Recipe Rehab: Deviled Eggs

Posted on Apr 1st 2010 12:00PM by Tanya Zuckerbrot

Filed Under: Recipe Rehab with Tanya Zuckerbrot, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

My children love to color hard boiled eggs around Easter time, but what do you do with all those beautifully colored Easter eggs afterward? My grandmother always used to turn these into deviled eggs and use them as the appetizer for our holiday meal on Easter Sunday.

With the addition of mayonnaise to the egg yolk, the calories and fat are nearly doubled. One deviled egg (two halves) gets you pretty close to the American Heart Association's suggested daily limit of 300 mg of cholesterol. So, in order to enjoy a few more trips to the appetizer tray before the main meal, try my lightened up version.

I am actually going to remove the egg yolks completely from the recipe and replace them with avocado. This substitution practically eliminates the cholesterol content and adds some healthy monounsaturated fats that have been shown to help reduce cholesterol levels. Additionally, I will add some chopped up veggies to increase the fiber and enhance the flavor. I hope your family enjoys this healthy twist on deviled eggs as much as mine does.

Ingredients:

1 dozen hard boiled eggs
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk green onion, minced
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, minced (optional)
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Instructions:

1. Peel hard boiled eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and discard (or save for another recipe).

2. In a small bowl mash the avocados. Add the garlic, onion, jalapeno, lime juice and salt. Mix well to combine.

3. Fill the empty egg white halves with about two teaspoons of the avocado mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and chill until serving.

Serves: 12

Nutrition Content (per serving):

73 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein, 155 mg sodium

For other appetizer ideas, try my lightened up version of Spinach Artichoke Dip.

Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your most favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REHAB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us your recipe!

124 Comment

Tags: appetizers, avocado, cholesterol, Easter eggs, eggs, monounsaturated fat, tanya-zuckerbrot

Around the Web

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)

tarosaij 4-01-2010 @ 1:39PM

The cholesterol in egg yolks does not contribute to increased cholesterol levels in the body. This myth has gone on too long! If you throw out the yolk you are throwing out ALL of the nutrition of the egg. The recipe sounds yummy, but there is no need to toss out all of those glorious egg yolks. Just use fat free mayo or another substitute to make this a lighter appetizer.

Jim 4-02-2010 @ 10:07AM

I agree 100%..Seems noone today knows what their talking about..Eggs are completely great for all.
My only problem is why on any day especially Easter call them deviled eggs...Should be Heavens Eggs..Seem's the Devil has made his way into many Americans Hearts and Minds to the point he is a Hero...Time to wake up America..

Miss 88 4-02-2010 @ 10:11AM

AMEN! I can't believe there are still people who buy into this crazy MYTH that egg yolks are unhealthy. It's the other way around - using just the whites is a really, really, really insane idea. You need the WHOLE EGG to get the nutrition you're supposed to receive from eggs!

Miss 88 4-02-2010 @ 10:19AM

P.S. When my kids were growing up, we called them Angel Eggs, ha! ha!

Messa 4-02-2010 @ 11:38AM

Whether cholesterol in egg yokes are unhealthy really isn't the point here. This recipe sounds perfectly revolting, that's the point. Canola mayonnaise has no cholesterol, no saturated fat or trans fat and has 1/2 the fat of regular mayonnaise. Not only that, canola oil is rich in Omega 3's, which is GOOD for you. My family can't tell the difference between it and the regular stuff. There's no need to destroy a perfectly good tradition just in the name of "health". My gawd, people. Live a little.

CATHY C 4-02-2010 @ 12:09PM

Yes! I recently heard about the fact that now they are rescinding their "eggs are bad for you" statements. This is why I NEVER gave them up. I never went "hog-wild" with them but I never bought those stupid "egg-beaters" nor would I throw out the yolks like some did. (My Mother fell into that category, but then she still ate sausage gravy, figure that one out.) I've been known to eat several deviled eggs at a party. Also, hard-boiled eggs are a great little fill-me-up when you are dieting. I remember the old campaign, "the incredible, edible egg" and that's how I feel about eggs, the entire egg, lol. The clue here is "Everything in Moderation".

Julie 4-02-2010 @ 1:25PM

I used a thick plain lebanese yougart instead of mayo. No one knew the difference except me! I spiced them up up good and used the the egg yokes, too. Yummy! People ate four and five of them.

bridget 4-02-2010 @ 1:21PM

we have always called them "non-angelic eggs!"

J Rogers 4-02-2010 @ 1:42PM

I agree that the nutrition in a whole egg is excellent.
However, in the "old days" when egg yolks would shorten your life, (thank you federal government) I replaced the yolks with Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese.
A sprinkle of paprika or even red pepper over the top and nobody ever caught on that the yolks were missing.

Bobby 4-02-2010 @ 1:50PM

The egg yolk has shown to increase testosterone levels, which produces HDL (high density) cholesterol. Not only that, but there have been countless studies that show people who eat eggs regularly have lower LDL cholesterol in their blood. Above all, saturated fat is the main culprit in raising blood cholesterol levels, so this author is dead wrong.

plantfreek 4-02-2010 @ 1:56PM

I'm amazed at how many people are allowed to put incorrect information up on the web. For the less discerning readers it's a real disservice. Don't they have fact checkers?? She's taken a perfectly good food-the egg=and put it together with an avocado and it's become something completely different than a deviled egg. Wouldn't touch this recipe with a ten foot pole. If I want to take some calories out of my deviled eggs and potato salad recipes I just substitute non- or lowfat yogurt for the mayonnaise. There are ways to eat sensibly without tossing the baby out with the bathwater.

Egg Eater 4-02-2010 @ 2:11PM

I'm 62 and have been eating eggs all my life. My total cholesterol was 114 when I had it checked in January, '10. We always use low fat mayo and just enjoy the heck out of them. Avocado?? Yuk ! Happy Easter Everyone.

Larrymonty 4-02-2010 @ 2:20PM

My problem with this recipe is not with the health aspects but, rather, with the picture of the eggs themselves. Avocado is green, Jalapeno is green, lime juice is light green and green onion is green/white. How is the world does the filling in the picture end up yellow?
And for Jim, who is concerned about the "deviled" part of the egg: Deviled in this instance is a reference to spice or heat as supplied by horseradish, red pepper or, in this case, jalapeno.

Susan Waldron 4-02-2010 @ 3:37PM

This recipe sounds horrible! I love avocados but this I would not try. susanwal3

jso 4-02-2010 @ 2:44PM

It's a myth the saturated fat is bad for you, or even the evil cholesterol. The fact is almost every cell in your body can make colesterol if you don't eat enough. You need colesterol to live PEOPLE! To Bobby HDL and LDL are not Cholesterol they are proteins that carry cholesterol. What is bad is when you have type B LDL, it oxidizes due to damage to your arteries. LDL does it's job by bring cholesterol to the damaged part of your artery so it can get repaired. Unfortunaterly type B LDL is bad because when it oxidizes it causes a build up in the artery leading to heart disease. So what causes a rise in type b LDL and damage to the arteries.... It's not saturated fat, that raises your HDL... It's carbohydrates like grains and starches.

24ktgirl 4-02-2010 @ 3:38PM

Thank goodness some one out there is well informed. We also tried the recipe today and it's awful! Gratefully, I didn't serve to our Easter guests!

Diana 4-04-2010 @ 11:02AM

Wow, there sure is a lot of emotion surrounding one egg recipe. I agree, eggs in moderation are not a bad thing. However, this recipe appears to be for those who need a reduced-cholesterol diet, and does not say we all need to toss out all eggs. While this recipe does not appeal to me, I imagine those who have to eliminate all cholesterol may appreciate this on Easter.

As for those of you concerned with the use of the word deviled, my strict Baptist family never flinched when using this word, and I'm pretty sure the evil Devil was not in their hearts. Get over yourselves. Look at your own behavior, clean out your own hearts, and stop focusing on unimportant improprieties you imagine in others.

cklein529 4-02-2010 @ 6:50AM

Someone didn't do their research on eggs and cholestrol. Recently it has been reported that cholesstrol in eggs has no effect on your blood cholestrol.

karen 4-02-2010 @ 10:39AM

There was a recent article on AOL about just this maybe a week or so ago. That all the cholesterol in Eggs is the good kind so eat as many as you like. They were wondering where the myth came from and why it is so widely circulated today still, and here they are circulating it AGAIN! I recall the myth coming from Doctors. I remember our family doctor restricting eggs back in the 60's to try to get my parents to eat healthier. I suppose if you try this recipe, instead of throwing out the good stuff you could use it for some kind of egg salad sandwiches or something... Hey maybe just make the whole egg into egg salad then use the avocado part of this recipe on the sandwich as well! Should be tasty that way and not waste the good part of the egg.

Betty Sekhri 4-02-2010 @ 11:43AM

There is so much good in egg yolks, I can't believe I have been depriving myself of them for years ever since it came out that it contains too much cholesterol. Thank heaven it now appears that it is now safe to eat them. As much as I like avocados, I still prefer to use the egg yolk in deviled eggs.