Eggs for Dinner: Why Breakfast Shouldn’t Have All the Fun

SOMEWHERE along the way, we decided eggs belonged to breakfast. Poached eggs on toast at 8 am seem perfectly normal. Scrambled eggs before work barely warrant a second thought. Yet serve eggs at 7 pm and they suddenly need an explanation. Perhaps they needn’t.

Eggs are quick to cook, nutritious and wonderfully adaptable. They also work with whatever vegetables, herbs or leftovers happen to be in the fridge. That makes them particularly useful on nights when cooking feels like one job too many.

If the evening meal happens to be an omelette? Even better.

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Why save eggs for breakfast?

There is no nutritional reason to restrict eggs to mornings. Around the world, eggs appear in meals throughout the day.

They can become curries, soups, rice dishes, salads, frittatas and savoury tarts. They are folded through noodles and tucked into sandwiches. In Japan, eggs appear in everything from ramen to rice bowls.

Yet Australian food habits still tend to associate eggs strongly with breakfast and brunch. That’s partly tradition. It’s also why an omelette can feel like the perfect loophole.

Call it scrambled eggs and you might think breakfast. Add mushrooms, spinach and feta, fold everything neatly into an omelette, and dinner is served.

Are eggs actually good for you?

Eggs pack an impressive amount of nutrition into a small package.

They provide high-quality protein and contain all nine essential amino acids. Eggs also supply vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12, selenium, iodine and vitamin D. One large egg generally contains around six to seven grams of protein.

Protein helps maintain and repair body tissues, including muscle. It can also help us feel satisfied after eating. That’s one reason eggs can work well as part of a balanced evening meal.

Rather than making the egg do all the work, though, think about what accompanies it. Add vegetables, wholegrains or a generous salad to create a more substantial dinner. This approach also fits comfortably with the protein-focused principles found in the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

If you’re interested in that style of eating, I’ve written previously about the CSIRO Diet on Jocelyn Magazine. There are also several CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet books available through Amazon Australia for recipes and meal-planning ideas.

Want to explore the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet?

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet takes a higher-protein approach to healthy eating, with practical recipes and meal ideas for everyday life. If you’d like to explore the program further, browse the range of CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet books on Amazon Australi

Are brown eggs healthier than white eggs?

Brown eggs can look a little more wholesome than white ones. Perhaps their earthy shells have simply benefited from very good natural-food marketing.

Nutritionally, however, shell colour makes little difference. Brown eggs aren’t inherently healthier than white eggs. The shell colour is mainly determined by the breed of hen that laid the egg.

What can affect an egg’s nutritional profile is the hen’s diet and farming conditions. Some eggs, for example, are produced with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Shell colour isn’t a reliable guide to those differences. Nor does a darker yolk automatically mean an egg is more nutritious. Yolk colour is strongly influenced by pigments in the hen’s diet.

So, when choosing eggs, look beyond brown versus white. Freshness, farming method, nutritional claims and your own preferences are more useful considerations.

Eggshell and yolk colours can vary, but colour alone isn’t a measure of nutritional quality. The breed and diet of the hen play much bigger roles.

What about eggs and cholesterol?

This is probably one of the most persistent questions surrounding eggs.

For years, eggs attracted suspicion because their yolks contain dietary cholesterol. Advice has evolved as researchers have learned more about cholesterol and heart health. For most healthy people, eggs can form part of a healthy, balanced diet.

The bigger picture matters. What you eat alongside your eggs can be just as important. An omelette packed with vegetables is a very different meal from eggs accompanied by heavily processed meats.

Anyone with particular health conditions should follow advice from their doctor or accredited dietitian. For the rest of us, eggs can be a convenient source of protein within a varied diet.

An easy omelette for dinner

An omelette is one of those dishes that sounds more complicated than it is. The trick is not to overload it. Use a few good ingredients, have everything ready before you begin, and cook it gently. Dinner can be on the plate within 15 minutes.

Easy spinach, mushroom and feta omelette

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 2–3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk or water, optional
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• A handful of baby spinach
• 30g feta, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon olive oil or a small knob of butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley, chives or other fresh herbs, optional
• Green salad, tomatoes or wholegrain toast, to serve

Method

1. Heat half the oil or butter in a small frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened and lightly golden.
3. Add the spinach and cook briefly until wilted.
4. Transfer the vegetables to a plate.
5. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk until the yolks and whites are combined.
6. Add the milk or water if using, then season with pepper.
7. Add the remaining oil or butter to the pan and reduce the heat slightly.
8. Pour in the eggs and gently move the cooked edges towards the centre.
9. Tilt the pan so uncooked egg flows into the spaces.
10. When the top is almost set, add the mushrooms, spinach and feta to one half.
11. Fold the other half over the filling.
12. Cook briefly, then slide the omelette onto a plate.

Serve immediately with salad, tomatoes or a slice of wholegrain toast.

How do chefs make a good omelette?

Omelettes are simple, but a few small details make a noticeable difference.

Choose the right pan. A small non-stick frying pan makes a two or three-egg omelette easier to control.

Don’t beat the eggs endlessly. Whisk until the whites and yolks are combined. You don’t need to turn them into foam.

Watch the heat. Very high heat can toughen eggs before the centre cooks. Medium or medium-low heat gives you more control.

Cook the filling first. Mushrooms and other watery vegetables can make an omelette soggy. Cook them before adding the eggs.

Go easy on the filling. This is an omelette, not an edible suitcase. Too much filling makes folding difficult.

Add cheese towards the end. It only needs enough time to soften or melt.

Don’t wait for the egg to look completely dry. Residual heat continues cooking it after it leaves the pan.

Above all, have your ingredients prepared before the eggs hit the pan. Omelettes cook quickly and aren’t inclined to wait while you chop mushrooms.

How can you turn an omelette into dinner?

The beauty of an omelette is that the recipe above is really only a starting point.

Have leftover roast pumpkin? Add it with feta and spinach. A lonely tomato in the fridge can join basil and mozzarella. Smoked salmon works beautifully with dill and a little cream cheese.

Try mushrooms with thyme and goat’s cheese. Add capsicum, zucchini or asparagus when they’re in season. Leftover roast vegetables are particularly useful. They have already been cooked, so dinner becomes even faster.

You can also take inspiration from other cuisines. Try tomato, feta and oregano for Mediterranean flavours. Add chilli, coriander and avocado for something brighter.

The main rule remains the same: don’t cram everything into one omelette. Choose two or three complementary ingredients and let the eggs hold them together.

Are eggs good when you’re cooking for one?

Very much so. Many recipes are frustratingly designed for four or six people. An omelette scales down without requiring mathematics or three days of leftovers. Two or three eggs create a meal for one. Double the ingredients if you’re cooking for two.

Eggs also have another advantage for smaller households. They can turn odds and ends from the fridge into an intentional meal. Half a capsicum suddenly has a purpose. So does yesterday’s spinach or that small piece of feta.

That can help reduce food waste while keeping dinner interesting.

Eggs: inexpensive, easy and surprisingly versatile

With grocery costs continuing to matter, simple ingredients deserve another look.

Egg prices vary, but eggs can still provide useful protein without requiring a large quantity of meat. They also keep reasonably well in the refrigerator and require very little preparation.

That’s handy for busy households. It’s equally useful when you’ve been away and the fridge is looking decidedly uninspired. Keep eggs, a few vegetables and some cheese on hand and you’re rarely far from dinner.

So, can you eat eggs for dinner?

Of course. There was never a rule saying eggs had to disappear after brunch.

A vegetable omelette can be nutritious, satisfying and quick to prepare. It can also rescue those evenings when takeaway seems dangerously tempting.

Better still, eggs invite improvisation. Use what’s in season. Use what’s already in the fridge. Add a salad, vegetables or wholegrain toast and call it dinner.

Breakfast has monopolised the egg for quite long enough. Spring seems an excellent time to crack that habit.