With milk, or without?

My preferred style of scrambling eggs involves an awful lot of butter, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. This is not, however, the healthiest of ways to start the day.

Does anybody have any ways to make tasty scrambled eggs without gaining 3lb in a single meal?

Oh goodness Harriet, never milk! Or cream. Eurgh...

The trick as far as I'm concerned is not to overcook the eggs. I use a little butter, but not lashings. The eggs will cook in the pan after you've taken it off the heat, and it's easier to put back on the heat to get the right consistency. It is possible to do them in the micro, without butter, but this is labour intensive - cooking for 20 secs at a time, taking out, beating up, pinging again for 20mins....

In my view eggs should be slightly forming up, but still have a lovely goey consistency. Perfect with smoked salmon and a piece of pumpernickel, and defo not a 3lb gainer!

I am most definitely joining you as part of the anti-milk brigade... and also take the eggs off the heat just before they're cooked, letting the heat of the pan finish the job. It's just a butter replacement which I need...

I add water to the eggs when I beat them and then cook with a hint of olive oil

I have found that changing to proper free range eggs has made all the difference in the world. So much more flavourful that the supermarket ones! (It helps that my prospective Ma-in-law has chickens! LOL)

Now, I don't use any butter at all; just cook them very slowly with pepper and whatever other spices take your fancy. Definitely remove from the heat.

I also find that a little red or yellow pepper 'dry fryed' and added to them just prior to serving peps the taste up nicely!

Such a basic dish, and yet so many variations...

My husband cooks the eggs until they are solid, like rubber, and adds lots of pepper. I like them with a splash of milk and just about to set.

When Delia did them on her cookery show they were practically raw!

Cook lightly with a little low salt lurpak. Add some tarragon for flavour.
Thats all you need.

I know its probably frowned on but I do mine in the microwave! Squirt a bit of frylight or similar in a pyrex jug, add eggs, bit of milk and seasoning, cook just for a minute and stir, and keep doing in 30 sec bursts until done - it will cook as quick as the toaster works, and its my weekend treat - I get free range eggs from a friend! Quick, and saves on the washing up.

As long as you don't over-do it - then you spend the next week soaking and scrubbing your pyrex jug!

I'm glad you're discussing eggs - I was planning on eggs for us for lunch tomorrow. Son likes omelette (with laverbread when available) and daughter and I like poached a la Delia. I got the Delia 'How to Cook' book at a charity book sale last Autumn and what a bargain for a £1.

I know it's apparently not good but I love runny yolks on wholegrain (the more seeds the better) chunky toast! We have a local farm that does delicious free range eggs but 2 friends locally are getting chickens. When we stayed on a farm the eggs the children collected from the chickens were delicious.

BTW what I love on my scrambled eggs is a touch of (low fat?) grated cheese.

Well, we all had scrambled eggs for lunch today and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I decided to add a dash of both cold water and skimmed milk and cooked the mixture in a wok. It was delicious on granary toast (no butter) with ground black pepper on the top! Thanks for the suggestions.

There's nothing better than a really fresh egg, straight from the hen. You can tell the difference.

Talking of eggs I need some more, I'm down to my last one. Have been having a few frittatas of late, and taking some into work for lunch as well. I suppose I could bung it in the oven if I had it on for some other reason.

I've got 10 eggs to use before next Wednesday! Think I'll go and make some egg sarnies for our picnic tomorrow. We're off to the Wildfowl and Wetlands at Llanelli with my mum to see the baby flamingos.

I agree free range taste so much better and I agree with Jaki T poached on seedy wholemeal bread is heaven. Not sure about adding water instead of a dash of milk when cooking. To all enjoy your eggs! Jaki have you used them all up yet ??

Once I discovered piperade, I stopped eating scrambled eggs. It is fantastic - loads of recipes everywhere - just google them. I don't use as much oil as they do, usually spray oil or that lowcal?? butter oil in a bottle - depends how naughty I am feeling

scrambled in a wok with fry light, just set, no butter, free range.

Sometimes blanch spinach and mix in as spinach eggs is delicious.

What's piperade?

I beat a little skimmed milk with eggs, lightly spray oil on base of pan, and then just before I take off heat add a tablespoon of low-fat creme fraiche. I agree freshly laid eggs from someone who keeps a few chickens are so much better than anything from supermarket: even the free-range ones from supermarket lack taste.

Piperade was the first meal my husband cooked for me. We'd not long been dating and I'd just come back from a horrendous training course. It was lovely. We had it with pasta, but it's gorgeous with crusty bread.

It's peppers and garlic and tomatoes in a sort of scrambled egg. Delicious!

I agree - crusty bread is essential. The first meal cooked for me by a boyfriend was mushy peas on toast - not quite in the same league - and I didn't marry him!

Jackie W. Try this recipe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/pip233r ade_7035.shtml

Although my recipe does not have garlic in it is much the same.

Thanks Sue - must try this. I am currently having scrambled egg at least once a week (get fantastic eggs from my neighbour).

I am lucky enough to have my own hens. So have super fresh eggs. I did once mange to grow all the veg I needed too, but my fingers have got less green as I've got older. However I did spend 6 hours gardening today - mostly jobs that were well overdue.A recent house extension has left part of the garden a building site and the rest sadly neglected.

Four eggs cracked in a bowl, minus the yellow.

Add salt and pepper and cook in microwave for about 40 secs, mix and cook for another 40 seconds.

Job done.

There are approx 100 calories in an egg yolk,

I thought there are only about 85 calories in an egg?!

James, what do you do with the yolks? Do you have a skinny partner who eats them?

... just checked on Food Focus website - egg yolk has 339 cals per 100g so an average egg yolk (14g according to the website) is 47 cals. You're right Simone - a size 3 egg is about 85 cals.

No they just get binned.

If you eat 3 or 4 eggs a week the yolks are going to have little effect on your diet and probably have nutriants in them that are good for you.

I eat about 30 so if i take the average calories 47 * 30 thats a whopping 1410 calories a week.

But i am liking the sound of some of the recipes, especially the spinach one, sounds great.

anyone know what came first the chicken or the egg ?

James I'm sure that can't be good for you! What about a balanced diet - do you not eat any other protein like fish or meat?

If I ate even 3 eggs a week, never mind 30, I'd never go to the bathroom again, if you get my drift!

lol, i didnt mean i eat just eggs and nothing else.

I eat about 7-10 chicken breasts a week

about 3-5 tins of tuna depending on what i am doing.

Probably about 10 apples, bananna's, 2 or 3 melons,

250 g of brown rice or pasta every day

at least 1 bowl of porridge a day

And to many vegies to mention.

plus 4 litres of water every day,

no bread, cakes, sweets, fizzy drinks, alcohol, chocolate.
( ok may be the odd choclate bar if i have earnt it)

oh yes and about 8 tins of tinned tomatoes a week, they flavour everything, and there quite nice cold.