The age of eggs

Did you know that eggs could help you lose weight? This might come as a surprise to those who think of eggs as 'fattening' but a study by the Rochester Center for Obesity Research showed that eating eggs for breakfast helps limit your calorie intake all day; this is probably because eggs keep you full for longer. And that's why you are less likely to indulge into a mid-morning snack or stuff yourself at lunchtime.

The math is simple, you eat eggs daily so you get less hungry, you get less hungry so you eat fewer calories, you eat fewer calories so you don't gain extra pounds what a beautiful thing to know!

So, no more guilty feelings in eating eggs, no more discarding the yolk, the jewel in the crown; go ahead, make a habit of eating a full egg or even two for your breakfast or lunch. This will leave you feeling lighter, healthier and happier.

Now, how do you eat the same thing every day? Simple! You use some different cooking methods, try some new recipes and in the process, gift yourself and your family with delightful and refreshing egg-bakes!

CITRUS PUDDING

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp orange rind

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 powdered milk

1/2 flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g butter

Quarter cup water

Method

Beat eggs thoroughly and set aside so the foam breaks down. Mix flour, powdered milk, sugar and baking powder together and strain carefully so that all the lumps break apart and leave a mixture of fine powder.

Melt the butter and bring it to room temperature, mix with lemon juice, orange juices, lemon zest, and orange rind with a wooden spatula.

Pour beaten eggs, flour mixture and butter mixture into the baking dish, preferably a ceramic or glass dish. Incorporate with the same wooden spatula.

Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the pudding, in 200° for the first 10 minutes and in 150° for the rest of the baking time.

Serve hot or cold, for breakfast or as a dessert. It has the potential to win hearts as a refreshing summer dessert or a blissfully light weekend breakfast!

BAKED OMELETTE

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 large tomato

1 medium capsicum

2 medium or 1 large onion

2 (beef or chicken) sausages

1/2 spinach

1 cup, thinly sliced (any type) mushroom

1 cup chopped, cheddar cheese

Dhaka cheese or panir, chopped

1tbsp black peppercorn

1tbsp dried chilli flakes

Salt as per taste

1tsp baking powder

Method

Cut all the vegetables into small cubes, in about 1cm size. Cut the sausages into any shape or size you want. If you are using spinach, steam with boiling water and drain. You can also use both.  Crush the peppercorns and mix with baking powder, chilli flakes and salt.

Incorporate the salt-pepper mixture, vegetables and proteins together in the baking dish (better if the dish is made out of ceramic or glass). Whisk the eggs and mix with half the cheese from both types. Pour the egg mix on the veggie-mixture. Tap the dish for twice or thrice so that there are no air bubble.

Place rest of the cheese on the mixture and bake in a pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or more in 200° until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. This form of no-oil baked eggs can be your twenty-first century version of omelettes and it will surely bring a pleasant variation in daily egg consumption.

SPINACH FRITTATA

Ingredients

6 eggs

1 bunch spinach

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp powdered milk

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 cup cheese (any type) 

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 water

Method PHO

Cook spinach in ½ cup of water in a covered saucepan until just wilted. Drain water and rinse with cold water to cool. Wrap the spinach in paper towels and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Then chop and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and parmesan cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent; add the garlic and cook a minute further. Mix the cooked chopped spinach with the onions and garlic.

Spread out spinach mixture (with oil) evenly on bottom of a greased baking dish. Pour egg mixture over spinach mixture. Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath.

Scatter the cheese over the top of the frittata mixture and put in to the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes in 200°, until frittata is puffy and golden on the top. Remove from oven and let cool for few minutes.

Wonderfully comforting for dinner, lunch, brunch and to entertain guests.

TIME SAVERS' GUIDE

Eggs are easy to bake and don't take much time to cook either. Nonetheless you may chop all the vegetables apart from the onion (because some say, chopped onions produce toxins when kept for hours) and keep in an airtight box a few hours earlier. You can prepare the cheese the day before too. However it's always recommended to use freshly prepared ingredients.

Photo: Sharmin Rahman