Health-conscious cooks routinely toss the yolks and stick with the whites when preparing eggs. Good idea? Not necessarily.
Health-conscious cooks routinely toss the yolks and stick with the whites when preparing eggs. Good idea? Not necessarily. Eggs are packed with nutrients, and most of them — vitamins A and E, folate, calcium, iron and lutein — are in the yolks. Sure, yolks also pack dietary cholesterol, but many scientists now think saturated fat is the bigger culprit in raising blood cholesterol. Besides being loaded with nutrients, eggs are satisfying, so eating them can help you curb between-meal hunger. Of course, if you’re really trying to limit your fat and cholesterol intake (the yolk does contain all the fat), an egg white omelet or scrambled egg whites are fine. But they can be rubbery and lack the flavor of whole eggs. A good strategy is to hedge your bets by using some but not all of the yolks. For instance, prepare an omelet using one whole egg and two egg whites. When using eggs in baked goods, quiches or custards, you usually can substitute egg whites for up to half of the yolks without substantially changing the dish. Use two egg whites in place of one whole egg. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.