The Quest for Protein: Egg Salad

Posted on | October 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Two posts ago, I wrote about why I love my body and how I’m going to do right by it. Well, when I sat down and took a look at what I was eating, I realized that I was over-doing the potatoes and pasta and wasn’t getting enough, if any, protein. Though I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t eat meat that often. And for a person my height and weight, sixty-four grams of protein a day is recommended. So when I went food shopping this week, I was looking for all I could that would bulk me up with the daily value of protein. I bought Greek yogurt, Bell & Evans Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders, hummus, sliced turkey, anything I could. I have to say, I felt a lot better this week than I had the week before. It really made a difference during a very stressful week, filled with homework, internship work and GRE studying.

However, I know that I’ll get sick of these foods if I only eat them and have no variety over the next couple of weeks. So when my mom suggested finally making egg salad this morning, I was thrilled (I’d been craving it for weeks…My body clearly knows what it wants.). Eggs are interesting in that there always seems to be some debate going on about them. Some say not to eat them because they’re high in cholesterol; others say to eat them because they’re high in protein. Each egg has around six grams of protein. I’m going to go with those who say eat them. Eggs are also easy to make. Throw them in a pan with some butter or oil and shuffle them around a bit, maybe put some cheese on it. Or make them sunny-side up! Or boil them. Or mash them and make them into egg salad like I did!

Egg salad is really easy to make and if you’re making for just yourself, you can put it in the refrigerator and eat it throughout the week. This is one of my favorite recipes because when my mom makes it for me and my sisters, it’s always a treat. It has been since we were kids. Lunch was such an easy choice when we had a bowl of homemade egg salad in the fridge. So now I can make it for myself and enjoy it even when I’m away from home.

For this recipe you’ll need:

8 eggs
3/4 cup of Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper

*Some people like celery in their egg salad too. If you’re one of these people, feel free to add in some chopped up celery for an added crunch to your egg salad.

Like I said, nice and simple. Put your eggs carefully into a pot and fill the pot with cold water until it reaches right above the eggs. Put the pot on the stove and the heat on high until the water comes to a boil. Once it’s boiling, bring the temperature down low and let the eggs simmer for twenty minutes.

After that, take your eggs off of the heat and carefully pour out as much of the hot water as you possibly can without losing any of your eggs. Fill the pot with cold water and ice and let the eggs cool.

Now it’s time to peel the shells off! This can be a pretty annoying chore, but sometimes doing it under running water helps. Try to get the running water underneath the shell. As you do this, put the peeled eggs in whatever container in which you plan to keep your egg salad.

This is the best part. After adding as much salt and pepper as you’d like, get your masher and beat away at those boiled eggs. This is where egg salads can vary. I like mine with a lot of egg white still intact. But sometimes you might want your egg salad to be smoother. So mash as much as you’d like until the eggs are where you want them to be.

Here’s where the mayo comes in. I love mayo. It’s probably one of my favorite condiments. So add your 3/4 cup of mayonnaise into the eggs and begin to mix. You might want to add more or less depending on how you like you egg salad, so play around with it.

Then your egg salad is complete! Eat some immediately or if you don’t like it room temperature, shove it in the fridge until it cools. I put my egg salad on a gluten-free roll and had a great lunch.

Doesn’t that look good? Eating it with a soft roll reminds me of those days when I could have fluffy, gluten-filled white bread, but it tastes better and is better for my body. It just evokes those memories of eating mom’s egg salad as a kid, bringing it to school or having it for lunch after playing outside. There are so many different ways to eat egg salad. You could serve it as a spread with gluten-free crackers. I used to eat my egg salad on a bagel sometimes. It’s even good to eat by itself with a spoon. No matter what you decide, it’s going to be delicious.

For those of you trying to add protein to your diet, don’t forget about the incredible, edible egg.

Miel

Category: celiac disease, egg, egg salad, gf, gluten, gluten free, protein