A Box Without Hinges,

key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid."  The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

I am happy many of you can find solace in having eggs every day for breakfast. I know I can.  They are a highlight of my day!  They come in all varieties and with many accouterments.  On the go?  Have them hard-boiled or as convenient muffins!  Sick of plain?  Have them with other meats and veggies in omelets, frittatas, or even as Sausage and Egg Muffins!

But Aren't Eggs Bad For You?

Eggs have been maligned by the media and FDA for years for their high cholesterol and saturated fat, which supposedly make them contributory to heart disease.  We already confronted the saturated fat myth in a previous post.  Remember, it isn't the cholesterol that is the big deal, its the LDL particle size that seems more relevant to heart disease.  Carbohydrates are what actually lead to high triglicerides, which certainly do correlate with increased risk of heart disease.  This study reviews the literature and finds no correlation between eggs and higher cholesterol or higher incidence of heart disease, as does this study and this one, aptly titled "Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases."  Another study shows that even amongst the elderly, three eggs a day did not increase their risk of heart disease.  Have we put the myth to rest?

The Incredible Edible Egg

Eggs are nutritional powerhouses.  They contain fat and protein along with all the constituent vitamins in a convenient serving size.  Eggs are rich in choline, a B vitamin.  Choline has a slew of healthy properties, namely: cell membrane structure and function, especially in the brain;  being a vital component in cellular processes (methylation); serving as a key component of a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine); reducing inflammation; and protecting against cardiovascular disease (say what?!).  The B vitamins in eggs are responsible for converting a dangerous molecule (homocysteine) that can damage blood vessels into more benign substances.  Eggs also contain proteins that inhibit blood clots, which can lead to stroke and heart attack.  Eggs may even improve your cholesterol: an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that children eating eggs actually increased their LDL particle size!  Eggs are also beneficial for weight loss.  One study found that those eating eggs instead of bagels with the same caloric load lost almost twice as much weight and greatly reduced their waist circumferences.  Almost more importantly, no differences were seen between triglicerides, total cholesterol, or HDL and LDL counts, which provides more evidence against the cholesterol myth.  Another study also found that egg breakfasts provided more satiety and reduced snacking than bagel breakfasts, which would give credence to eggs as a component of weight loss plans.  Finally, eggs are good for your eyesight: they contain more eye-protecting carotenoids than supplements or green veggies, which protect against cataracts and macular degeneration.  Whew, what a list!

The Dark Side of the Egg

Now that we have poked holes in the cholesterol and saturated fat arguments, let's move on to other claims.  Scared of Salmonella poisoning?  Wash your hands and cook your eggs thoroughly.  Also, don't eat factory farmed eggs.  Numerous studies cited by this article from The Humane Society of the United States have found that Salmonella is significantly higher among high density, caged hens responsible for conventional eggs than uncaged hens.  Wow, what a surprise!  After reading that article on inhumane treatment, want to get even more angry?  Read up on the opposition to Proposition 2 in California, which passed (thankfully) in 2008 to set standards for animal confinement.  Now you know why I buy 100% grass-fed beef and farmer's market eggs...

Arachnophobia

No, not spiders this time but a very real threat indeed, giving rise to why we probably shouldn't eat eggs as our primary protein for every meal.  Give this brief post from The Whole Health Source a read (the author of which is a doctor of neurobiology).  Here are some important points:

Eggs are an exceptionally nutritious food, as are all foods destined to nourish a growing animal. However, one concern lies in eggs' high concentration of arachidonic acid (AA), a long-chain omega-6 fat that is the precursor to many eicosanoids. Omega-6 derived eicosanoids are essential molecules that are involved in healing, development and defense. Some of them are inflammatory mediators that can contribute to disease when present in excess. Eggs are one of the main sources of AA in the modern diet.

Barry Sears, Zone diet founder, also has a beef with AA (heh).  He wants zoners to limit arachidonic acid sources like eggs, red meat, and organ meats since they elevate "bad" eicosanoids.  While a balance of "good" and "bad" eicosanoids is necessary for hormonal balance, overbalanced "bad" eicosanoids lead to chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis.  Note: don't you kinda feel like you are being talked down to when you see the terms "good" and "bad"?  I know I do.  But then, I am not a biochemist...  Anyway, here is his take from an interview with Smart Publications author David Brown:

Eicosanoids are really your master hormones. They control inflammation, but they also control so much more. They virtually control the release and synthesis of all other hormones. So, in many ways, they're kind of the "Intel® computer chip" running both our bodies and every aspect of our physiology because of that very profound dietary control. With our diet, we control the balance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, and the better we maintain that balance the more well we become. Conversely, the more we let that balance get out of whack, making more pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, the more rapidly we move toward chronic disease. 

I guess I am still on the "good" and "bad" level if all of this seems a little over my head on the biochemical level.  I need to do more research to fully understand his caution against eggs.  Even the Paleo Diet cautions against egg quantity advising only six a week.  Cordain's concerns parrot the cholesterol and saturated fat argument, but also add an interesting claim that high heat cooking increases cholesterol oxidation, leading to the production of dangerous cholesterol (small, dense LDL particles?).  The articles on heart-healthy eggs didn't encounter this aspect.  Surprisingly, I did find that undercooking methods like the poaching Cordain recommends actually leave intact an anti-nutrient called avidin, which makes his recommendation surprising given that anti-nutrients are the rationale for most paleo diet restrictions.  Despite Cordain's caution, Robb Wolf who has brought paleo to the CrossFitting masses doesn't see a reason to limit eggs, but like Cordain suggests omega-3 enriched eggs for their better fatty acid profile.   Bottom line: I think the "good" outweigh the "bad" in this case, although I won't be eating eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Live Earth Farm pasture-raised chicken egg

Which Eggs Are Best?


One valid concern with purchasing eggs is that it is difficult to determine which aren't factory farmed.  The best bet: buy them from the farmer's market.  A small, scale independent farmer's chickens get a healthy variety of food from the land they live on, which leads to healthier eggs.  Mark's Daily Apple does a good job of cutting to the chase with the different terms on the egg cartons.  Basically, "free range" and "all natural" are meaningless terms that don't mean healthier or humanely raised chickens and even "cage free" can just mean overcrowded hen houses.  "Organic" is better with restrictions on food, flock size, and indoor living.  "Omega-3 enriched eggs" are usually organic and cage-free with a diet that includes supplementation to increase their omega-3 ratio.  We'll tackle the omega-3 topic in another post, but suffice to say, they are freakin' healthy fats.  Pasture-raised eggs are ideal, but Mark suggests you look into your egg producers to make sure the chickens are actually living their lives on the land.  This study compared pasture-raised to factory-farmed conventional eggs and found pasture-raised may contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol

• 1/4 less saturated fat

• 2/3 more vitamin A

• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids

• 3 times more vitamin E

• 7 times more beta carotene

Omega-3 enriched eggs or pasture-raised eggs are also the answer to reduce harmful arachidonic acid.   According to this study, omega-3 enriched eggs have 39% reduction in arachidonic acid compared to "barn-laid" eggs.

Practically speaking, they just taste better.  Omega eggs and pasture-raised eggs have tall, orange yolks that stand up to casual mixing (see the picture above).  Don't settle for runny, yellow eggs!  And their taste?  Well, they taste like eggs!  Their eggy flavor is unsurpassed and noticeably absent from conventional eggs.  I can tell the difference when a restaurant serves me sub-par eggs.

Here are some links to help you find pasture-raised eggs:
Local Harvest
Eatwild

After all this, perhaps you too can find the humor in the Center for Science in the Public Interest running around like a chicken with--well, you know--trying to get the FDA to ban companies from making claims about the heart-healthy nature of omega eggs.  Hmmmm, I wonder if factory farms are funding this sentiment?  It is also nice to see the American Heart Association is still feeding us the cholesterol and saturated fat misinformation by the carton-ful.  Their stance:  sure, you can have eggs, but since one egg accounts for 71% of your daily cholesterol allowance for a normal adult, you can only have one and good luck eating within the cholesterol limit if you have any other meat or dairy that day.  But sure, according to them "an egg can fit within heart-healthy guidelines," emphasis mine.  I think they should actually take a look at the current cholesterol research and re-evaluate their stance.

The Bottom Line: despite this fear-mongering, the data points to eggs as a healthy part of your diet, not as a harbinger of coronary heart disease.  So go ahead and eat your eggs and try to find local, organic, pasture-raised sources for your precious eggsesses.

Here is a great recipe for egg muffins.  I was inspired by this recipe I found at Norcal Strength and Conditioning.  I just simplified it and tightened it up Zone-wise to fit my needs.  Give them a try!  They're delicious!

Sausage and Egg Muffins
Crunchy crisp sausage suspended inside a light, airy egg muffin.  Convenience to die for!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: about 20 minutes depending upon muffin cup size

Ingredients:
eggs (see Calculations for quantity)
sausage (I use Aidells chicken apple sausage) (see Calculations for quantity)
1T coconut oil

Calculations:
Zone Blocks: figure out how many blocks you want to eat or just be reasonable with portions.  I have found that large muffin cups can hold 1/2 a sausage (1 block of Protein) and 1.5 eggs (1.5 blocks of Protein and Fat) without overflowing, so 2.5 blocks total of Protein and 1.5 of Fat, plus the coconut oil rounds out the Fat blocks.  Each would be half a meal for my 5 block husband, but not a bad portion for a child or me, if I am having one for a snack or light meal.  You can play around with the egg and sausage portion to get what you need.  If I make the same recipe using regular-sized muffin cups, it takes 2 muffins to get that 2.5 block portion.  Egg is very sticky, though, and like cement when it dries, so please use silicone cups or line your muffin tin--even if it's nonstick!

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut squares of parchment paper to stuff inside large muffin tin cups or use silicone muffin cups if you have them and whatever size muffin tin fits your calculations.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add coconut oil.  Chop up the sausage (I know, chopping is a pain--at least cut the disks in half).   Once the coconut oil has melted, add the sausage and brown it on all sides.  I am not sure if it is true of every sausage, but for the Aidells: the more brownage, the better.  I have blackened them and they are delicious--but I bet the carbon isn't all that healthy.  Anyway, in the meantime,  crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them.  Once the sausage is done, divide it up into portions and place in the muffin cups.  If you desire, add the remaining coconut oil from the pan to the eggs, but whisk constantly to avoid curdling.  Some of this oil will moisten the muffin cup bottoms, but I figure a little more healthy fat isn't a bad thing.  Scoop the egg mixture into the muffin cups using a measuring cup for more accuracy.  Just keep distributing evenly until your bowl is empty.  Now, if you filled your cups really high, you might want to take out some insurance and place a sheet pan beneath them to catch any overflow.  Egg is a nasty thing to spill.  Believe me.  Place your muffins in the middle of your oven and let 'em bake.  How long depends on the size of your muffins and oven peculiarities.  Large muffins take longer, up to 25 minutes, while regular-sized muffins can take half that time.  Look for puffed-up muffins, light golden brown tops, and a fully-set middle (no wiggle).   Once done, allow them to cool (they'll deflate and look wrinkly, but taste is what matters!) and then store wrapped in paper towel in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for about a week.  Easy!

Serving Suggestion:
Have this all protein and fat muffin with some carb to balance it out.  Usually a piece of fruit is great for an on-the-go breakfast!
Egg

Smashing Pumpkins

Pumpkins and all types of squashes abound right now during the fall harvest and in the spirit of  Halloween.  I have tried to tackle squash as a savory dish on multiple occasions, but I have never been crazy about the outcome.  There is just something so sweet about most squash that they beg for sweet applications.  Even wrapping squash cubes in bacon didn't win me over, which is insane because bacon is supposed to make everything better.  Well, I give in.  I'm not trying to fit a round squash into a square hole anymore.  I am going to use it as its sweetness begs: for dessert!

Scrumptious Squash

Squash is very nutritious for obvious reasons: it's a brightly colored vegetable (well, botanically speaking it's a fruit).  Bright color means beta carotene (think carrots), which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  As an anti-inflammatory, beta carotene helps reduce the symptoms of asthma and arthritis.  Beta carotene also deters plague formation by keeping cholesterol from oxidizing and building up on the walls of blood vessels; thus, it protects against heart disease.  It also protects us against cancer, especially colon cancer (which is further aided by squash's folate and fiber content).  Furthermore, beta carotene plays a role in blood sugar regulation, thereby protecting against diabetes and insulin resistance.  Squash is also high in fiber, aiding our digestive inner workings.  The Vitamin C, manganese, folate, and potassium content in squash is also quite respectable.  Bottom line, it's nutritious!

Squash is a perfect paleo food for getting sweetness out of your food, not adding it to your food.  According to its single listing on the international table, pumpkin's glycemic index value is 75, which is a little high (higher than 50 is considered high glycemic), but being a watery, fibrous plant, it has a low, low glycemic load of 3 (I have seen various numbers for different winter squash, but all less than 10).  Remember, when we last talked about blood sugar, we defined these terms.  Glycemic index is how fast a food is broken down into glucose, which raises your blood sugar, and since pure glucose is 100, we try to avoid foods higher than 50 on that scale.  However, we can't dismiss glycemic load, which takes into account the percentage of carbohydrate in the food that is responsible for the spike.  In pumpkins, it is low (less than 10 is considered low glycemic load, 20 or more is high).  Squash fall into the same category as watermelons (a relative) that, while sweet, have so much water and/or fiber that their glycemic load is negligible.

This inherent, but not dangerous sweetness is something we can enhance with flavor compliments like apple and banana.  I find it gratifying to add sweeteners that contribute to the flavor, not just add sweetness.  They also add their own host of vitamins and minerals, which trumps honey, agave, and traditional sugars any day.  Period.

Main Reference: The World's Healthiest Foods

Preparation S

First off, you can buy canned pumpkin, but it is really simple to make your own and so much better for you and the environment if you rely less upon processed foods.  When choosing squash, go for the sweetest you can find.  Sweet varieties include the sugar or pie pumpkin (small jack-o-lanturn type), kabocha squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, Hubbard squash, calabaza squash, buttercup squash, or the oddly named sweet potato squash.

Roasting a squash is really easy.  Check out Elana's Pantry's step by step guide for pictures and more details, but here is the gist: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In the meantime, wash the squash and cut it in half (this is tricky with hard rinds, so be careful and use a big, heavy knife!).  Scoop out the fibrous, seedy innards and try to fish out the seeds to dry and roast, if you are up to the challenge.  Place the cut halves face down in a baking dish with 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Roast for 30 minutes and give them a check.  You are looking for fork-tender flesh all the way to the rind.  If you got it, great--allow to cool and then scoop out the roasted squash with a spoon.  Why a spoon?  Because it'll 'urt more.  [sorry, couldn't resist lapsing into my Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves recital :)]

Now you have your roasted squash!  What can you do with it?  Bake muffins!

How about muffins sweetened only by a mere 3 tablespoons of apple juice and 2 bananas?  Is that not awesome?!

Pumpkin Chai Spiced Muffins
Like sipping a steaming, hot mug of chai, these muffins will delight your senses.  
Cooking Time: about 45minutes start to finish
Quantity: more than a dozen, so I have to bake in two batches!

Wet Ingredients:
1 c roasted pumpkin (see above to prepare)
2 over-ripe bananas, break each into 3-4 chunks

1 T vanilla

3 eggs

3 T apple juice

Dry Ingredients:

1.5 c almond flour

1/2 c coconut flour

1 t baking soda
2 t cream of tartar
2 t Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 a nutmeg, grated
3/4 t ground ginger
3/4 t ground cloves
1 t salt

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your muffin tins/cups.  I have had success with using cut squares of parchment (see pic in my last muffin recipe) in the cups as makeshift (read: cheap) muffin cups, but they are really annoying to keep in place while trying to dish in the batter.  If you are really into baking, you can splurge on silicon muffin cups at $13 for 6, which then need no fussing or even a muffin tin (they can bake on a cookie sheet!).  I just got mine and am so enamored with them!  Or go ahead and trust your nonstick muffin tin one more time.  These things just tend to fail after a few uses, but go ahead and live on the edge if you must.  Just be sure to grease liberally with coconut oil and don't tell me I didn't warn you if they stick.

Okay, now that you have your oven cranking, muffin tins/cups prepped, and ingredients assembled, let's make muffins!  Add the coconut flour and cream of tartar to a sifter (or food processor) and sift into a large bowl (or whirl in your food processor to combine, then add to your bowl).  Sifting the coconut flour and cream of tartar ensures none of those annoying clumps that are so difficult to mix out.  Skip this and you'll be squashing beads of coconut flour and cream of tartar for the next five minutes, seriously.  Next, add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl and mix throughly.  Then, add all the wet ingredients to a food processor and pulse until you break up the banana and squash.  Scrape down the sides, then, let 'er whirl for a minute to lighten the color a bit and puree everything evenly (you might need another scraping and whirl to accomplish this).  Give your wet ingredients a final whirl to aerate them (you should see bubbles when you lift the lid) and add them to the dry ingredients.  Mix to evenly incorporate.  

Dish your batter into muffin tins/cups and bake for 25 minutes, then check for any wetness on the top, giggliness, or too light a top color--if present, give them 5 more minutes, then retest.  Mine took around 30 minutes and their tops just started to turn a more golden brown with stray spills looking a bit burnt.  After finished, remove and cool on a rack (note: don't try to get muffins out of their cups (parchment or silicone) until after they have cooled).  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator with some paper towels underneath and above them to soak up excess moisture.  They'll last a good few days if you can resist them!

Five Dollar Muffins

UPDATE 9/30/09: Tried a batch today using hazelnut oil and 1T vanilla instead of 1tsp and made 12 regular sized instead of 6 huge ones, taking between 15-20min to bake.  They are delicious!  So I am changing the recipe below to account for this new tweak.  Enjoy!

When I think of these muffins, I think of the $5 hamburger commercials.  Something has to be a big deal to be worth $5, and these muffins are worth that or more.  Depending upon how you like them, they can be oooey-gooey on the inside and actually improve with refrigeration.  Good luck saving them for long!

The Ultimate Banana Walnut Muffins
Makes 6 huge muffins or 12 regular sized
Cooking Time: 30-45 minutes start to finish
Zone Blocks: 6 blocks of Fat for each muffin when making a batch of 12, 1.5-2 blocks of Carb and 1/4 block of Protein--so basically call each of these a 6 block Fat.  


Dry Ingredients:
2 C almond flour/meal (NOTE: I use Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal brand since it is cheapest.  Other almond flours might turn out differently, so feel free to experiment!)
1/3 C coconut flour (sifted gives the best results since it clumps easily)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated fresh)
1 C walnuts

Wet Ingredients:
2 bananas, the riper the better
1 T vanilla
3 eggs warmed to room temperature
1/3 C honey
3 T oil (olive oil is fine, coconut oil when liquid is excellent, and hazelnut oil or walnut oil hits it out of the park!)
2 T almond butter (unsalted, but if salted, just add 3/4 tsp salt instead of 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place walnuts in preheating oven on a sheet rack to roast.  Watch them carefully--too many times have I let them burn and ruined a whole batch!  Meanwhile, peel bananas and mash them to a liquid (can be chunky) in a medium-sized bowl.

To the bananas, add honey and almond butter and mix well.  Next, prepare the eggs.  I usually crack them in another bowl to avoid stray shells, then mix them there before adding to the other wet ingredients, for better mixing.  Add those eggs, the oil, and vanilla to the banana bowl; mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!)

In a separate bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.  Mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!) Prepare your muffin tin.  You'll notice that I have a non-stick muffin tin, but the non-stick quality only lasted a few batches before stickage ruined the bottom of enough muffins that I gave up on it.  I need to buy muffin cups! In the meantime, I use homemade (read: lazy) parchment paper "cups" that only stay put once batter is scooped in them.  Not ideal, but they work.  If using a naked muffin tin, grease it with the same oil you used in the batter (or try mixing and matching, what the heck!).

By now your walnuts are either burnt to a crisp or you rescued them once golden brown and fragrant (I always think of the host of Good Eats, Alton Brown, saying "I smell nuts!").  Chop them up into tiny bits, but not dust.  I have found that knives pale in comparison to crunching them with a metal spatula or even a bench scraper.  The bottom of a bowl or cup will also do.  Measure out a cup or so of roasted, chopped walnuts.

If your oven is preheated, you are good to go: add the wet to the dry and scrape the bowl.  Mix well and add walnuts.  Don't worry about mixing so much that you make rocks of your muffins since we don't have to deal with temperamental gluten here, but I still stop when just incorporated evenly, just in case.  Dollop into muffin cups (see pre-muffins pic above) and bake for about 20 minutes if making 6 huge muffins or between 10-15 if smaller.  Check for golden brown color and mostly set tops.  I love oooey-gooey ones, so I never bother with the toothpick test or completely set tops.  Cool on a rack.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge once cooled.  They won't last long due to extreme deliciousness, not spoilage!