Quick Fix: Omelets!

Omelets are a go-to food for me. They are high in protein and fat and you can customize them as much as you want. I don't know how many times I've used dinner leftovers in my omelets, but it's always turned out well. Here's a few tips to make your omelets pop.

1) Use the entire egg: Many health enthusiasts treat egg yolks as though they were made of hemlock and cyanide. The truth is that the egg yolk is the most nutritious (not to mention delicious) part of the egg. I can hear your questions thorough the computer though; "What about cholesterol and the increased chance of heart disease!?" Well a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in 1999 states that no correlation could be found between egg consumption and heart disease. It even ended up touting the eggs ability to stave off heart attack, blood clots, and stroke. 


2) Cook it in whole real butter. This also adds a level of flavor and fat to the dish, increasing satiety and overall pleasure. Be sure not to use a "spread" or margarine, these use partially hydrogenated oils as a base which are not conducive with a healthy body. Ultimately don't use vegetable oil or canola oil either. If you are going for an oil to cook with, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is your cheapest and easiest bet. Though, hemp, coconut, and avocado oils are among other acceptable variants. Of course, if you don't have any of this, you can always use bacon fat :)

3) Load it up. The great thing about omelets is the fact that they are so versatile. You can fill them with crisp vegetables, succulent steak, hearty chicken, every seasoning you can think of, hell even fish might be decent in an omelet (though I have to admit I've never tried it.) The more meat and veggies you put into it, the more nutrition you're giving yourself, the fuller you'll feel, and the more energy you'll have to tackle your day with.

4) Dinner Omelet! If you're in a rush for dinner the omelet is great for several reasons. 1) it's delicious. 2) it's fast. 3) it's healthy, and 4) It digests slowly. If you have a good sized omelet before bed, it will leave you full all night and through till your next meal. I regularly have an omelet (or something with the same nutritional profile) at dinner (around 7) and I won't eat again until around noon the next day; completely free of hunger.

Here's an example of how to make one:

Start with your innards. Here I use bacon, zucchini, and onion :) let them get cooked all the way through before you add your egg. 

Here I beat 3 eggs with some sour cream. Yeah sour cream isn't strictly paleo, but that's what the 80/20 rule is for right? The sour cream fluffs up the eggs and gives them a bit of flavor.

 Pour it on and let the bottom cook up, use a spatula to push the cooked borders in towards the center as to allow the center egg to make direct contact with the pans surface. 

Once the eggs are set up, use your spatula to run around the edge and free any stuck spots. If you must, pour a little bit of EVOO around the border and let it spread across the bottom. This will allow the eggs to freely slide about the pan. 

When I take pictures of every process, I tend to let the eggs burn... :( But no matter. Once the bottom is solid, flip the whole thing like a pancake. 

Add your filling. On this day it was cheese, more often than not it's either avocado or salsa however. Maybe chili if I've got some leftover. 

Let half of your omelet slide off on to the plate, fill it with anything else you may want in there, then use the pan to flip the other half over the top. It should end up looking somewhat like the bottom picture.

Put on your toppings (Pictured, sour cream, tapatio, sharp cheddar) and side dishes (satsuma oranges)

And there you have it: A quick, easy, nutritious meal that will give you steady energy and a very wide array of possible nutrients. I'm going to go make one right now :)

-Rob