Welcome to the Positive Pulse blog! Check in with us each month for tips on healthy living, right on our website. A short snippet will be featured in the NJSAP monthly newsletter as well, which you can sign up for here.
This months topic is eggs! We’re going to talk a little about where eggs come from and what health benefits they can have.
Birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects are all “oviparous”, which means they lay eggs. There are even a few mammals that lay eggs, called “monotremes”. These include the platypus and the short-beaked and long-beaked echidna. But the kind of egg we tend to be most familiar with are bird eggs, most commonly the chicken.
Since the domestication of the chicken 8,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, people have been eating eggs. They are a key ingredient in many dishes. According to Bon Appétit, a chef's hat or “toque” has 100 folds, and each fold represents a different way in which an egg might be prepared. Their particular make-up is key to many important cooking procedures including binding, coating and glazing as well as creating the structure and texture of bakes and cakes. There are lots of different types of egg, the most common being chicken, while more exotic choices include duck, goose and quail.
Both the egg white and yolk are rich in nutrients. The yolk contains fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D and E as well as fats including essential omega-3 fatty acids, while most of the protein is found in the egg white. They are also a ‘complete protein’ meaning eggs contain all 9 of the essential amino acids that we need for growth, development and repair. They also support heart and eye health and can support the immune system.
As discussed last month, if you are vegan and do not eat eggs, substitutes for cooking and baking can include banana, aquafaba, arrowroot, flax seed, applesauce, chia and carbonated water. Some work better than other depending on the needed use and you’ll have to check out how much will be needed for your recipe.
And besides eating, many people also enjoy decorating the egg/egg shells as a form of craft all over the world including Africa, Australia, and many areas of Eurasia. They can be etched, carved, painted or dyed. There is even an International Egg Art Guild to promote the craft of egg artistry. Here are some ideas to craft with eggs or faux eggs!
Resources: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-eggs
