Protein Rich Egg-Oatmeal

When I look through my recipes I see a clear love of eggs. They are delicious and versatile, yes, but also because they pack a 6gm of protein punch into any meal.  I grew up on eggs from the chicken coop and my most nostalgic meals are egg-centered breakfasts: Mama’s eggs Benedict, rice pancakes and herb scrambles.  These days I try to add them into the more savory, later meals of the day: Poached eggs over rice, hard boiled in a salad, eggs in purgatory, poached eggs on roast asparagus and isn’t any left-over better with a fried egg on it?

Today we are going to cross the line from savory to sweet with an egg-oatmeal. This is a simple way to boost the energy you get from breakfast by increasing the protein. Here’s how: cook oatmeal on stovetop as usual, crack a whole egg into the nearly cooked oats and quickly stir it in. Top it as you normally would, but feel more satiated.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup rolled oats, or 5 grain steel cut.

(*note: this could also work with microwaved oatmeal if your in a pinch.)

1 cup water

1 egg

Insert favorite topping here: Milk, nuts, fruit, sweetener (if needed.)

Mine: almond milk, pumpkin seeds, crystallized ginger

DIRECTIONS

Bring water to a boil with a pinch of salt.

Add oats, stir in and reduce heat to a simmer

Cook until oats thicken (about 7-10 for rolled oats, 15 for steel cut.)

Crack in an egg and mix well.

Remove from heat, add toppings and enjoy.

Nutritional Benefit:

For those of you who wish you could eat more eggs, but have been scared off by rumors of high cholesterol, think again.  More and more studies confirm that most of our cholesterol levels are dictated by what is created in the liver, and that blood cholesterol levels are hardly effected by dietary cholesterol as previously thought.

Not only are eggs protein dense, but they are packed full of vitamins k, vitamin D, B vitamins (especially B12), selenium, choline, betaine, and 6.3 grams of protein. Rather then damaging your heart, eggs actually have several heart healthy nutrients. Betaine, for example, works to lower homocysteine levels (which when are high, can damage the blood vessels of the heart.) Eggs are very high in choline which feeds our brains, by providing flexability and integrity to brain cells. This makes it particularly good for nursing mothers as choline will be essential for their babies brain development.