Easter is almost here. Dove chocolate eggs and jelly beans challenge me as a bariatric post-op. They seem so small and so innocent but are trigger foods for me. Last week while shopping at my local Sam’s Club, the family size bag of Dove Milk Chocolate Mini Eggs was calling my name. I resisted. I read the nutrition label: 9 mini eggs = 190 empty calories.

There will be no Peeps, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans or other Easter candy in our house. We will have a basket of pastel dyed hard boiled eggs. They end up in egg salad and deviled eggs. Both of these dishes are traditionally pretty unhealthy. As I have learned with other “forbidden” foods, it is really about the quantity and preparation that makes these foods allowable.

Here are some interesting facts about eggs.

• One egg contains 6 grams of protein and about 80 calories and 5 grams of fat.
• Eggs have about 212 mg. of cholesterol. Limit your daily allowance to less than 300 mg.
• An egg’s cholesterol is in the yolks. Substitute egg whites to eliminate cholesterol. Protein remains the same.
• Egg substitutes also eliminate cholesterol but retain the protein.
• Omega-3 eggs (Eggland’s Best) contain more vitamins and less saturated fat (bad fat).

A trick I learned years ago during my cardiac rehab is that you can substitute egg whites in most recipes for egg yolks. A large egg is ¼ cup liquid measure. Consider using 1 egg yolk for every 3 egg whites for a healthier recipe. Here is my favorite healthier egg salad recipe that tastes as good as its high fat, high cholesterol counterpart.

Low Fat Egg Salad

Adapted from Food.com, http://www.food.com/recipe/low-fat-egg-salad-107876

Ingredients

• 8 large hard-boiled egg whites ( discard 6 yolks)
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup red bell peppers, chopped (I often omit or use jarred pimentos.)
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
  (Use either sour cream or mayonnaise if you don’t have both in the pantry.)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• salt
• pepper

Directions

• Peel hard boiled eggs and discard 6 yolks.
• Chop the eggs and place into a medium size bowl.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients until well mixed.
• Salt and pepper to taste.