Eggs Benedict – the favorite breakfast and brunch of many! There is hardly anyone who doesn’t like eggs benedict, and for that, we blame the hollandaise sauce. But, like most delightful meals, eggs benedict is high in calories and high in fat.
However, the dish also contains very little protein, minerals, and vitamins – so it is safe to say it is very unhealthy. Therefore, consuming eggs benedict is at your own risk if you are making a weight loss effort.
How Are Eggs Benedict Made?
The preparation of eggs benedict requires a very thoughtful chef. To prepare the perfect eggs benedict, you’ll need perfectly poached eggs, crispy and warm bacon, hot muffins, and creamy hollandaise sauce.
Eggs benedict are very famous across America. It is a traditional breakfast/brunch dish that originates from New York. All you’ll need is English muffins, bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce.
To make the best eggs benedict or any related foods containing poached eggs, you may need to concentrate strictly and follow the recipe.
You can start with poaching the eggs. Even if it seems like an easy job, not everyone gets it the first time. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t feel discouraged if you fail; poached eggs require practice and experience. One serving size includes two poached eggs.
Here are the steps to perfectly poached eggs:
- Pour water into a large pot, and wait until it boils;
- Once it is boiled, reduce the heat to the lowest temperature;
- Crack the eggs in a separate cup, then gently transfer them into the water;
- Cook for two minutes for soft eggs or three/four minutes for hard ones;
- Remove the egg with caution with a spoon and serve it.
In addition, we have a few tricks to help you out:
- Try to find fresh eggs – the fresher the egg, the better the results.
- Don’t boil the water thoroughly – once you notice a couple of bubbles, it is time to place the eggs inside.
- Pour a bit of vinegar into the boiling water.
- Never crack the eggs directly in the boiling water – use a smaller bowl, and place the eggs in the water once they are broken.
- When transferring the eggs from the bowl into the pot, be extremely careful and gentle.
- Use a timer – ensure you don’t leave the eggs in the water for longer than four minutes.
- It is essential to drain the eggs well – you can even use a slice of bread instead of paper towels.
Once you have your perfectly poached eggs, it is time for the hollandaise sauce. This sauce takes a bit to prepare, but there is an alternative. If you have a blender and follow these steps, you will have a hollandaise sauce ready in no time!
- Start by blending three egg yolks for half a minute;
- Gently melt ½ cup of butter – you can use a microwave and melt the butter at a low temperature for one minute; You need to make sure that the butter is not very hot, so it starts sputtering!
- Keep the blender running at slow speed, and slowly add the melted butter;
- Once the sauce blends well, stop the blender and pour it into a separate bowl;
- If the sauce looks thin or greasy, it is broken, so you must try again.
After you make the hollandaise sauce and the poached eggs, you can cook the bacon on medium heat for about 8 minutes. Toast the English muffins, then slice them into two pieces.
Cover each piece of the muffin with a slice of bacon and poached egg, and pour the hollandaise sauce on the top.
Voila! You have a perfect American breakfast.
Is Eggs Benedict A Healthy Breakfast?
It depends; this tasty meal and other related foods are considered unhealthy, mainly because of the hollandaise sauce. The sauce has a lot of calories, around 80 per tablespoon, and 5 grams of saturated and 4 grams of unsaturated fat.
Perfect “Eggs benedict” requires around four tablespoons of sauce, which equals more than 300 calories and 20 grams of saturated fat. Dietarians believe that anyone on a diet regimen shouldn’t include more than 13 grams of saturated fat. Since the hollandaise sauce only has around 20 of those, eggs benedict is not considered a healthy meal.
How Many Calories In Eggs Benedict?
Eggs benedict dishes can contain between 500 and 800 calories. This mainly depends on how many eggs, bacon, and butter you use for the hollandaise sauce. On average, in a 100-gram serving size, there are 270 calories.
These calories are above the average serving size and the daily values a healthy person should consume.
That being said, an average serving size of 200 calories that contains two eggs contains at least 500 calories. If you include eggs, Canadian bacon, one English muffin, and four tablespoons of sauce, the meal will have nearly 800 calories. According to these nutrition facts, the eggs benedict, and all poached eggs related types, don’t have good nutritional values.
These 700 calories have around 60 grams of fats, 40 grams of carbs, 20 g of protein, 1 gram of dietary fiber, and 4% of vitamin c. The total fat in one serving size of eggs benedict includes 4 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 15 grams of monounsaturated fat. Therefore, most of the total fat in one benedict serving comes from saturated fat.
These nutritional values are not great for anyone making a weight loss effort. So, if you are on a diet regimen, you shouldn’t be consuming eggs benedict or related foods in good faith.
FAQ
Are Eggs Benedict Recommended For Weight Loss?
No, eggs benedict is not considered a healthy breakfast choice; therefore, it is not recommended for weight loss.
Is There A Healthier Alternative For Eggs Benedict?
Yes, there are many alternatives for healthier eggs benedict. Since most of the unhealthy, saturated fats are contained in the butter, substituting the hollandaise sauce with avocado is a healthier alternative.
Aside from the avocado hollandaise sauce, you can also replace the English muffins with sweet potatoes. This healthier alternative contains 250 calories, 3g of saturated fat, 18 g of protein, and 8 grams of carbohydrates.
How Many Calories In Eggs Benedict If You Remove The Sauce?
Without the hollandaise sauce, one serving size of eggs benedict will have around 590 calories.
Conclusion
Eggs benedict are delicious but unhealthy breakfast choices. The hollandaise sauce, which is merely an essential ingredient, contains high calories and saturated fats, making eggs benedict a high-fat and unhealthy meal.
However, there is an easy way to lower the 800 calories per serving size. You can achieve that by cutting off the butter and the English muffin and replacing them with healthier alternatives such as avocado or sweet potatoes.
