Marc Perry
December 1, 2020 / Medically Reviewed
When COVID spread, I realized I would be at home cooking lunch far more than normal. A go-to meal I cook regularly is eggs & veggies. It’s simple, nutritious, and takes 10-minutes. I feel light and energetic after eating this meal, but I’m still satisfied. In fact, I don’t eat until dinner time with no issues and no snacks in between.
Why Do Eggs Make For A Great Lunch?
Eggs are considered a breakfast food, but they can be a great addition to any meal.
Eggs have several health benefits, are nutritious, high in protein, relatively inexpensive, easy and fast to cook, and you can prepare them in different ways. For a few bucks a day, you can have a nutritious meal of eggs & veggies.
You may be wondering, “Isn’t eating too many eggs bad for your cholesterol?” The preponderance of evidence suggests that eating eggs has minimal effect on blood cholesterol levels.
In fact, one study suggests that, “more frequent egg consumption compared to no or rare egg consumption significantly decreased the odds of dyslipidemia (elevated cholesterol).” This study continued that “eggs do not increase the risk of dyslipidemia and can be consumed as part of a healthy diet.”Another study concluded, “After 60 years of research, a general consensus has now been reached that dietary cholesterol, chiefly from eggs, exerts a relatively small effect on serum LDL-cholesterol and CVD risk, in comparison with other diet and lifestyle factors.
”Finally, another study reported that eating 2-3 eggs per day, “supported greater improvements in HDL function as well as increased plasma carotenoids.
”While you can still find some studies that associate increased egg consumption with higher cholesterol, most studies show no correlation. To further complicate this topic, conventional eggs are different from the eggs from pasture raised chickens. If you are concerned, you can create a test to see how eating eggs affects you.
Ingredients
Chefman TurboFry 3.6 Quart Air Fryer
T-fal Professional Nonstick 10.5” Fry Pan
Le Creuset Silicone Craft Series Medium Spatula
- Organic eggs (4 each)
- Frozen mixed veggies (2-3 cups)
- Avocado (1 whole)
- Cheese (1 ounce)
There is a bewildering variety of chicken eggs from free range, cage free, no hormones, and pasture raised to name a few. I go for certified organic and pasture raised when possible. The idea is to eat eggs from the chickens that are fed a natural diet (i.e. what they would eat in nature) and are free to roam outside.
When I eat eggs, I eat at least 3 or 4. If let’s say you’re around 200lb, only 2 eggs is quite underwhelming. An extra egg or two can make the difference between self control for dinner or uncontrollable eating.
I buy frozen veggies in bulk at Costco through Instacart. Eating fibrous veggies helps you get plenty of vitamins and minerals, is a game changer for fullness, and keeps your calories in check.
I also order avocados through Costco. Avocados have become a staple for me during covid, but eating them at peak ripeness can be tricky. I keep them refrigerated when they are far from ripe because the fridge slows down the ripening process. I take out a few at a time to sit at room temperature so they ripe faster. Most of the time I’ve had eggs and veggies in the past, I did not have avocados. The simplest and least caloric substitute may be to have some more veggies (consider adding corn to the fibrous veggies which I enjoy).
Cheese is one the last bastions of processed food in my diet. I really enjoy the taste of cheese and there are tons of different varieties. I generally go for the “healthiest” cheese I can find, which means from animals that ideally eat grass and are pasture raised. Like avocados, I do not always use cheese, instead I just use some salt and pepper for taste.
Nutrition InfoI have below a few different variations that you can play around with depending on your own preference and goals. If I wanted to get leaner, I would go with straight eggs & veggies. How full you will feel from just 600 calories defies logic. Give these a try and see what works best for you.
Kitchen Knife Set Knife Block Set 14 Piece
Instructions
Here is the step-by-step:1. Cook the veggies
- Set up the air fryer first
- Put in the frozen veggies
- Set it for 10-minutes
2. Mix up the eggs
- Take 4 eggs, crack them and mix them up in a small bowl
- Wash out the bowl which you will use for the veggies
3. Cut avocado
- Get a plate
- Cut the avocado in a circle lengthwise
- Take the pit out
- Place the avocado on the plate
4. Cook up the eggs & cheese
- Take the cheese out
- Heat up the non-stick pan with medium heat
- Put the cheese on the pan
- Put the eggs on the pan
- Mix the eggs around until they’re done
- Put them on the plate
- Take the veggies out when you’re done and add them to the bowl
And that’s it!
Do you have eggs & veggies as a go-to meal? If you test this out, let me know how it goes for you!