Enjoy a heart-healthy lifestyle with eggs, a heart-healthy breakfast food. Turn your heart-healthy food challenge into a fun adventure.
An Egg a Day Can Help Keep the Doctor Away
Have you heard that an egg a day can help keep the doctor away? Like me, you’ve probably heard all of your life that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But is an egg every day considered a good idea as a heart healthy breakfast food?
I’m no licensed dietician or nutritionist and can’t answer those questions for you. However, I do love eggs and would be happy to eat at least one every day. And I don’t mean only the egg whites.
Does Eating Eggs Every Day Increase Risk of Heart Disease?
The website, Mindfood, that says “eggs have little to no effect on heart disease risk” discusses the topic further. They base their findings according to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Australian Dietary Guidelines. The article indicates that “consumption of eggs every day is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease”.
Are Eggs Good or Bad for Cholesterol?
Mayo Clinic published an article with a physician’s answer to the question, “Are Eggs Good or Bad for Cholesterol?” According to Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., the cholesterol in eggs doesn’t seem to raise cholesterol levels as do other cholesterol-containing foods. He says “one large egg has about 186 mg of cholesterol, all of which is found in the yolk.”
Ways to Encourage Heart-Healthy Eating
Include Egg Whites in Your Heart-Healthy Breakfast Food Meals
I love to eat eggs – egg whites snd the yolks. During my stay in the hospital after I came down with Covid, I was put on a heart-healthy diet. After my release, family members treated me with DoorDash deliveries of healthy breakfasts that included egg white entrees.
The egg white meals looked appetizing, and overall, tasted pleasant (though my taste had not completely returned to normal). Honestly, though, I think an egg or two every day is not a big deal to worry about. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Although this article focuses on eggs as a heart-healthy breakfast food, there are certainly other good breakfast foods. Oatmeal, fruit, and whole-grain cereal are good options.
Use Heart-Healthy Cookbooks
Purchasing heart-healthy cookbooks can be helpful when beginning a heart-healthy lifestyle. I’ve listed a few that you might consider in coming up with new heart-healthy meals. Most of the cookbooks I’ve shown below from Amazon also includes breakfast options.
Order Heart-Healthy Food Deliveries
The first two weeks after my hospital stay, some of my cousins got together and planned food deliveries for me. It was the most thoughtful thing. And at that point, I had no interest in cooking or preparing much of a meal.
Even though I lost my smell, I hadn’t lost my taste completely. But foods tasted different. Texture of food became more interesting than the actual taste of food.
This heart healthy breakfast food, an egg white meal, was another of the deliveries and tasted delicious:
Check out the ingredients to both of my heart-healthy breakfast food delivery meals:
Ingredients in the Entrées
First photo:
- Egg whites (probably two)
- Chopped tomato
- Mushroom slices
- Small amount of spinach
- Sliced avocado
Second photo:
- One or two egg whites
- Chopped tomato
- Spring Mix lettuce
- Two slices whole grain toast
Studies have been done for years about the never-ending debate on eggs and cholesterol. Still, the debate goes on.
How Much Dietary Cholesterol Health Experts Suggest
Health experts suggest eating as little dietary cholesterol as you can, keeping intake under 300 milligrams (mg) a day. One large egg contains about 186 mg of cholesterol — all in the yolk.
If you like eggs but don’t want the cholesterol, eat only the egg whites. Egg whites contain no cholesterol but still contain protein. You may also use cholesterol-free egg substitutes, which are made with egg whites.
Cholesterol Concern with Eating an Egg Every Day
Cholesterol Free Foods explains the cholesterol concern with eating an egg a day.
Cholesterol is not all bad for our bodies, however. Julie Corliss, Executive Editor of Harvard Health Publishing explains the production of cholesterol in our bodies.
Foods to Limit
Limit the foods you eat in saturated fats, trans fats, and sugars because they can raise cholesterol levels.
Foods to Eat
Eat soluble fiber foods such as beans, whole grains, and apples. And if you want to lower LDL cholesterol levels, eat fruits and vegetables.
Read “10 Tips to Lower Cholesterol with Your Diet” by Erica Julian to learn ways to lower your cholesterol.
Egg Recipe Ideas to Add to Your Heart-Healthy Breakfast Food Menus
And if you love eggs like me, you may like the following heart healthy breakfast food ideas:
- fried egg cooked in two teaspoons olive oil (I sometimes do fudge a little and use a slice of butter) – Serve the egg and a slice of Swiss cheese on one slice of toasted low-carb bread that’s topped with mayonnaise.
- two scrambled eggs with a slice of low-carb bread topped with low-sugar apple butter
- two-egg omelet mixed with a handful of spinach, topped with Swiss cheese, cooked in two teaspoons olive oil
- two-egg omelet mixed in a skillet of sautéed onions
- egg salad sandwich
I enjoy eating all of the egg recipe ideas listed above whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Since being released from the hospital due to Covid Pneumonia, I have made each item listed. They are heart healthy and satisfying.
Three of My Favorite Egg Breakfast Recipes
Some of my favorite egg recipes (previous to Covid pneumonia) on Kitchen Southern Hospitality may not be 100% heart healthy. I’ve listed three of my favorites below:
French Fried Onion Spinach & Eggs
Egg and Veggie Skillet Breakfast
I love this (not especially heart healthy breakfast food) Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Casserole:
Occasionally, I will eat a meal with a not-so-hearft-healthy food. I do make an effort, however, to keep my portions small.
So if you try the last three egg recipes, feel free to adapt them to heart healthy. Or make them for a special occasion for guests and serve yourself a small portion.
