Weider Nutrition Group - Power Food: Eggs

Power Food: Eggs

Eggs are a near-perfect food – they are full of essential nutrients, provide a variety of healthful benefits, are inexpensive, versatile and delicious. Find out more about this power food below, and give our egg recipes a try - you won't be sorry!

Choline - Choline is an essential nutrient that plays an important part in regulating the nervous system, in cardiovascular health, as well as an key role in brain and memory function. Eggs (in particular the egg yolk) is an excellent source of choline.

Eye Health – Lutein is a nutrient that has been shown to lower the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts. Eggs not only contain a good amount of lutein (found in the yolk), but to contain in a highly bio-available form. In fact, even though spinach contains a higher concentration of the nutrient than eggs do, studies have shown that the amount of lutein that is absorbed by the body is significantly higher from eggs than spinach (or even a supplement!).

Source of Complete Protein - Eggs are a good source of protein, providing over 6g of high quality protein per egg. And they are not only protein-dense, but it is also a complete protein, providing all the essential amino acids, meaning that it is not necessary to combine eggs with any other food to get all the necessary amino acids for protein synthesis and muscle growth.

Vitamin D - Eggs are one of the few foods that naturally contain vitamin D, and each egg provides almost 6% of your RDA of Vitamin D. This important vitamin is necessary to keep your bones and teeth strong and regulates the growth and activity of your cells. Although you can get plenty of this vitamin naturally from the sun, with growing concern over sun exposure and skin cancer risks (not to mention those dark, dreary winter months), it's important to get enough vitamin D from your food sources as well.

Selenium - An important mineral for anyone leading an active lifestyle. It helps protect your cells from free-radical damage (intense activity has been shown to increase free-radical generation), critical to maintaining proper function of the thyroid (a properly functioning thyroid is essential to a healthy metabolism) and it helps lower your risk of joint inflammation, which is especially important to athletes who put a lot of pressure on their joints. Eggs are a very good source of selenium, providing almost 20% of your daily requirement.

Tryptophan - An essential amino acid that the body uses to synthesize protein, it's also a precursor for serotonin, which helps the body regulate appetite, sleep patterns and mood: All important factors in maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. One egg provides you with almost 22% of your daily recommended intake.

Healthy Fats – Eggs are often thought of as a high fat food, but this is a common misperception – eggs contain less than 5g of fat and only 1.5g of that is saturated – the rest are made up of healthy unsaturated fats, such as monounsaturated fats that actually help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Most of the unhealthy association with eggs comes from foods that are typically cooked or eaten with eggs such as cheese, butter, bacon or sausage and hashbrowns – eggs on their own are extremely healthful and the fats they do contain are beneficial.

Vitamin B2 - Vitamin B2, commonly known as riboflavin, plays a crucial role in certain metabolic reactions, mainly in the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar, which is "burned" to produce energy. Riboflavin is also an antioxidant, which means it can neutralize damage-causing free radicals. As well, riboflavin is required for red blood cell formation and respiration, as well as regulating growth and reproduction – it’s essential for healthy skin, nails, hair growth, regulating thyroid activity and general good health. One egg contains over 13% of your RDA for this important vitamin.

Vitamin B12 - This essential B-vitamin plays an important part in red cell development and in preventing anemia. It also helps your nerve cells develop properly and helps your body metabolize proteins, fats and carbohydrates. One egg provides over 8% of your RDA of Vitamin B12.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

You’ll always have time for breakfast with these egg muffins – make a batch and then just grab 1-2 in the morning for a quick healthy start to the day! These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or can be frozen.

Ingredients:

15 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (you can substitute another type of cheese if you prefer)
1 tsp dried basil (and any other herbs or spices you’d like – for an additional spice kick you could also add in some hot sauce, jalapeños or red chili flakes)
1 green onion, sliced
Whatever veggies you want to add in, sliced or diced in small pieces (some suggestions –mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli)
Lean cooked meat of choice (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Spray the muffin tray with a non-stick spray (or you can use muffin liners if not using a silicon pan)
Divide veggies, meat, green onion and cheese into each muffin cup (you can also mix it up and make different varieties!)
Break eggs into a large bowl and beat well. Add the basil and any other spices you would like and mix. Pour egg mixture into the muffin tin, filling 2/3 of each
Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned

Baked Scotch Eggs

This is a much lighter version of traditional Scotch Eggs (which are typically made with sausage and deep fried)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1 drop hot sauce (to taste)
1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg beaten
Bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Season flour with salt, pepper and paprika then roll shelled eggs in flour.
If adding hot sauce, add it to the ground turkey and then divide into 3 equal parts.
Cover each egg as evenly as possible to keep egg shape.
Brush with beaten egg then roll in bread crumbs then bake 35 minutes.

No-Mayo Egg Salad Sandwich

A healthier twist on the traditional mayo-laden egg salad sandwich. This will make 4 regular sandwiches or 2 double-stuffed sandwiches. The amount of veggies to use is left out so that you can add in as few or as much as you’d like.

Ingredients:

Avocado Mayo

1 avocado
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tbsp water (start with one tbsp and add more to reach desired consistency)
Dash Tabasco (optional)

Egg Salad Sandwich

5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Avocado Mayo
Chopped green or red onion
Chopped celery
Sliced black olives
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-4 slices cooked turkey bacon
Sliced tomato
2-4 leafs of romaine lettuce
4-8 slices of your favourite multi-grain bread

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients for the Avocado Mayo in a food processor and blend until smooth – adding additional water until it reaches a mayo-like consistency
In a bowl, combine chopped egg, onion, celery, black olives, salt and pepper and Avocado Mayo (use an equivalent amount to what you’d use of regular mayo – this will depend on personal taste).
Divide egg mixture onto slices of bread. Top with a slice of turkey bacon, sliced tomato and romaine lettuce.
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