Hello friends! Well, the kiddos are all in school now and I love when my children are happily engaged in learning. It does this former teacher’s heart such good to see a text from my daughter yesterday saying how much she’s enjoying reading Homer’s Odyssey. 

  
Many of you are preparing breakfast in the morning for yourselves and/or for your children before work or school, right?!! Well, I’ve got an AMAZING meal for you, not just for morning but for anytime. It’s easy, delicious and it contains two of my favorite healthy foods, avocados and eggs. 

I’ve written about eggs in a past post “An eggcellent protein” and mentioned avocados in numerous posts, but since I have this great recipe that combines the two together I thought I would review why eggs and avocados are so good for us. Then I will provide the recipe for my egg and avocado bake at the end of the post. I’m sure eating healthy meals like this is why my daughters excel in their schoolwork. If it works for them, it will work for you! 🙂

  
First, here’s why you should eat avocados and it doesn’t make sense at first but we will work through it-because they have a high fat content. In a past post “fat doesn’t make you fat” I explain how foods rich in fat like avocados actually help your body absorb more nutrients like vitamins A, K, D, and E. Thus adding avocados to vegetables helps your body to receive all the vitamins in your food. Without fat in your diet, your body wouldn’t be able to absorb vitamins. Also, because they are so full of good fat they actually make you feel more satisfied so you won’t want to eat an hour after your meal. They are full of antioxidant and anti inflammatory characteristics like phytosterols, carotenoid antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, and polyhydroxolated fatty alcohols that fight arthritis, as well as combat cancer, especially mouth, prostate, and skin. 

  
They’re really good for your eyes as they have a high lutein and zeazanthin content, two phytonutrients that act as antioxidants in the eye, helping to prevent age related eye conditions. Avocados are high in B6 and folic acid which helps regulate homocysteine levels that reduce cholesterol in the body. They also contain 6-7 grams of fiber in half a medium fruit, which can aid in weight loss because it will make you feel fuller faster and for a longer time. Wow, see what I mean about them being one of my favorite healthy foods?!!

  
Eggs might just top avocados for me though as my favorite healthy food of all time. Plus, I love them so maybe that’s why they top my list. Anyway, whole eggs are considered among the most nutritious foods on earth. When you think about it, there are enough nutrients in that single, small egg to turn one cell into a baby chicken! Eggs contain lots of vitamins-B12, B2, A, B5, Selenium and small amounts of almost every vitamin and mineral required by the human body such as calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, vitamin E, folate, etc, etc, etc. You get the picture. One large egg has 77 calories, 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and trace amounts of carbohydrates. 

  
I don’t understand the “egg white omelette” kick as a healthy, diet food. Here’s why: ALL of the nutrients in an egg are found in the YOLK. The white mostly just contains protein. The yolk is also where the fat is and as I said with avocados, HEALTHY FAT IS A GOOD THING THAT CAN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT. Sorry I was shouting but I can’t stand these health fallacies that are out there, and I don’t want my wonderful readers believing such crap! So anyway, eat the WHOLE egg to receive all the wonderful benefits contained within. 

Here’s why eggs received a bad rap in the past- they have 212 mg of cholesterol which is a lot compared with many foods. HOWEVER, eating foods high in cholesterol doesn’t raise your bad cholesterol. Actually our livers make cholesterol every day and if we eat foods with cholesterol the liver has to produce less which ultimately lowers our cholesterol levels. 

  
Eggs have tons of choline in them, which is a nutrient in the B complex vitamin category that helps prevent liver and cardiovascular diseases as well as neurological disorders. They’re also considered a “perfect” source of protein because the amino acids contained in eggs are linked together in such a way as to form a perfect chain of 21 which are considered essential for our bodies. Just like avocados, eggs contain high amounts of lutein and zeazanthin that protect our eyes from macular degeneration and cataracts. These diseases are the leading sources of vision related impairment and blindness in the elderly. 

Because eggs have so much protein they, like avocados, score highly on the satiety index (a scale that shows how full and satisfied we are after meals). Therefore, eggs are an important part of a weight loss plan (or a weight maintenance plan for that matter).  Of course I always recommend pastured or omega 3 enriched eggs because healthier hens lead to healthier eggs. I buy my eggs from a local farmer who doesn’t raise hens in cages. Last but not least, eggs are cheap, taste great, and are very versatile too as I’ll show in my recipe.

So now we turn to the recipe part of this post. Buckle up your seat belts, because I’m about to knock your socks off with this one. It is one of the best recipes I’ve shared on my blog, and I know you will love it.

  
Avocado and Egg Bake

• 1 avocado cut in half, seed removed
• 2 organic pastured farm raised eggs
• 1/4 cup shredded organic cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon each cumin, chili pepper
• Salsa
• Salt and pepper to taste

  
Preheat oven to 425. Place the avocado halves in a small baking dish. Scoop out a bit of the flesh of the avocado and then crack an egg into each half.

  
 Sprinkle the tops with cheese, spices and salt/pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Check to make sure the egg is done before serving and cook a little longer if needed. Remove from oven, pour some salsa over the top and serve. They are so delicious you won’t believe it!

  
That’s all there is to it and now that you know just how healthy avocados and eggs are I’m sure you’ll try this recipe. Encorporate more eggs and avocados into your diet because you’ll live longer, and be happier and healthier too. Eating foods like this will help you live a life of vitality-with Valerie!