Ugly Anabolic Eggs

Eggs are a near perfect food. The egg white is almost pure protein, among the highest quality protein found in nature, and the yolk (previous thought to be unhealthy) is full of vitamins and minerals. It has been recently found that eggs contain LESS cholesterol than previously thought.

Eggs are all natural, and I prefer and recommend organic eggs. The eggs I often get are not "certified organic" but come from my neighbors who use organic methods (getting certified is a long and arduous practice). Organic and other healthy (free range vegetarian fed) eggs are available in almost any grocery store.

Eggs pack a lot into nutrition in 70 calories!
Now plain boiled or fried eggs get boring to many people, and my very easy to cook and flexible recipe has been dubbed "Ugly Gym Eggs" and "Ugly Anabolic Eggs" by my health conscious friends as it is high in protein and nutrients, and relatively low in fat.

Assemble the ingredients to prepare for cooking. The list is flexible as you'll see:

2-4 Eggs: If the eggs are organic, I’ll typically use more of them. If regular supermarket eggs, I usually use 2 eggs.

Egg white (optional, but good): I often add egg whites. In this example I don't as I wasn't super hungry. You can buy these from the supermarket or you may have some left over from other recipes.

Butter: One small piece of butter, maybe 1/2 tablespoon, to prevent the eggs from sticking.

Vegetables (your choice): I add whatever vegetables I have lying around. In the pictures I'm using mushrooms and scallions, which I commonly use. Other great vegetables to add include peppers, onions, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes (technically a fruit), and more. About the only vegetable I've found that does not work well with eggs is carrots!

Humus: Humus is made from ground chick peas and is delicious in eggs although it may sound odd. It won't once you try it! Sometimes I’ll substitute pesto, guacamole or avocado or even meats like bacon, sausage, turkey, etc.

Vegetables are great raw, and I add many types of vegetables raw to my eggs.

However some I prefer slightly cooked before I add them. This includes mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, and sometimes onions depending on my mood.

I cook the vegetables in a little bit of water. You can use butter but using water keeps the fat content low.

Put sliced vegetables in a pan with a little water (a couple of tablespoons) and cook over a medium heat for 3-6 minutes or until done the way you like them. They will cook a little more in the eggs as well.

Stir them so they cook evenly. If all the water evaporates add a little so they do not burn. Pour out any remaining water when cooked and move them over to the side of the pan.

Add a pat of butter, about ½ a tablespoon and melt it so it covers the bottom of the pan.

I believe a little butter is healthy, although feel free to use margarine, non stick cooking spray of some type, or oil. I'll sometimes use olive oil (just a dab) if out of butter.

Next add the eggs and optionally, egg whites.

If you'd Iike, you can have previously cracked and even scrambled the eggs into a small bowl, but that isn't necessary. It creates more work as now you have this extra bowl to wash.

I crack the eggs straight into the pan. I don't worry about breaking the yolks or making a mess. The yolks will be broken soon enough!

Now we start getting messy.

Using a spatula, gently mix the eggs together with the vegetables and anything else you may have added. The egg yolks will break, and the egg will get scrambled somewhat, although not as much as true scrambled eggs.

Cook until almost done. This will take 2-3 minutes on average, but depends on what you have in the pan: how many eggs, how much if any egg whites, amounts and types of veggies, etc.

We are getting close to eating time!

Add the humus next. A couple of heaping tablespoons is about right. You can use any type of humus you like. I prefer plain or red pepper, and my absolutely favorite humus is literally made daily by a little old Turkish lady at the nearby gas station (yes, I buy it at the gas station).

Of course you can also buy humus at most grocery stores today, or even make it yourself.

Stir for about a minute, and once the humus has slightly warmed, add any raw vegetables you desire. Stir until fully mixed. You'll see in the final picture I've added scallions.

Remove to a dish and enjoy.

I usually add salt and pepper, and also feel free to add other condiments like hot sauce, ketchup, or salsa.

Here are some traditional resources you may find useful or interesting:

Egg Nutritional Information - from The Incredible Egg

Anabolic Muscle Cooking - healthy food and bodybuilding

Simple Humus Recipe - it's pretty easy to make, and this recipe leverages canned chickpeas

Edible Veggies - a long list, with links to more information (thanks Wikipedia!)