Spice Up Your Diet with the Best Eggs You Will Ever Eat

Finding healthy foods to eat on a diet is hard.  Veggies are a tough sell even when covered in butter or cheese.  Fruits and nuts are tasty but high in calories and not particularly filling.  Most carbs are out of the question.  And lean protein tends to range from the bland to the cardboard.  So a lot of guys will fall into the habit of finding one thing they like and sticking with it forever.  

That happened to me.  I would eat a protein shake for lunch, maybe some yogurt or cheese for an afternoon snack, and a spinach salad with some form of chicken or turkey for dinner.  Actually, that’s still often what I do.  It’s good to have a habit, but it does get tiring after a while.  One thing all the experts recommend is eggs.  Great source of protein, fat, and other nutrients,  Meh.  I always liked scrambled eggs but found that I quickly got sick of them if eaten more than once a week, so they never became a consistent part of my diet.  That is, until I discovered a secret weapon.

I thought my wife was crazy when she first brought home six baby chicks.  I’m still pretty sure she is, but at least the chickens have worked out.  After a month or so living out of a baby pool in our dining room, they were old enough to live in the prebuilt coup we put in the corner of our yard (did I mention we live in the suburbs?)  And they are surprisingly easy to care for.  Fill their water and food, let them out of the coup in the morning to graze in the yard, and close the gate back after they’ve come home to roost at night. The kids love them like pets, they’re fun to watch poking around the back yard, and they produce eggs.  Not just any eggs.  Organic, free-range, miniature eggs.  The best eggs you will ever eat.

You really don’t know what good eggs are until you have eaten eggs from your own backyard, produced by chickens that aren’t locked in cages barely big enough to turn around in but fed with quality food, natural grass, and strawberry tops cut off so the kids won’t get worried about anything green on their snack.  You can see the difference.  We mostly have a smaller breed called “Silkies,” so the eggs are tiny compared to your grade-A large eggs from the grocery store and the shells are much thicker.  You have to give them a good smack on a sharp edge to break them.  When scrambled, they become a deep yellow color with an extra-creamy texture and tons of flavor.  I could eat these eggs every night of the week.  Sometimes I do.

The nice thing about eggs is that you can do so many different things with them very easily.  You don’t need any special sauces or marinades or rubs, and you don’t need any complicated sides to go with them.  A little salt and pepper on scrambled eggs can be a whole meal.  The key to great scrambled eggs is to cook them on low heat, stirring continuously, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spatula, until they are nice and fluffy, just a little wet (don’t overcook them!).  Add some cheese and veggies or potatoes or sausage for a quick omelet.  Crack them right into the pan with a little butter or oil if you like them fried.  I like to put fried eggs on a bagel or toast with cheddar, turkey, and spinach for an amazing sandwich.  Or hardboil them, if that’s your thing.  You could have a different meal every day of the week, none of them taking more than ten minutes or any meal planning.  It’s perfect for the nights when the kid are busy or the wife is gone or the fridge is empty.

I know not everyone can have their own chickens.  They don’t do well in apartments.  You might want to think about it, though.  Most cities allow it these days, so long as you don’t have any roosters.  They don’t take up much time or space, the kids will love them like pets, and you will get those delicious, healthy eggs.  I admit I thought it was a terrible idea at first, but it’s been so great that now I’m wondering what else might be nice to have.  Have any of you ever tried goat’s milk?