The Baby Pantry: Eggs

"That's a potential allergen."

That's how I explained my fear to my very confused mother when I told her I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with my daughter, Evelyn, trying a scrambled egg.  Neither I nor my husband suffer any food allergies, nor do our parents; other risk factors that increase the likelihood of food allergies, such as asthma, aren't an issue, either.  It would seem that my daughter would be in a low-risk category of developing a food allergy.  

However, there is still a risk involved when introducing your child to a potential allergen.  There are eight major allergens responsible for 90 percent of all the food allergies suffered in the United States, and a certain level of care must be taken when introducing them to your child:

• Wheat
• Cow's Milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Shellfish (shrimp, prawns, lobster, crab, etc.)
• Tree nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, etc.)
• Peanuts
• Soy

I was especially nervous about Evie being given egg.  She had a flu shot (I didn't want her to get it, but it's an enraging story that I refuse to recount again), and reacted terribly to it.  We ended up in the ER with our baby clearly in pain, bawling her eyes out and terrified after projectile vomiting food she had taken in nearly six hours prior.  Because doctors seem to refuse to believe that the flu shot could possibly make someone ill, they always look for that "coincidental" thing that made your child sick:  A virus, a reaction to something they ate, etc.  In this case, our pediatrician thought it might have been an allergic reaction to the egg upon which the virus in the vaccine is grown.

It was, of course, a ridiculous suggestion.  I knew that it wasn't the case, that my daughter was one of the many kids I know personally who had terrible reactions to the flu shot.  But it sunk in.  Allergic to eggs?  Could she really be?

Then my mom adamantly declared that the whole idea of her being allergic to eggs was silly, and I knew better about that damn flu shot.  So I relented, and let her feed my daughter a scrambled egg.  My breath caught in my throat as I kept asking questions, like "Is she turning red?  She's not wheezing, right?  She isn't getting a rash?"

Looking back, it's pretty hilarious how overly concerned and terrified I was.  The only reaction my daughter had was "Wow, this is awesome.  I want to eat eggs everyday.  They are the best thing you ever put before me."  Big smile, giggles.  Sheer enjoyment.

And who can blame her?  Eggs are amazing.

Cheap, nutritious, versatile.

Eggs are one of the best values you can have in your kitchen.  For a small price, in that thin shell, they pack quite a nutritious punch, featuring the highest-quality protein available and some pretty impressive health benefits:

• The lutein in eggs is great for eye health, and it is more readily available to us from eggs than from nearly any other source.  Studies show a lower risk of cataracts and macular degeneration among those who eat eggs as a normal part of their diet.
• Contrary to popular belief, regular consumption of eggs doesn't negatively impact cholesterol levels in most people, and in fact eggs can actually help prevent cardiac events such as blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.
• Eggs are one of the few foods with naturally-occurring Vitamin D, which is essential for bone health and proper calcium absorption.  
• Women who consume high amounts of choline are 24% less likely to develop breast cancer than their choline-deficient counterparts.  One large egg provides 30% of your daily choline needs.

Eggs last a long time when stored properly:  Raw and stored in the refrigerator in their original carton, not in the door where they are subject to heat and light every time the fridge is opened, they can last nearly a month (hard-boiled eggs last about a week).  You can even freeze them for up to a year by beating the whites and yolks together, and portioning them out in freezer-safe containers.

Think about everything you can do with a humble egg, from the simple to the complex and the savory to the sweet.  Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs; omelet, frittata, stratta; deviled eggs, pickled eggs, Scotch eggs; mayonnaise, Caesar dressing; custard, meringue, all sorts of baked goods.  If you can name it, you can put eggs in it.

Stick to the Basics

Evelyn and I stick to the basics:  Scrambled eggs and toast.  She gets her eggs in a simplistic Florentine style - cooked with spinach, Parmesan cheese and milk, served with whole wheat toast squares and a fresh fruit.  I always "accidentally" make too much so I'm guaranteed to get some leftovers for myself.  

Vitamin Loss in Cooking

When you want to feed your children the most nutritious food you can, it's just as important to select a proper cooking method as it is to select the foods themselves.  While most minerals hold up extremely well to all temperatures and cooking methods, vitamins are easily lost depending on how the food is prepared.  It's helpful to know how some vitamins are destroyed, and what you can do to preserve as many as you can.

Fat Solubility

Vitamins that dissolve in fat, and therefore leach out of food when cooked in fats like butter and oil, include Vitamins A, D, E and K.  Because excess amounts of these vitamins are stored in the body, and not eliminated like water-soluble vitamins, it isn't imperative that you receive high doses everyday.

However, to retain these vitamins when cooking, it is advised that you refrain from frying the food or otherwise cooking it in fat.  Broiling or baking would be the superior option for retaining these vitamins in food.

Foods rich in the fat-soluble vitamins include:

• Vitamin A:  Liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens such as kale and collard greens, butternut squash, dried apricots and cantaloupe.  
• Vitamin D:  Fish (particularly raw or oil-packed) such as herring and salmon, fortified products (including soy, dairy and cereal products), and eggs.
• Vitamin E:  Nut and seed products such as sunflower seeds and almonds, wheat germ and olive oils, green olives and cooked spinach.
• Vitamin K:  Dark leafy greens (here they are again, and also a great plant source of calcium), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and cabbage.

Water Solubility

Water-soluble vitamins are those that dissolve in water, and are lost primarily when food is boiled or otherwise prepared in water.  These vitamins need to be in the diet daily, as they are eliminated from the body throughout the day, primarily through urine.

The water-soluble vitamins are Vitamin C and the B complex vitamins:  Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, folic acid, Vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, and biotin.  All of these vitamins are easily lost in the storage and preparation of foods.

Some information on the vitamins follows:

• Vitamin C:  Vitamin C is very unstable, and is lost when exposed to water or heat, and also when a food is dried.  Therefore, one of the best sources for Vitamin C is from fresh, raw food:  Fruits like oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, tomatoes and dark green leafy vegetables.  When you are cooking, use as little water as possible and cook for as short a time as possible.
• B Complex Vitamins:  In general, you will find an abundance of the B Complex Vitamins in animal foods, especially liver, and whole grain products.  Eggs, fish, leafy vegetables, legumes and milk also provide many of the B Vitamins in good, healthy amounts.  All of them leach out of food into cooking water and many are destroyed by alkalinity and sulfites (which are added to many dried foods to retain color); some are destroyed by too much exposure to light (riboflavin) and long exposure to heat (thiamin).  Despite the loss of vitamins, it is important you always cook meat thoroughly!

Tips on Vitamin Preservation

Save cooking water.  Whatever water you use to boil vegetables, use it to prepare rice, make gravy, add to soup, or make a sauce.

Avoid peeling and cutting.  Vegetables that remain in one piece will retain more nutrients than those that are chopped or peeled prior to cooking.  Only peel when absolutely necessary, as a wealth of vitamin nutrition is in or just beneath the skin.

Prepare food fresh.  Foods that are cooked, then stored and reheated later, lose a lot of nutrition.  Vegetables prepared in advance lose roughly a quarter of their Vitamin C, for example, after 24 hours.

Steam, or use very little water when boiling.  Steaming retains a lot more of the water-soluble vitamins than does boiling, as the water doesn't come into contact with the food.  When you do boil, however, use a minimum of water.  Remember that leafy greens cook down and while four cups of cabbage doesn't seem like it can cook in one cup of water, give it a chance.

Baking and toasting.  When you're baking, the addition of baking soda raises the alkalinity of the product and destroys thiamin.  While you can't avoid the "baking" part of baking, you can avoid over-toasting any bread you might make (or purchase) to keep from further destroying thiamin:  Toast it just so it's golden around the edges, and no more.

Roast and grill.  Your best bets for meat are to prepare them with dry heat:  Roasting and grilling.  Don't overcook your meat, as this leads to unnecessary further nutrient loss (not to mention that it's incredibly disrespectful to the cow who gave his life to put that amazing steak on your table when you cook it anything past medium for an adult).  Don't be afraid to use fully-cooked drippings to prepare gravies.

Stir-fry, don't fry-fry.  Deep frying is horrible, and destroys nearly all of the fat-soluble vitamins in your food as well as adding on too many additional fat calories.  Stir-frying, however, which uses a minimum of oil and a minimum cooking time, isn't too bad.  Slice your foods very thin to limit how much time is needed to cook in this high-heat method.  

Most Importantly...

Eat at home.  See how your food is selected, stored and prepared!