Eggs are the one thing that has stayed in my diet no matter what type of plan I’m following, whether it be low carb or vegetarian.  They are the one food item that will probably forever keep me from ever considering veganism because they’re just too damn versatile, too damn packed with protein and nutrition, and too damn tasty.

They’re great on their own or as an omelet stuffed with meat (heh…heh…), they’re great soft-boiled, poached, fried, scrambled, they’re great as a coating, as a thickener, as a binder, and so on. Eggs really are a perfect food.

The one thing I do try to look for are locally sourced eggs, preferably directly from a small farm. I am extremely lucky to live in a part of this country where I’m surrounded by farmlands and, a lot of those smaller farms also sell eggs that come from chickens and ducks that just cruise around free as…well, free as a bird.

The immediate reward is that you get an egg that’s just…better. The egg has a nice, dark, thick yolk with a richer flavor. This is mostly due to the fact that the chicken is allowed to roam around and eat bugs and other things that are more natural to their diet.

The big picture reward is that you know you are in no way supporting an industry that keeps their chickens in god awful conditions which would give you nightmares if you actually looked into it all. I won’t link any of it here, I’m not here to shame you into buying local, but, if you’re interested and/or had no idea how barbaric the food industry can be, do a cursory search on Google. Be prepared to feel like hurling yourself off a cliff. I don’t spook easy, but it’s fucking gross.

That being said, if you don’t live near a farm that sells their eggs to the locals, which I know many folks don’t (I didn’t until recently), try to aim towards the eggs from farms that advertise free range or better (sometimes cage-free is still…weirdly awful). Again, not only are your actions supporting better sources, your eggs are going to be better FOR you as a result. It’s nice to know exactly where your food is coming from and what it’s eating before you eat IT. Because it really does make a difference.

If someone would have told me this in my 20s, I would have told them to fuck off because doing this almost always means you’re spending more money on groceries, and I was broke as fuck. So I get that issue, too. Totally.

Do your best, that’s all that we can do.

P.S. If you ARE able to buy from a small farm and they offer them? Seriously, man: Try duck eggs. They’re a bit richer, usually bigger, and they are more yolk than whites. They are my new go-to when I can source them.

P.P.S. If you have massive cholesterol issues, talk with your doctor and/or check in with them after a few weeks of doing this Keto thing and see how you’re holding up.  I’d hate to think that anyone has to break up with eggs, but sometimes them’s the breaks.