A healthy Mediterranean style omelette that I hope meets your eggs-pectations!
Eggs are a great choice for breakfast, brunch, or dinner when it comes to a well-balanced meals. Both the egg white and yolk are rich in nutrients, including proteins, vitamins and minerals. When you add your veggies, meat, and cheese, you have a meal that's packed with nutrients. Egg whites contain the majority of protein, while yolks contain fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins D and E). In fact, eggs are pretty much the perfect food. They contain a little bit of almost every nutrient you need.
What are benefits of eating eggs?
As I noted earlier, eggs are nutritionally dense foods, containing complete proteins and healthy fats full of vitamins and minerals. Eggs are regarded as a 'complete' protein source as they contain all nine essential amino acids required to sustain life. They are useful sources of some of the hard to get nutrients like vitamins D and B12 as well as the mineral iodine.
They may also support heart health by increasing HDL cholesterol. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, which is often known as the “good” cholesterol. Studies have shown that people with higher HDL levels are at a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and other health problems related to the cardio vascular system.
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional foods that people used to eat in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, France, Spain, and Greece. There are no strict rules or regulations for the diet, but the emphasis is typically on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and heart-healthy fats. Refined sugars and ultra-processed foods are limited on this diet.
The Mediterranean diet is regarded by many scientist as one of the healthiest and most beneficial diets one can follow. Several studies show that the Mediterranean diet can promote weight loss and prevent heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes, and premature death.
What ingredients should I use to make my omelet?
Following the set of guidelines above, the focus should be on healthy fats with a side of fruits and/or whole grains. Lemon Kitchen's recipe for the Mediterranean breakfast omelet emphasizes healthy fats by combining avocado, feta cheese, and olives, which are then cooked in avocado oil. This combination of healthy fats and protein from the eggs make it a powerhouse of healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals. And don't forget to be creative! You can add in tomatoes, spinach or even turn this into an open faced sandwich.
What kind of eggs do you recommend?
There are a variety of eggs that one could choose from, to include; cage free, organic, pasture raised, and more. I generally recommend choosing an egg that will fit in your budget, but also based on flavor. In the Lemon Kitchen, I generally have two different types of eggs in my refrigerator. A standard pasteurized white egg for baking and cage free eggs for eating. I prefer cage free eggs for eating because they tend to have better flavor. And in my household, we are all about flavor!
What should I pair my omelet with?
There a lots of things you can add on the side of your omelet, but my personal favorites are some healthy fruits or some whole grain bread. This way you get a nice balance of nutrients which can keep you full longer. I always recommend experimenting a bit because each of us will have a different response to different combinations of food. During my 60 lb weight loss, I found that eating a well balanced meal helped with my hunger the most. This approach is similar to the Zone diet.
Mediterranean Omelet Ingredients (1 serving)
3 whole eggs
¼ beefsteak tomato (diced)
4-5 olives (thinly sliced)
1 medium avocado (sliced)
1 tsp avocado oil
1 oz feta cheese
Splash of milk
Fresh Chives to garnish
Salt
Pepper
Directions: Preheat on high an 8-10" pan. In a bowl, lightly beat eggs and milk together. Add 1/2 tsp oil once the pan is hot. Pour in the beaten eggs. Quickly stir and shake the pan to distribute the eggs and ensure they cook evenly. When they are almost set, take the pan off the heat and add tomatoes, feta and olives. Fold the eggs, transfer to a plate, sprinkle with fresh pepper, freshly chopped chives and top with avocado.
Nutrition (1 Serving)
Calories: 597
Protein: 27.4g
Fats: 48.2g
Carbs: 16.7g
Fiber: 10.6g
Net Carbs: 6.1g
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