Angel Eggs and Easter Food Plans

Easter is Sunday, and for most people celebrating the holiday, there's sure to be a ton of scrumptious food, tempting mindful eaters to throw caution to the bunny rabbits.  But that's not my plan.

This is the first big family-type holiday we're celebrating since we started our plan. (Side note... I hate the word "plan" used in context of weight loss.  Much like my friend Audra hates the word "craft" used in the context of acting.  But sometimes there's just no better word for it.)

So Tom and I have crafted a springy menu full of fresh, healthy, and still delicious foods we'll be serving for Easter.  One of these includes a new recipe I've been building for the occasion.

Growing up, holidays meant a veritable groaning board full of food.  (Do you know why a buffet is called a groaning board? Because the table wood was so heavily laden, the planks would groan.  Much like the buffet-eaters would grown afterward, I imagine.  When your tables and guests are groaning from food, it might be a sign that you should scale back.)  Easter - aside from the choco-fest in our baskets - was never without my mother's signature deviled eggs.  Which I loved.  But when made with full-fat mayonnaise, could add up quickly if you didn't limit yourself to one egg.

So this year, I have created a new recipe that I call Angel Eggs.  A few simple ingredient swaps preserve the tangy flavor and creamy texture, while removing 75% of the fat and 50% of the cholesterol.  Not to mention retaining 100% of the protein.

Start with a few simple ingredients. (Do use 6 eggs in total.)

Peel and halve the boiled eggs. Discard 3 yolks, and mash the other 3.
Once fully mashed, stir in the Greek yogurt and mustard until smooth,
followed by the dill relish (if dill is your style. If not, go sweet or skip it!)

Chop the chives and fold to combine. (I love herb scissors, by the way. Don't they look cool?)

Here's a helpful trick - whether or not you have bakery frosting tips, you can use a regular
plastic zippy bag to stuff your eggs. Simply snip off a corner (just large enough
to insert the tip, if you're using one) and spoon the filling into the bag.

This makes for an neat and easy stuffing process, though you can
scoop and spoon the filling that way if you prefer.

Garnish with a few more chopped chives.

And here's a fun tip... if you need to transport the eggs, but have no fancy-pants
deviled egg carrier, you can use baking liners to keep them upright!

Ingredients

• 6 eggs (using 12 white halves, but only 6 whole yolks)
• 2 tb fat free plain Greek yogurt (the thick consistency is preferable to regular yogurt.)
• 1/2 tb dijon mustard
• 1 tb dill relish
• 1.5 tb chives (with 1 tsp reserved for garnish.)

And check out the nutrition facts!

Along with the Angel Eggs, we'll be serving tilapia en papillote with lemon and thyme, fresh snap pea pods with mint, a citrus-and-greens salad, a reduced-calorie version of my mother's potato salad (using, you guessed it, Greek yogurt) and lemon-basil sorbet for dessert. Don't you wish you were Eastering at our house?

I'm also allowing myself one Easter treat this weekend, which I will be enjoying at our friends' Easter party on Saturday.  I'm a sucker for Cadbury Creme Eggs... but one is all I ever really need.  And it turns out, as Easter candy goes, one Creme Egg is 150 calories. A decent portion for a treat.  And dammit, I am going to enjoy it!

Before I bid you adieu for the holiday weekend, I'll share part 4 of my week of daily food blogging:

Thurssday 4/20/11 - total 1429 calories
Breakfast: 1/2 cup fat free greek yogurt, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup honey oat cereal, 1 boiled egg
Lunch: Bowl of homemade noodle stir-fry (2 oz soba noodles, 1/2 bell pepper, 1/4 onion, 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp fresh ginger, 1/2 tb light soy sauce), 7 scallops, 2 cups steamed broccoli with lemon, 1 navel orange
Pre-Slimmons Fuel: 1/2 cup fat-free no-sugar-added frozen yogurt from Menchie's, 1/4 cup kiwi, 1/4 cup blueberries
Dinner: 2 roasted carrots, 1/2 whole wheat pita, 2 tb garlic hummus, 1 wrap sandwich (low-carb tortilla, 1 tsp veganaise, 2 cherry tomatoes, 2 oz grilled chicken, 1 oz brie)
Evening snack: 1/4 cup honey oat cereal
Beverages: 64 oz water, 8 oz skim milk


Have a lovely Easter/Passover/Spring weekend, everyone - and keep taking care of you!