Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs

Happy Easter! With Easter comes celebrating with family, the Easter Bunny, Easter egg hunts, and deviled eggs. Easter egg hunts began many many years ago with people traditionally hiding real decorated hard boiled eggs. Over the years, this has evolved to the brightly colored plastic eggs typically filled with candy, small toys, or even some $. My boys have had a blast the past couple years searching for eggs and they have fun hiding them for each other even after Easter passes. 

Eggs are a morning staple over at our house. We are so grateful that spring is around the corner and several of our patients with chickens have finally been starting to lay more eggs again (post molting). After the long winter, we’ve been enjoying those golden yolks of farm fresh eggs again. After reading a few Winnie the Pooh books, Campbell has begun to call yolky eggs “honey”. Farm fresh eggs truly do have a beautiful golden color and a more superior rich taste when cooking and baking with them compared to conventional eggs.

Grocery store eggs have gotten a bad rap nutritionally over the years. The reality is that true farm fresh eggs are actually a nutrient dense superfood as compared to grocery store eggs. The difference between farm fresh eggs and grocery store eggs is mainly that farm fresh eggs are laid by chickens who are able to roam and eat all the bugs that are surrounding them. Many chicken owners share some of their food scraps with their chickens so they can have a more diverse diet. These chickens generally have more fresh air and are happier than their mass produced counterparts. Many of our patients actually name their chickens and spend time with them so I’d say these chickens have a pretty great life. This therefore changes the nutritional makeup of the eggs themselves. Farm fresh eggs have around 6 grams of high quality protein and higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids. Farm fresh eggs are richer in vitamins like A, D, and E. Contrary to outdated beliefs, farm fresh eggs can actually raise HDL (good cholesterol) and have lower levels of saturated fats. Eggs are also a major source of choline which supports brain development and memory.

All this talk about eggs has got me craving some deviled eggs over here. Don’t tell my mom, but some of her secret ingredients are diced jalapeno (without the seeds), white onion, and a bit of dill pickle juice, along with a few other ingredients. I’ll be busy making a batch of those. Hope you also have a very happy Easter this year!