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Alarm goes off. Get up. Get kids up. Get dressed. Get kids dressed. Put together lunches. Get soccer ball. Get ballet slippers. Get…breakfast? Oh yeah, it’s back-to-school season.  We know you’re busy, but don’t forget that “the most important meal of the day” phrase is no joke.

Studies show if you skip breakfast even once in a while, it’ll make you feel hungry and less satisfied. No matter your morning routine, you can make time for breakfast every day. Seriously!  Here’s how:

• If you’re a Breakfast Skipper: Even the most hectic of schedules have room for a quick bite, especially if you take a little bit of time during the weekend to whip up a batch of breakfast burritos.  Put them in plastic bags and pop them in the freezer.  In the morning, a quick zap in the microwave gives your kiddos a handheld meal on the ride to school.  Muffin frittatas and hard-boiled eggs are also easy grab-and-go options.
• If you’re an Early Bird: Some kids (and parents) are up before the rooster crows! That is awesome. Bravo, family. Make the morning special with a quick hot breakfast around the kitchen table.  Breakfast flatbreads are nutritious and ready in 15 minutes. What kid doesn’t want pizza for breakfast? Toad-in-a-hole, eggs in a basket…whatever you call it – it’s also a  kid favorite and a great way to add in more healthy ingredients. Mix it up in the morning with the Nacho Toad in a Hole.
• If you’re a Late Riser: Some kids aren’t built for the morning. Keep it simple with easy recipes you can make in the microwave.  Coffee Cup Scrambles deliver a hot breakfast in less than two minutes.  An Egg, Canadian Bacon and Cheese Sandwich takes less than five minutes to make and offers the portability you need if you’re heading out the door.

What’s your favorite back-to-school breakfast? How do you get the kids ready in an organized fashion? Leave your comments below!

Today in our Test Kitchen, we’re tackling egg poaching.  Poached eggs are typically known for having tender soft whites, gooey yolks and  for being difficult to make. We won’t argue with you – traditional egg poaching takes some practice, and some time. Time you probably don’t have on most week days.

Enter microwave poached eggs! Too good to be true? Perhaps, but we went for it anyway. Here’s what we did:

• Take a microwaveable glass measuring cup and fill it with ½ cup of water
• Crack a large egg and gently place it into the water in the glass cup
• Microwave for approximately 50 seconds. If the whites look runny, zap for 2-3 more seconds at a time, until desired consistency is reached
• Gently strain water out of cup (you can use a slotted spoon to catch the egg)
• Place on food of choice (we love to top a salad with a poached egg – not just because it’s delicious but there’s some pretty good health reasons for doing it, too!

Our verdict? Eggceptable – with some caveats. Microwaves are finicky, with lots of different cook times for the perfect poach. There’s no getting around that. Make sure your egg is completely covered by the water, otherwise the egg could explode(no one wants to scrape egg whites off their microwave door). But with a little bit of practice, you can make a pretty great egg.

It’s also important to know this style of poaching does not exactly deliver on the pillowy, cloud-like quality a traditional poach can get you. It’s more of a, “I want a poached egg on my avocado toast while I’m running out of the house” presentation.  Same great taste, though! Try it out yourself and leave a comment below on how it worked for you!

The recipes and/or methods tested within this blog post have been created/tested by American Egg Board staff members and are provided for informational purposes only. The recipes/methods are intended for residential use by persons having appropriate technical skill, with proper and sanitary kitchen equipment and conditions. Use of these recipes and/or methods are at your own discretion and risk. We assume no obligation or liability, and make no warranties, with respect to these recipes and/or methods.

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Every so often, we crave an egg dish or sandwich that we didn’t make – hard to believe, right? Well, it’s true and that’s exactly why we wandered into the Eastman Egg Company – a downtown Chicago food truck turned “brick and mortar” specializing in the almighty egg sandwich.

We know that sometimes making your own breakfast in the morning just doesn’t happen. That’s where the Eastman Egg Company comes in.  They know what you want in the morning; food that is flavorful, fast, and fresh.  They have the formula nailed.  They get 2,400 eggs delivered weekly fresh from the farm.  They get bread delivered daily, and make all sauces in house.  Every sandwich is made to order.  Seriously. Everything is made fresh and most importantly, it’s made fast.  You can get your sandwich in less than five minutes!

The actual sandwiches are nothing short of incredible. There’s the Eastman, which has the signature omelet style egg (like all of their sandwiches, it’s a fluffy egg that cooks quickly), ham, cucumber, sweet chili sauce (homemade with red peppers, chilies and garlic), on ciabatta. It’s crisp with a little spice sandwiched between a pillowy roll. If you prefer a veggie-loaded sandwich, try the Fairfax with red peppers, spinach, cheese and homemade green goddess sauce (fresh herbs mixed with yogurt).  The toppings are colorful and tangy, and highlight the egg perfectly. How’s that for a high-quality protein breakfast to start your day?

The morning rush is hectic. It’s hard to make time for a filling breakfast that keeps you going.  A five minute break in the day to enjoy it is totally worth it.

Do you have a favorite breakfast sandwich? Tell us in the comments and if you ever find yourself at 23 North Wacker in Chicago, do yourself a favor and get your hands on an Eastman Egg Company sandwich for breakfast or lunch!

Diets.  It seems like every couple of months a new trend sprouts up. How can you figure out which diet is good, and which diet is a flash in the pan? More importantly, how can you figure out what diet works for you?

While food fads come and go, eating more fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes and grains is always in style.  Additionally, it’s been shown pairing raw veggies with eggs can improve the nutritive value of a salad, in more than one way (details here). Yeah, just like your mom, we’re telling you to eat your vegetables.

Luckily we know how to jazz up the foods you weren’t fond of as a kid.  Take spinach; add tomatoes and a hard-boiled egg.  You’ll enjoy it so much, people will think you’re Popeye! Topping a salad with poached eggs is another great option because the yolk is like a built-in sauce. Here are some other delicious salads that #putaneggonit:

• Asparagus Salad Topped with Poached Eggs
• BLT Breakfast Salad with Soft Boiled Eggs and Avocado (Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner)
• Quinoa with Edemame, Parm and Egg (Spoiler alert: there are avocados too!)
• Spring Salad of Asparagus, Ramps, Snap Peas, and Peas, with Poached Egg and Lemon Zest Vinaigrette (Literally a mouthful)

There are thousands of ways to cook an egg. Did you know a chef’s hat (officially called a toque) is said to have a pleat for each way eggs can be cooked? We love to find out how people are cooking eggs these days. That’s why we’re kicking off our Incredible Egg Test Kitchen, where we plan to explore the latest trends in egg cookery and beyond. Some we might “egg-cel” at. Others might be a fail. What counts is that we have fun and maybe divulge some egg knowledge in the process.

In our inaugural edition, we’re trying to steam eggs in place of a good hard-boil. This technique was shared on several popular food sites. There’s nothing wrong with hard boiling – in fact, we love it – but steamed eggs are supposed to be fail-proof when it comes to peeling. That should be music to anyone’s ears! We also hear steamed eggs are supposed to deliver on tender whites and creamy yolks. We had to take a crack at it.

Here’s what you need to test this recipe:

• A pot, steamer and eggs. We put an inch of water in the pot, then placed the steamer inside.
• Next, we brought the water to a boil. A great thing about this method is it is quick: it doesn’t take long to get the water to a boil.
• We gently placed six eggs into the steamer and covered the pot.
• After 12 minutes, we removed the eggs from the pot and put them straight into a bowl of ice water (this makes the egg stop cooking).
• Then we peeled each egg under running water.  As promised, it was incredibly easy to peel the shell.

Our verdict? Eggcellent! We couldn’t get enough of those tender egg whites, creamy yolks and the fact that they looked flawless after peeling ‘em.

We’re curious – what’s your foolproof method for hard-boiling eggs? Have you ever tried steaming them? Let us know in the comments and while you’re at it, take a look at all the delicious ways you can use up those hard-boiled eggs, like egg salad, deviled eggs and beyond.

The recipes and/or methods tested within this blog post have been created/tested by American Egg Board staff members and are provided for informational purposes only. The recipes/methods are intended for residential use by persons having appropriate technical skill, with proper and sanitary kitchen equipment and conditions. Use of these recipes and/or methods are at your own discretion and risk. We assume no obligation or liability, and make no warranties, with respect to these recipes and/or methods.

You may have noticed that the price of eggs is going up. The primary reason is that Avian Influenza (AI), also known as bird flu, hit the U.S. In fact, more than 12 percent of the egg laying flock has been affected, making the supply of eggs tighter. We’re here to clear up a few things and most importantly, we want you to know:

• The shell egg industry remains largely intact and wholesale egg prices have already started to moderate and come down.
• There is also no evidence that there will be a shortage of eggs at your local supermarket.
• AI cannot be transmitted through properly cooked eggs, so cook basic egg recipes until the yolk and white are firm and cook or bake any dishes containing eggs until they reach 160º F.
• Lastly, according to the Center for Disease Control, the strains of this disease have a low risk of being transmitted to humans and no human infections with these viruses have been detected.

While prices may be higher than usual for some, eggs are still a great value (only 17 cents apiece), and provide one of the most economical sources of high-quality protein.

For more information about AI, you can visit the Egg Safety Center as well as our Avian Influenza page. We’re also here to help answer your questions and try to clear up any misconceptions. Feel free to reach out to us via email or in the comments section.

Eggs are small, but mighty.  They are a nutritional powerhouse, a great value and extremely versatile. When it comes to getting key nutrients in one place, it’s hard to top the egg.

The six grams of high-quality protein in eggs is hard to beat. It helps keep you fuller longer, so the person you’re sitting next to isn’t hearing your stomach growling an hour or two after breakfast.

And what’s better than cutting into a delicious poached or fried egg to see a creamy golden yolk? So tasty! Did you know yolks are also a nutrient goldmine? The yolk is the source for 100 percent of the Iron, Choline (an essential nutrient for brain development), Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, and Zinc found in the egg. Other incredible nutrients in the yolk are folate, selenium, and phosphorus. Did we mention eggs contain no carbs or sugar unlike yogurt or cereal?

Eggs pack a punch with nutrition, but won’t pinch your wallet. Compared to other popular breakfast options, eggs cost approximately 17 cents per serving.  Are you ready to heat up a skillet and take a crack at the Incredible Egg? Don’t be shy, tell us why you eat eggs in the comments – we want to know!

Welcome to Sunny Side Up – the Incredible Egg Blog! From the bottom of our yolk, thanks for visiting us. We are thrilled to be your all-around resource for eggs and will be shelling out recipes, tips, fun egg facts and doing our best to answer any eggcellent questions you come up with!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to the Incredible Egg. They’re not just for the weekend anymore! Stick with us and we’ll show you fast and easy ways to wake up to eggs every morning. We’re also inviting you to help us stay on top of cool cooking trends by telling us what you’ve seen. We’ll test them out –to the best of our egg ability and share results! We hope it inspires you to try eggs in a new way.

Speaking of trends, there’s lots going on in the nutrition world and sometimes it can be confusing.  We’re here to help. We’ll work to share informative nutrition information and then try to show you how to make it happen in your everyday life with useful recipes and tips.

Besides sharing delicious recipes and interesting facts, we do some other work here that you may find rather…incredible. Check in to see what other programs we do with eggs and the egg industry – from teacher lesson plans to taking a closer look at egg farms and farmers across the country.

Expect to wake up to eggs and learn something new. Expect to get a little hungry. Lastly, expect some egg puns. Get eggcited, you know we are.