Recipes For Wicked Health III: Deviled Eggs

Easter is kind of an unsaid Egg Appreciation time of year, and rightfully so as there is much to be celebrated. Contrary to common knowledge and despite the bad rep, eggs are actually safe to consume in moderation (specifically, one egg a day on average) without single-handedly being a threat to one's cholesterol levels or pushing the boundaries of daily saturated fat allowances.  

At approximately 70 calories with about 6 grams of protein (give or take a few), it's an eggs-cellent (couldn't help myself) all natural source of nutrients for the price (aka great value). According to livestrong.com and incredibleegg.org, an egg contains nearly all essential vitamins and minerals. Add a cup of fresh orange juice and, for less than a dollar a day, you can have an all-natural multivitamin AND a meal for the day. 

So if all this information isn't compelling enough for you to reconsider throwing away all those dyed hard-boiled eggs, maybe some updated versions of classic egg recipes will inspire you to fall in love again with this egg-straordinary food item - or at least help you feed the eggxtras to reluctant picky eaters in your family.  

Parisa Valentina's Traditional Deviled Eggs  

First let's master the classic, before reinventing it.  Ok so we switched the type of pepper, added some horseradish, and reduced the amount of salt and mayonnaise - adding some creme fraiche in mayos place, without completely omitting the mayo altogether (to preserve the nostalgic taste). 

If we didn't give this old recipe a Parisa-style makeover, it would not be healthy enough to be on AliveMedicine.com or be any different then the thousands of over-salted mayo-drenched egg recipes already all over the internet.  The most common recipe is 2 parts mayo to every 1 part egg yolk, too much salt, and puts the devil in Deviled Eggs.

You will need:

Medium Sauce Pan
4-6 cups of water
Small mixing bowl

6 eggs
1 tablespoons of Hellman's mayonnaise** 

   (or your favorite mayo)

2 tablespoons of Creme Fraiche 

   (or sour cream)

1 1/2 tsps Yellow or Dijon Mustard
   (or 1/8 teaspoon Mustard Powder)
1/4 tsp Paprika 

< 1/4 tsp White Pepper
< 1/8 tsp Salt or Salt-less Seasoning

Serves 4-6

1) Bring eggs and water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cover pot and remove from heat, let sit for 12-15 minutes, then rinse eggs with cold water until cool enough to hold.*

2) Tap and roll eggs on a hard surface until the outer shell crumbles. Gently peel shell away and discard shells.

3) Slice eggs in half lengthwise, carefully remove the egg yolk without tearing the egg whites; place yolks in mixing bowl, whites on a plate.***

4) Mash egg yolks with a fork or spoon and mix with mayonnaise, creme fraiche, mustard, and half of the following: salt, white pepper, & paprika.

5) Spoon egg yolk mixture into a disposable plastic sandwich bag (into one corner of the bag), twist and knot the bag opening close, and cut the tip of your sandwich bag.

6) Pipe egg yolk filling into each egg white. Feel free to express yourself creatively with presentation (like serving on top of fresh wheat grass for an Easter dinner party)  or simply sprinkle the remaining half of your salt, pepper, & paprika on top of each egg.  

Enjoy!

*All the food blogs and TV chefs claim this is the best way to hard-boil your eggs, I've tested it and found it works for 1-3 eggs, but have not tried it with 6 or more eggs.

**NOT being sponsored by Hellman's Mayonnaise (yet anyway), just compare the list of ingredients to other mayo and you will understand why even health-conscience foodies pick Hellman's over the others - there are only 5 ingredients and they are all words you can pronounce.
***Cut a sliver off of the bottom of each egg white to help keep your eggs from slipping and sliding on your platter or plates, a little tip from top chefs in case you don't have a Deviled Egg Serving Platter (seriously, who does?)!