Low Carb Egg Salad served with Kale

 My Hubby made this great egg salad for lunch yesterday.  It was great served on a leaf of kale.  Hubby had his on kale and a slice of Udi's Gluten-Free Bread (that adds about 9 carbs, but is really good gf bread if you can spare the carbs).

It's a hot NY summer, so this is a great easy snack that you don't need to turn on the oven for.  We boil a lot of eggs in this house... they make a great low-carb snack or breakfast.  We get our eggs fresh from the farm and they are amazing.  They come from pastured hens, who also roam around outside and eat grain and bugs.  Chickens need to eat bugs, worms, and grubs for complete protein, and when they do, you can see the difference in their egg yolks.  They become a deep orange color and just taste amazing!  If you can find a local farmer, you can be sure of their practices, and buying straight from the farm saves you money by cutting out the middle man!!

Why do some store bought eggs brag they are "vegetarian" when chickens need complete proteins?  Because then you know they weren't fed those disgusting things we've all heard about - I don't want to turn you off so I won't repeat them!  But if you buy "vegetarian" eggs, you can be sure those hens also never went outside the barn... the door may have been left open (so they can say they were "free-range" by law) but the hens stayed inside.  They need to go outside to get their proteins!

If you are worried about Cholesterol, you should know that it was powdered eggs that got the bad rap on cholesterol, and for good reason.  Powdered milk and powdered eggs are liquidized, pasteurized, and spray-dried which causes oxidized cholesterol, which does cause atherosclerosis.  But natural eggs do not.

Instead, pastured eggs are a great inexpensive source of protein (even my $4 a carton farm eggs are still cheap protein, considering), antioxidants (that dark yellow-orange yolk!), and help the body digest fat, protein, and cholesterol.  In comparison to non-pastured eggs, they contain more monounsaturated fat, vitamins E and A, folic acid, lutein, and beta-carotene.  They are dramatically richer in omega-3 fats, which prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.  They have a perfect ratio of 1:1 of omega 6 to omega 3 oils... which is what you want. I could go on and on!!! (I got all this info from Nina Planck's Real Food).

Anyway, here is the recipe!! I hope you enjoy it.

***TIP:  To boil eggs: start with cold water in a pot with a lid.  Add about a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of salt and stir in.  Put eggs in, and bring to a boil.  As soon as you get a big bubble boil (it doesn't need to be roiling), take pot off the heat and cover for 10 minutes.  Immediately pour out the water and fill with cold water and let sit for 10 minutes.  Then peel.


Low Carb Egg Salad served with Kale

8 boiled eggs, peeled
1 stalk organic celery, finely sliced
1/2 small pickle (or more to taste), minced
2 TBSP mayo
1 TBSP greek yogurt (or just use more mayo if you are casein-free)
1 TBSP yellow mustard
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon chili con carne powder (I used Penzey's      brands of these) OR 1 teaspoon chili powder (make sure it's gluten free).
You could add some paprika too, we just happened to be out

Smash eggs with a fork, or potato masher (dust that thing off, all low-carbers! You finally get to use that gadget again!) until just chunky.  Add all the other ingredients and mix carefully.  Spoon onto large leaves of kale, roll up and eat!  Or... place it on a piece of Udi's gluten-free bread. :)