Eggs

EGGS

Change your food, change your life.

Yes, it may be as simple as that. We all know that many of us are prediabetic because of our food choices.

Together, let’s share recipes that are common and healthy. Let’s learn from each other—life is much easier that way, don’t you think?

Note: Before making any changes to your diet, talk with your healthcare provider and a nutritionist/dietitian to discover what will work for you.

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

EVOO = extra virgin olive oil

c = cup

Egg Muffins

12 individual egg muffins

Prep time depends on which ingredients you put in, and cooking time is 25-35 minutes.

This is one of those recipes that has a lot of variations. What you put in it is up to you, but following are suggestions.

Ingredients

12 eggs, or 7 whole eggs and 5 egg whites. Egg amount depends on filling amount, which becomes apparent as you work through the recipe. Start with a dozen, whisked, and if you see that you don’t use it all, crack 10 or 11 next time.

Meat (cooked): diced bacon, diced ham, crumbled sausage, or any other meat you like.

Cheese: gouda, goat, feta, swiss, cheddar, or any other cheese that suits you.

Veggies: (diced and sautéed or raw, depending on the veg and your preference): bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, onions, cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half or quarters, asparagus, kale, or any veg that you prefer.

Add to eggs your choice of seasonings and herbs to taste: parsley, cilantro, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, or any other seasonings that are in the pantry.

Toppings: Salsa, avocado, herbs, whatever sounds good!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray or oil a non-stick muffin tin, or use silicone muffin liners. Fill each muffin cup about ½ to ⅔ full with ingredients you’re using (except eggs).

Pour in eggs to fill each muffin cup about ¾ full. The eggs will puff up during cooking.

Place muffin tin in oven and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, but check for doneness at 15 minutes by inserting a knife in a muffin cup to check for uncooked egg. Cooking time varies, depending on how much egg is in each cup.

Eat eggs with toppings of your choice and fruit on the side. Refrigerate leftovers in a closed container for 2-3 days, or wrap and freeze. To reheat in the microwave, warm one thawed egg muffin for 30 seconds on medium heat, or 1 minute if frozen. Timing depends on the microwave.

Shakshuka

4 servings

30 to 40 minutes prep to serve

Ingredients

EVOO (amount depends on size of skillet)

2 large onions, diced

4 bell peppers of any color, sliced into strips or diced, your choice

3 t minced garlic

½ t cumin

1 t thyme

3 T fresh parsley, chopped

3 T fresh cilantro, chopped, plus another 2 T to scatter on top when it’s out of the oven

6 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28oz) can plum tomatoes with juice, chopped

Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

8 eggs

water

Directions

Note: If your skillet is not oven-proof, keep it on the stove with the lid on to cook the eggs.

Preheat oven to 375°F. In large oven-proof skillet over medium low heat, add oil to generously coat the bottom and add in onions and peppers. Saute until soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minutes, then add spices, seasoning, herbs, and tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste, stir for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Should resemble pasta sauce. Add water if it’s too thick and stir a couple of minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Make 8 little wells in the sauce, and crack an egg into each well. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Put a lid on the skillet and place it in the oven until the eggs are set, about 7 – 12 minutes. When done, sprinkle cilantro over the top and serve with a fresh green salad on the side. Hearty bread may be required to sop up the sauce.

Poached Eggs

This recipe for a simple way to poach eggs is racing across the Internet. We’ve tried it and it works perfectly.

You need a skillet or pot with lid that can hold 2” of water, eggs, a towel, and a slotted spoon.

Put 2” of water in a skillet or large pot and put on a burner at medium heat.

Tip: We’re looking for a simmer. It can be faster to crank the heat up to high and get the water boiling, then turn the heat down until the water is simmering.

When the water is simmering (has lots of tiny bubbles rising and popping, but not big bubbles), you can either crack individual eggs and slide them gently into the water, or you can crack one or more eggs into a container and gently slide them one by one into the water.

The key is to get the container or eggshell on the surface of the water before releasing the egg.

Tip: If placing eggs individually, start at the 12 o’clock position with your first egg, and work your way around the “clock face” so that you know which egg you dropped in first. Remove them in the same order.

Once all of your eggs are in, put a tight lid on the skillet or pot and turn off the heat. Come back in six minutes and gently scoop up each egg with the slotted spoon.

Some of the whites of the eggs will remain in the water, which is fine. Holding the spoon in one hand, tilt it slightly toward a towel held in your other hand, to get rid of excess water.

Place your lovingly poached eggs on a salad, or whole grain toast, or just a plate.

No vinegar, no swirling, no salt in the water. It’s easy!

Play with the timing if you find the yolks are not runny enough, or too runny.

Crustless Quiche

4 servings

50 minutes prep and serve

Ingredients

6 eggs

1 c grated cheese of your choice

1 c milk or half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

1 c chopped cooked or canned veggies of your choice (optional)

Directions

Set oven to 350° and grease a 9” pie pan or any oven-proof dish of the same size.

Whisk eggs, cheese, milk, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Add veggies if you have them.

Pour mix into pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, until center is set.

Frittata

2-4 servings

20 minutes prep to serve

Ingredients

1 T (or less) vegetable or olive oil

1 to 1.5 c vegetables or protein or a mix of veg and protein, cut into small bite-sized pieces

¼ c cheese

Sprinkling of seasoning – your choice: salt, pepper, whatever goes with your veg and protein

4 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In 9” ovenproof, nonstick skillet over medium heat on the stove, swirl oil to coat the bottom. Add in the pork or sausage or whatever your protein is, and cook it until it’s done, nice and brown. This might take 10-15 minutes, depending on the protein.

Scoop out your protein and let it drain on a paper towel.

Add a bit more oil if necessary. Tip in the vegetables and sauté until cooked, about 10-20 minutes depending on your choice of veg.

You don’t want much oil in the skillet when it’s time to add the eggs. There should only be what’s glistening on the veggies. If there’s more in the pan, remove the cooked veggies and wipe out the pan.

Place cooked veggies and protein into the skillet.

Note: If you have cooked leftover veg and protein sitting in the fridge, or just veg, or just protein, use that if you prefer. Put a smidge of oil in the skillet, heat up the cooked veg and/or protein to take the chill off, then proceed as described below.

Whisk eggs and seasoning in a bowl. Tip the egg mixture into the skillet. With your spatula or spoon, quickly move the veg and protein so they’re evenly spaced in the skillet.

Cook on the stovetop for 30 seconds to a minute, just until you see the edges of the egg turning light in color.

Place the skillet into the oven and bake 7-10 minutes. Keep an eye on the frittata. You want the eggs puffed and looking set, but the middle should wobble a tiny bit when you give the skillet a gentle shake.

Take the skillet out of the oven and let it rest for 3 minutes before you slice and serve.

Fruit on the plate would be a nice side for this dish.

Boiled Eggs

Serving size depends on size of pan and how many eggs a person wants to eat

20 minutes prep to serve

Ingredients

Eggs (as fresh as you can get)

Directions

You need a pot that is deep enough to hold eggs covered by an inch or so of water. The bigger the pot, the more eggs you’ll cook, and it needs a lid.

Find the pot you want, add as many eggs as will fit without crowding in the bottom.

Pour in cold water to cover the eggs by about an inch.

Place the pot on a burner and crank the heat up high. When the water boils, pop the lid on and remove the pot from the burner.

Here’s the important bit: the longer the eggs sit, the more they cook. You have to find the exact amount of time to leave the eggs to get the yolk texture you want. If you leave them four minutes, the yolks will probably still be a bit runny or at least mushy. Six or seven minutes in the water and the yolks will be golden and soft. If you leave the eggs for 10 minutes or more, you’ll have traditional hard-boiled eggs with yolks that are light yellow and a bit dry.

Experiment! Cook two eggs for six minutes and try them. Decide if you prefer your eggs runnier or firmer. There is no one way to do this, you can cook them exactly to your taste.

Once you’ve popped the lid on the pot of eggs and boiling water and pulled it off the heat, set your timer for however many minutes you want the eggs to cook.

Fill a bowl with ice and water and set it on the counter next to your pot of eggs.

When the timer goes off, get a slotted spoon and scoop the eggs from the pot, placing them into the ice water. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes to stop the cooking.

Peel and enjoy!

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