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Best Snacks - Healthy Low Calorie Snack Foods - Hard Boiled Eggs

Make some hard boiled eggs and have a quick high protein snack on hand at anytime! Hard boiled eggs are an excellent source of protein, simple to prepare and each one only has about 76 calories. Eggs are also very nutritious. They don't just contain fat (yolk) and protein (white). In fact, they contain a wide array of essential vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins

• A: good for the skin and growth.
  
• D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
  
• E: protects cells from oxidation.
  
• B1: helps properly release energy from carbohydrates.
  
• B2: helps release energy from protein and fat.
  
• B6: promotes the metabolism of protein.
  
• B12: an essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibers and blood cells.

Minerals

• Iron: essential in the creation of red blood cells.
  
• Zinc: good for enzyme stability and essential in sexual maturation.
  
• Calcium: most important mineral in the strengthening bones & teeth.
  
• Iodine: controls thyroid hormones.
  
• Selenium: like vitamin E, it protects cells from oxidation.

Not only do eggs contain the highest quality source of protein available but they also contain almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by humans. In fact, egg protein is of such high quality that it is used as the standard by which other proteins are compared. Eggs have a biological value (efficacy with which protein is used for growth) of 93.7%. Comparable values are 84.5% for milk, 76% for fish, and 74.3% for beef. Eggs really are the best protein money can buy, and it has all those other valuable vitamins and minerals too.

The yolk is extremely high in cholesterol, containing more than two-thirds of the recommended daily limit of 300 mg! However, the yolk has many health strengths necessary for immunity, healthy skin, nerves and vision. The yolk contains good amounts of B Vitamins, Vitamin A, iron and riboflavin.

Egg whites are very low in calories, have no fat, no cholesterol, and are loaded with protein. The egg white is less likely than the yolk to harbor dangerous salmonella, but due to the health risks that raw eggs present, consumption is highly discouraged by medical experts.

Directions For Making Hard Boiled Eggs

• Place the eggs in a saucepan with just enough cold tap water to cover them by one inch.
  
  
• Bring water to a boil.
  
  
• Promptly reduce heat to low medium and cook for 10 minutes.
  
  
• Remove saucepan from heat
  
  
• Using a ladle or slated spoon, place each egg into a bowl of iced water to chill.
  
  
• Chill for a few minutes until egg is completely cooled.
  
  
• To peel, crack the egg and roll on a counter top to loosen the peel.
  
  
• Dice and serve.

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