Hard boiled eggs are a simple, nutritious snack to pack on the go! Let’s admit it, life gets crazy sometimes and a full sit down meal isn’t in the cards for that evening or if it is, it will be three hours late.
Having a simple snack ready can help tide you over when tummies are growling and tempers are short.
Health Benefits of Eggs
Hard boiled eggs are a great snack packed with protein and fat; both of which will calm hunger pains without spiking your blood sugar.
Egg macronutrients are separated just as the yolk and white are separated. The whites contain most of the protein. This is why “egg white” omelets are deemed “healthy” because they don’t contain fat. I cherish the healthy fat so you will catch me keeping the yolk and throwing out the white!
The yolk contains all the fat (cholesterol) and many other essential nutrients such as choline, DHA, folic acid and heaps of vitamins. Depending on how the
chicken is being fed determines the abundance of these nutrients – and the color.
Most store eggs have a pale yellow yolk while the pastured eggs I get fresh have a deep orange colored yolk.
Planning for Healthy Snacks
This snack takes some planning ahead. An easy way to ensure you always have a boiled egg ready to grab is making them while you are making a meal.
For me, this happens to be supper time. Once I have my meal started I peek in the fridge to see how many eggs I have left. If I’m low or out I throw a kettle of six eggs on the stove and boil them while I’m finishing cooking supper.
Read More: 7 Ways to Fix Hard Boiled Eggs
How to Store Hard Boiled Eggs
At first you may think that peeling an egg every time you want a snack seems like a pain. Here again, while you are in the kitchen anyways and supper is simmering on the stove, peel the eggs all at once.
I’m not saying you have to peel them during the same meal prep you cooked them in. Just throw the kettle of cooling eggs in water in the fridge and when you have time again, peel them.
One mess made. One mess to clean up.
Once the eggs are peeled store them in a glass or metal container with an airtight lid.
I’ve had eggs last five to seven days!
Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs
Now comes the tricky part. Getting the perfect boiled egg. Everybody has their answer so here goes mine:
- Lightly tap the large end of the egg on the counter until it cracks. This allows the air to escape from that air sack inside giving you a perfectly oval egg!
- Place eggs in pan. It is okay if they are stacked on top of each other.
- Fill the pan with water until all the eggs are completely covered.
- Place a lid on the pan and put over heat.
- Bring the eggs to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Too hard of a boil will cause more of the eggs to crack and leak out.
- Once the eggs have reached a boil set the timer for 7 minutes.
- After 7 minutes, remove from the heat and leave the lid on for 2 minutes. This is the perfect cooking time for my hard boiled eggs. I never get that green tinge around the yolks and the yolks never get super dried out.
- After 2 minutes, run cold water over the eggs. This will be enough to cool them eventually, but I throw ice over the eggs to speed up the cooling. If you don’t have time right now to peel them, put them in the fridge in the water to keep them cooling and peel them later.
- When the eggs have completely cooled, peel them.
- Wash the eggs and place in a container in the fridge.
Enjoy!
What are your secrets to the perfect hard boiled egg?
