Eggs 101

I must be on egg kick this week...something to do with Easter?

This is my personal research from a variety of sources...we are big fans of the hens that give us our eggs. If you read this, I hope that some day you might consider biodynamic eggs for your family! At a minimum please consider local, organic eggs, not commercialzed, organic eggs.

FYI - There is a biodynamic farm in Warwick called MidSummer Farm (I've never eaten their produce or eggs but have taken cooking classes there), but my farm choice is Dana Ray in Branchville (I belong to their CSA and eat their fresh biodynamic eggs regularly, they are $3.50 a dozen, available for public purchase without CSA membership). http://www.danarayfarm.com/

Be healthy!

XOXO

P. S.
If you are more visually oriented and not interested in my written rhetoric below, watch this video.
Stressful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHV_rguq8Kw

Then watch this 13 second video of a TRULY free range, organic chicken farm.
Peaceful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS78WhX2ubY



EGGS 101
by Kathie Austin


- Sometimes "organic" chicken means there are 300k chickens crammed back to back in a barn which has a 12" opening that extends out to a 10' x 10' fenced in area. Naturally, few of the chickens leave the barn, they are too far away from the opening, or because they are flocking birds, they don't want to leave. But the label on the carton can say "Organic" and "Free Range" - food for thought. Not really free range, right? VISIT the farm that you get your eggs from, see for yourself if the chickens are outside and have proper access to the farm grounds.

- The USDA organic standards for "organic" are good, but not great, and where the eggs are coming from is an important source, and their feed is critical, so organic is better than non-organic, but buying your eggs from a local, organic farmer is 100x better than buying them from Shop Rite or any other commercialized supermarket. Biodynamic better than organic. You have to know what they are eating. Just like us, you are what you eat. Same thought process for the quality of the chicken's meat.

- Biodynamic farming is a different type of organic farming. Both look to achieve ecosystems, but biodynamic farmers follow unique philosophical principles and more stringent guidelines than those required by the USDA for organic certification. Biodynamic farming practices are more expensive than organic. Biodynamic farming was the first of the natural farming methods and is more strict in many ways than other forms of natural farming.

- Fresh, local, biodynamic eggs will have more nutrients than any other eggs you can purchase. Farm eggs have about 2x more vitamins and minerals, 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat than commercialized. For example, just imagine the vitamins and minerals in the grasses and bugs they pecked at all day long as compared to eating indoors with strictly bagged feed 24/7.

- Great source of nature's perfect protein (the right balance of amino acids for digestion). Many nutrition experts say that starting your day with protein is the way to go!

- If the chickens are outside most of the day, they absorb vitamin D through their eyes (since their skin is covered with feathers). It's that vitamin D that helps to process the nutrients better, one of the key reason that "TRUE" free range is critical.

- Being able to show gratitude to your hens. Knowing your hens personally and being able to verbally thank them for their eggs, does something silly for your soul! And very pleasing to the kids! Sounds stupid, but so true! We thank our hens every Saturday when we visit Dana Ray Farm, our source for eggs. It's a pleasure to do so, I so respect those animals! LOL

- The yolk color represents the chicken's diet. The deeper the color, the better the diet.

- The height of the yolk is important too, the taller the yolk sits, the fresher it is. It's called being "proud". You want PROUD eggs!

- Shell color is irrelevant and only represents the breed of the hen, but your grandmother might tell you otherwise! Commercial egg laying strains for each color that lay far more eggs in a far shorter time than the average barnyard biddy. There are no differences in composition, taste or health benefits between white and brown eggs.

- The little "spot" in the farm egg is fine to eat...it's the germ of the egg that was fertilized. If the egg wasn't refrigerated, it would have become a chicken.

- Older hens make larger eggs, almost double the yolk!

- Eggs naturally have omega 3s, but a couple of eggs have <5% of the total omega 3s you should have daily, the omega 3 marketing claims on the egg cartons are equivalent to the probiotic claims on yogurt, they are true but not anywhere near nutritionally significant. There are breeds that produce higher levels of omega 3s, and true free range hens eggs will have higher omega 3s than commercialized, but still not the recommended omega 3 dose needed.

- Eggs can easily last for 3-4 weeks in the fridge but eating them fresh is important for getting the most nutrients.

- Some say that you can tell the freshness of an egg via peeling the hard boiled egg. A fresh egg is often very difficult to take the shell off, it comes off in little pieces and is stuck to the egg whereas the commercialized egg has been sitting for a long time and has moved away from the shell, hence the shell cracks off easily in big chunks.

- Inhumane practices, harmful chemicals and pesticides on commercialized eggs, I'm not even going into this, it's a no brainer. If you ever spend time online to see what they do to chickens in chicken farms, it would gross you out. There are hundreds of thousands of chickens crammed in together in cages, sitting in their own poop for months, never going outside, beeks burned down or cut off to reduce fighting, it's completely disgusting. I don't want those chicken to produce eggs for me! And I'd never eat their meat. They are STRESSED OUT! We should respect the earth, plants and animals that give us food, not treat them poorly...watch the video above if you can.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

- HIGH in cholesterol (although there are recent studies that suggest the cholesterol in eggs is not an issue if you are eating 2 - 3 eggs a week, that actually it's the saturated fat in eggs that's more of an issue for cholesterol watchers). Farm fresh eggs have less cholesterol than commercialized eggs because of the diet and free ranging differences.

- great source of protein - they contain all the essential amino acids needed by the body to build valuable proteins, nature's "perfect protein" - great way to start the day!

- high in vitamin A (eyesight, growth, appetite and taste)

- high in vitamin B2 - riboflavin (growth, skin, nails, hair, sensitive lips and tongue, eyesight, the breakdown of protein, fat and carbohydrate)

- high in B12 - cobalamin (making red blood and the formation of the nerves)

- high in folate - (production of red blood cells. Sidenote - Folate is the naturally-occurring form of the vitamin. Folic aid is the synthetic form of the vitamin that is used in supplements and in fortified foods. Folic acid and folate work the same in the body, with one exception: the synthetic form [folic acid] is better absorbed by the body than the natural form. You only need 60 mcg of folic acid to get the same benefits you'd get from 100 mcg of naturally-occurring folate.)

- high in selenium - (cancer fighter)

- high in phosphorus - (does a million things)

- somewhat high in fats but more good fats (poly and mono) than bad fats (saturated), no trans fats


LOCAL FARM BIODYNAMIC VS. COMMERCIALIZED ORGANIC

Do this test and you'll be convinced, you don't even have to read a word above. I did this test with a Dana Ray biodynamic egg and a Shop Rite organic egg about 2 years ago and never went back to Shop Rite organic eggs.

Take 1 egg from each, crack into separate bowls. Compare visual differences. Biodynamic egg yolk will be orange, commercialized organic egg yellow. The color represents the chicken's diet. The deeper the color, the better the diet. The height of the yolk is important too, the taller the yolk sits, the fresher it is. It's called being "proud". You want PROUD eggs! Then cook each egg separately in separate pans, but at the same time. Do a taste test comparison, side by side, with the family. The color and flavor of the biodynamic egg will make your taste buds SMILE. Oh gosh, that drippy organge juice! Gotta go make some eggs for an early lunch...