Easter is coming up! That means that boiled eggs will be plentiful.

Great time of year to decorate the eggs for the kids, and then save a few for yourself. The egg whites are a great fat free protein in the Zone. After the egg is cooked, just peel and eat (after removing the yolk, of course).

A Zone "favorite" snack idea is to prepare deviled eggs using hummus in place of the yolk. Peel the egg, slice in half lengthwise, scoop out the yolk and fill with hummus. I did this one year for a potluck, and got some really good compliments on my "deviled eggs". Most people didn't even realize that the yolks had been replaced!

Sure would be nice to know the real truth about egg yokes! I've heard from another source that organic free range chics don't have bad yokes. Sure would eat them if that could be proven.

Hi! I would like to try the eggs with hummus, but... how do you prepare the hummus??

Shelia, as I understand, the yolks of free range chickens still contain AA, which is the reason we avoid them for the Zone.



Here's a Q&A from DrSears.com about flax fed chicken, not quite the same thing, but similar:

<< Grass-fed beef and flax-fed chickens
Q: Dear Dr. Sears, I have been buying beef that is supposed to have a good ratio of omega-3 and omega- 6 fatty acids. The cattle eat grass only and are not "fattened up" on grains and other feeds. The poultry are range fed, and the only other feed they get is flaxseed, so that there is about 225 mgm of omega-3 in each egg. My question is would the above make a difference as far as your recommendations about eating red meat and eggs? Thanks, Dr. Ed F. A: Dear Ed, Both grass-fed beef and omega-3 eggs are still rich in arachidonic acid. The content of omega-3 fatty acids is higher, but unfortunately they are short-chain omega-3 fatty acids as opposed to the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils.
http://www.drsears.com/ArticlePrevi...fault.aspx - 8/24/2007 11:33:23 AM >>




And here's another about egg yolks in general:


<< Egg yolks
Q: Dr. Sears, I am a physician who is on the Zone diet. I am very impressed with your theories and I believe you are right on the money. I only have ONE disagreement with you: why do you banish egg yolks? In moderation, they're good for people, containing lecithin and vitamins in addition to the cholesterol, which itself is fine in moderation. Egg substitute is, in my opinion, an over-processed non-food. Can I make, for example, devilled eggs, and just use half the yolks with hummus? Or keep one or two yolks in scrambled eggs or omelets? Charles K., D.O. A: I don’t banish egg yolks, I just recommend use of egg yolks in moderation. While it is true that the yolks are rich in nutrients, they also contain high levels of arachidonic acid, the building block of bad eicosanoids. Your ideas for deviled eggs and omelets are good compromises for the average person. The only people that I would tell to avoid egg yolks altogether are cancer patients.
http://www.drsears.com/ArticlePrevi...fault.aspx - 8/24/2007 11:32:38 AM >>

Cecelia,
You can find recipes for making hummus, but my favorite way of "preparing" it is to buy it already made up at the store!

[quote]Posted By Cranberrycat on 04/07/2008 9:20 PM
You can find recipes for making hummus, but my favorite way of "preparing" it is to buy it already made up at the store! [/quote]

That's my favorite way, too. Look for a brand that doesn't add soybean or other industrialized oils. At our house hummus has gone, in about 3 years, from a curiosity to a staple.

Tom

Hi! I couldn´t find prepared hummus in my country! I will look for it in Zone´s books!

In regards to hummus here is my favorite recipe. It's the one my mother started using as we were growing up and I like it much better than any of the store bought ones AND it is a TON cheaper (like most made at home things). Enjoy!

Hummus

2 Cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas) (you can either cook your own or buy the canned ones, just save some of the liquid!)
1/4 C bean liquid or water
1/4 C lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbls tahini
2 Tbls. ch. parsley
2 Tbls olive oil ( optional)

Puree chickpeas in a processor or blender, adding the liquid for a
smooth creamy puree.
Transfer to a shallow serving bowl and beat in lemon juice, garlic, and
salt; then gradually
add tahini to form thick, light paste.
Let stand for about 30 minutes so flavor has a chance to develop.
Sprinkle with parsley
and, if desired, drizzle oil over surface just before serving.

note: you can add other spices or ingredients as desired: cumin,
roasted red pepper,
extra garlic, etc....be creative!


--Ruth

Thank you for posting your recipe, Ruth. I've never made hummus, and I've been wondering about it since I started the Zone last week.

cici

Thankds for the recipe Ruth. Looks delicious! I'll have to try it!

I've done a bit of research into Omega-3 in eggs, see here:

http://www.colinmcnulty.com/blog/20...egg-yolks/

Would be interested in peoples opinions.

WEllllll, I eat the whole egg, or occasionally just the whites. I dont like the substitutes and I cant stand hummus....just plain nasty to me. I have no idea what my AA levels are but I use almost exclusively Egg-Land's Best Eggs. I dont know who all can find them where they live, but, they are all natural, from vegetarian fed hens, high in Vit. E, 100 mg. of Omega 3, 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs., and, unlike a lot of eggs you get at the store, they are actually USDA inspected Grade A. Most of the eggs say grade A or AA, but, that is the stores evaluation, not the USDA's.

I dont know anything about the inspections outside the US. I also know that the farm fresh eggs are probably best but they have such a strong taste to me that I prefer these.....just personal preference. EggBeaters and egg whites are ok if I cover them up with salsa and beans or other seasonings.....for a while, but, I just dont like them long term. I've tried all that and if I cant have the egg yolks ongoing, then I will just go back to smoothies. I do have smoothies for a change occasionally anyway.

Colin, I've been basing my diet on the same conclusion that both you and Dr. Sears have arrived at in regard to the Omega 3 eggs, to avoid egg yolks because of their higher AA content, regardles sfo teh type of egg they come from. Keeping my AA levels low is of the utmost importance to me.

Also, to my knowledge, the 1.5 ratio you mentioned on your blog only refers to the AA/EPA level of human blood, not the ratio of those fats in the food in the food we eat. You'd want to avoid AA as much a possible, regardless of the ratio in the particular food.



Here's an old "Ask Dr Sears" Q&A about the Omega 3 eggs:



<<Grass-fed beef and flax-fed chickens
Q. Dear Dr. Sears,

I have been buying beef that is supposed to have a good ratio of omega-3 and omega- 6 fatty acids. The cattle eat grass only and are not "fattened up" on grains and other feeds. The poultry are range fed, and the only other feed they get is flaxseed, so that there is about 225 mgm of omega-3 in each egg. My question is would the above make a difference as far as your recommendations about eating red meat and eggs?

Thanks, Dr. Ed F.

A. Dear Ed,

Both grass-fed beef and omega-3 eggs are still rich in arachidonic acid. The content of omega-3 fatty acids is higher, but unfortunately they are short-chain omega-3 fatty acids as opposed to the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils. >>

I looked at Ruths recipe for hummus and I make pretty much the same. However, my question is, how many blocks of C is it? Since it has tahini in it I didnt know how to make it "zone" ready; therefore, I stopped eating the hummus. ANyone know the blocks/portions of that hummus recipe?

You'd count all the C blocks in the ingredients to figure it out. Looks like it contains almost 9 blocks C.

thank you sue :)