Day to Night Ingredient: Eggs

Humble as it may appear, the egg is a superhero when it comes to all-day healthy eating — and it’s a top-logged food on MyFitnessPal. Packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, eggs are inexpensive, easy to cook and carry endless recipe possibilities.

We all know eggs as they’ve starred in America’s prolific egg-and-bacon breakfast, but there are so many more ways to enjoy these nutritional powerhouses and benefit from all the good they provide.

Whether you fry, scramble, bake or poach them, eggs are a quick meal option anytime, and a portable protein no matter where you find yourself enjoying your meal. Here are a few favorite recipes for egg-cellent, healthy meals all day long!

The spruced up version of toast and eggs is the breakfast taco. You can take it to a whole new level with kimchi yogurt — adding a spicy, probiotic boost to your regularly scheduled breakfast programming. The recipe below calls for fried eggs (because yolks make a lovely taco sauce all their own), but fried eggs don’t travel particularly well. Make scrambled whole eggs or whites, then wrap tacos individually in aluminum foil (like you’d get from your favorite taco stand) to make this a more portable morning meal.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup kimchi
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 cup (285g) plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 warm tortillas
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Scallions or watermelon radishes, thinly sliced for serving

Directions

Mix kimchi, vinegar, honey and Greek yogurt in a small bowl with an immersion blender or in the bowl of a high-speed blender. Add salt, to taste. Reserve 2 tablespoons and store remaining yogurt in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator and reserve for another purpose.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high. Crack eggs into the pan and cook, shaking the pan occasionally to keep eggs from sticking to each other, until edges are golden brown, about 2 minutes; season with salt. Carefully tilt skillet toward you so oil pools at the front edge of the pan. Spoon oil over egg whites, where they are still translucent, avoiding yolks, until set, about 1 minute. Meanwhile, lightly toast tortillas in a separate dry skillet until just warm.

Spread kimchi yogurt over tortillas and top with eggs and scallions or radishes.

Serves: 2 | Serving Size: 1 taco

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 392; Total Fat: 28g; Saturated Fat: 5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 8g; Cholesterol: 188mg; Sodium: 185mg; Carbohydrate: 18g; Dietary Fiber: 2g; Sugar: 7g; Protein: 18g

Rice noodles are an unsung hero of noodle bowls, rarely recognized for their quick-cooking powers. In the recipe below, your favorite broth cooks the noodles in just 8 minutes — the same amount of time it takes to soft boil an egg to jammy-yolk perfection. This is a great eat-right-now lunch or a midday desk meal.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (950ml) vegetable or chicken broth
• 4 ounces (110g) dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 2 large eggs
• 2 baby bok choy, sliced in four pieces
• 1 carrot, shaved thinly with a vegetable peeler
• Sriracha sauce, chopped scallions and rice vinegar, to garnish

Directions

Bring a 2-quart saucepan filled with water to boil. Drop in two large eggs and set a timer for 7 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a shallow bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes to cool while you finish your broth and noodles.

Bring broth to simmer in a 5-quart saucepan. Add the rice noodles and cook until no longer al dente, roughly 8–9 minutes. Do not drain the noodles. Instead, divide the noodles between two deep bowls, then top with broth. Divide the bok choy and carrots between bowls. Peel the eggs from their shells and slice each egg in half, then divide between the bowls. Top with scallions, sriracha and rice vinegar, to taste.

Serves: 2 | Serving Size: 2 cups

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 380; Total Fat: 10g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 190mg; Sodium: 243mg; Carbohydrate: 58g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 13g

Poached eggs for dinner is delicious, but shakshuka — a North African baked egg dish — is a more exotic twist. In the recipe below, stewed chilis and greens make tasty nests for soft-set eggs to nestle in until you serve them with crusty bread or steamed rice.

Ingredients

• 1 chopped fresno chili
• 3 bunches spinach, trimmed, rinsed and divided
• 1 large bunch of Tuscan kale, center ribs and stems removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 13.5-ounce (375ml) can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups (75g) cilantro leaves with tender stems, divided
• 1 1/4 cups (35g) torn basil, divided
• 6 large eggs

Directions

Cook spinach and kale in a large pot of boiling, salted water until bright green and tender, 1–2 minutes. Immediately transfer to an ice bath. Drain and squeeze dry, then coarsely chop.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium until shimmering. Cook coriander seeds, stirring frequently, until fragrant and a shade darker, 2–3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add chopped chili, ginger, garlic and curry powder; season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatics are just starting to soften, about 3 minutes.

Transfer ginger mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until finely chopped. Add coconut milk, 1 cup cilantro, 1 cup basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 teaspoon sugar. Continue to blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt if needed.

Heat same skillet over medium (no need to wipe out). Add greens and cook, stirring to gently separate and cook off remaining liquid, 1–2 minutes. Top with curry sauce, stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and greens are very tender, 4–6 minutes.

Using a spoon, make 6 indentations in the greens, then crack an egg into each. Cover and cook, rotating pan occasionally, until egg whites are opaque and cooked through, 6–10 minutes, depending on how runny you want them. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes to give the sauce a chance to set.

Add remaining 1/2 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup basil to reserved chili-lime mixture just before serving. Season with salt and gently toss to combine.

Top shakshuka with herb salad and drizzle with oil. Serve with rice or flatbread.

Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 2 cups

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 538; Total Fat: 40g; Saturated Fat: 27g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 278mg; Sodium: 334mg; Carbohydrate: 29g; Dietary Fiber: 8g; Sugar: 5g; Protein: 21g