to the contrary, eggs laid by Aracauna fowl, eggs laid by free-running hens and fertilized eggs do not contain less cholesterol than regular supermarket eggs. Cooking does not affect the cholesterol content of eggs. The only way to avoid the cholesterol in an egg is to eat the egg white only.

Yolks: The yolk of an egg is the food sack reserved for the developing chick. The yolk or yellow portion makes up about 33% of the liquid weight of the egg. It contains all of the fat in the egg and a little less than half of the protein. With the exception of riboflavin and niacin, the yolk contains a higher proportion of the egg’s vitamins than the white. All of the egg’s vitamins A, D and E are in the yolk. Egg yolks are one of the few foods naturally containing vitamin D. The yolk also contains more phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, and calcium than the white, and it contains all of the zinc. The yolk of a large egg contains about 59 calories. It is the yolk that is responsible for the egg’s emulsifying properties. This is because the yolk contains lecithin, a very powerful emulsifying nutrient. Lecithin keeps the fats in the yolk in a liquid form. Taking lecithin supplements will also help keep the fats in your blood from solidifying and forming plaques.

Whites: In THM®, we mostly cook with the whites of the egg. The whites are low in calories and can produce a high protein, highly satisfying meal that is low in calories. Egg whites contain about 15 calories each.

Baked Egg White, Broccoli, and Mushroom “Cupcakes”
Purple * Serves 5 (2 cupcakes each)

These make a great treat for the whole family. You can bake up several, eat some now and put the others in the fridge for afternoon snacks, or an easy meal. You can put just about any type of protein and any vegetable you have around the house into these.

1 tablespoon cold-pressed, non virgin olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced – any kind
1 cup broccoli florets
12 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly oil a cupcake tin with a little extra olive oil or use a non-stick tin.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tablespoon of oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté` until they become brown and crusty on the edges, 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a food processor and blend until minced. (if you don’t have a processor, you can chop the mushrooms.)

Place the broccoli florets into a steamer basket over boiling water and steam until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the heat and place in a mixing bowl. Mash the broccoli lightly with a fork until chunky.

Add the mushrooms to the broccoli. Season with a smidgen of salt and pepper, if desired. Mix well with your hands. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared cupcake tins.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a splash of water until light and fluffy. Pour the eggs over the vegetables. Each tin should be about three quarters full.

Bake the cupcakes for approximately 10 minutes. Serve immediately or wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Articles - Food, Meat and Animal Protein, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.