Tag: cooking

The Perfect Boiled Egg

Is not boiled. It’s steamed, actually.

Plenty of egg yolks make you healthy and happy. But only if they’re done right. Overcook them, to where they get dried and powdery, and you get the opposite. Inflammation and unhappiness.

The surest way to get the right yolk is steaming. You need a steamer basket for the best results, from my experience. Put the basket in the smallest pot that will fit it. Fill the pot with water up to the bottom of the steamer basket. Cover and turn the heat on high, leaving the eggs out.

When it starts to boil, which you can tell by the steam coming out, get your eggs ready near the pot. Open the lid and gently place the eggs onto the steamer basket. It’s gonna be hot in there, so use a spoon or something to place the eggs. If you’re quick you can just nimbly place with your hands, but beware of burning yourself. Do this all very quickly, within a few seconds. Steam cooks fast and you’ll get different yolks if you take too long.

Cover and start a timer for seven minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Fill it with cold water up to the top, pour out, and fill again with cold water. The eggs will not crack. Leave the eggs in the water to cool. You can take the steamer out if you want. Watch out because it can be very hot still.

Don’t freak out about the cooling part. As long as you turn off the stove right away, you can delay the draining and cooling part. It wont make a huge difference. The key is keeping the eggs out of the boiling water, and timing the steam.

To peel, start with the fatter end. Gently smash where the air pocket is, and start to peel from there. Enjoy with lots of sea salt.

Live powerfully,

Steve

Fatten up your nutritional knowledge.

The nutrients in egg yolks and why cholesterol is good for you.

Reasons to stop avoiding salt, and why we should eat natural salt.

Saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease and it’s good for you.

NL 102 Perfect Egg Yolk The Brilliant Beast Blog.jpg

The Brilliant Beast Blog Daily

Make Real Food the Easiest Option This Week

You can keep telling yourself, your partner, your friends, that you will eat well and diet and get healthier, but you’re only as good as your most tired, stressed out day.

What I mean is on that one day that things were especially rough at work, someone was rude to you, or you had to get things done and got home late, how prepared are you to create a wholesome meal?

Do you have fresh ingredients in the fridge? Do you know what you will cook? Is it easy enough for you to do in your frazzled state?

Not sure what you would do, but given the option, I would pop off the cork of my wine bottle and bust out the chips and guac. Or the dessert from the night before, if say there had been a birthday or a night out with friends. And then wake up three hours later in a dazed brain fog.

We’re creatures of habit. We do the easiest thing when we’re tired. And it’s often the most comfortable or habitual thing.

But if I’m prepared for my weakest moments, and have the fresh veggies in the fridge, and the meat defrosted, and the herbs and spices available, I can utilize a go-to recipe and just fall into the rhythmic therapy of cooking.

Here are things to consider to make excellent nutrition the (eventual) easiest option:

Determine your sources and do not waver from them.
  1. Pick one place you want to get your fresh produce.
  2. Pick one place you want to get your meat.
  3. Pick one place you get dry goods. Rice, noodles, salts, etc.
  4. Pick one place you get your water. If you don’t agree with tap, that is.
When is the best time for you to get your groceries?
  1. Pick one day and time of the week.
  2. When you have just eaten or are not hungry.
  3. Earlier in the day rather than later (decision fatigue will kick in and you will be more likely to opt for habitual choices when tired).
What are your basic meal components?
  1. Pick two to three meals that are reasonably easy for you to create using set combinations of the below items. I sometimes actually bag all ingredients for one recipe together, minus the meat, to make it simple.
    1. Veggies
    2. Starch
    3. Meat
    4. Fat for cooking
    5. Herbs and Spices
  2. Examples of my go-to meals and cooking hacks.
  3. Plan for leftovers. This eliminates a couple of nights of cooking, and you can heat up leftovers on the stove in a pot with a little water. If you’re a freak about not using microwaves, like me.

    Vintage 20th century "microwave" serving as a stand for ice cream maker and cold brew bottle.
    Vintage 20th century “microwave” serving as a stand for ice cream maker and cold brew bottle.

Look, you will fail at this here and there. I think that much is obvious, from what we’ve seen of ourselves thus far in life. So if you go out to get a burger, get the cheeseburger and the fries. If it’s not going to be the highest quality in terms of nutrition, it might as well taste damned good.

The key is to minimize failure by maximizing preparation. If it’s the only thing you do on a Sunday, get to that farmer’s market. Get your veggies for the week, write out two meal plans, and execute when the time comes.

To powerful living,

Steve

 

 

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