My new Fitbit Charge HR finally arrived!! I’ve been waiting for it since January, when I sold my Fitbit Surge to my fiancé because it was just too bulky on my wrist (he loves it, btw). I’m pretty darn in love with it already. First and foremost for superficial reasons: purple is my favorite color and it’s actually a deeper purple in person than on the website and the LED is purple too, woot!
More importantly, I’m excited to start tracking my stats again. Just like the first time around, it’s addictive. I’ve already found myself working hard to get more steps in. My pup, Toby, is thrilled because he’s getting to go on more walks. I’ve also begun riding on my exercise bike while talking to my fiancé each night during his long commute home. I used to just sit around or pace while we talked so it makes a huge difference to use that time to burn some calories and aid in my ongoing quest to keep my knees strong. Now that my partner and I both use Fitbits it’s fascinating to compare our sleeping patterns and see how/when we wake each other up at night.
I keep a fairly high-protein/low-carb diet and eggs are a big breakfast staple, mostly because they’re easy, versatile and nutritious. One of my favorite egg dishes is egg salad, though I very rarely eat it because of its fat content. While many of us are now on the “Fat is GOOD for you” band wagon, I still try to balance out my fats and not over consume. I work towards that nice Omega 3/6/9 balance and try to stick to fats that are easily digested by the body. This is a big reason why I also rarely buy egg salad pre-made, because most mayos are made with vegetable oil and stuffed with preservatives that I just don’t need. Making homemade mayo is actually a super-easy healthy alternative to and it allows you to be creative with your flavors.
My favorite fat to cook eggs with is Avocado Oil, so it only makes sense that I also love Avocado Oil for making mayonnaise. That said, honestly any fat will work. Some love the decadence of bacon fat or leaf lard. Ghee or butter can also be rich and delicious. Some prefer lighter oils like extra light olive oil or grapeseed oil. Play with it and find what works for you and your taste buds.
Rebecca’s Homemade Avocado Oil Mayo
Ingredients:
- 1 egg yolk at room temperature
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (can substitute apple cider vinegar or lemon juice)
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup avocado oil (as mentioned above any fat/oil will work)
Directions:
- Make sure you start with your egg at room temperature; if you’re grabbing an egg from the fridge you can place it in warm water for 1-3 minutes to warm it up. I like to use a small 3-cup blender for making mayo, but you could also choose to use an immersion blender or even do it by hand if you are a very patient person; adapt the directions to the method you’re using.
- Place the egg yolk in the blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and vinegar and blend until well-mixed. Add spices, blend until mixed.
- Here’s the important part! The oil has to be added slowly! If you’re using a blender that doesn’t have a pour-hole add no more than 1 tbsp at a time. If you’re using another method that you can slowly add the oil to start by pouring in no more than 1tbsp while blending. Keep blending until it begins to thicken. Continue adding 1tbsp of oil at a time and continue to blend. It should thicken more and more as you add the oil until it finally reaches a nice thick mayo-y consistency. If it doesn’t, stop adding oil and blend until thick. If it doesn’t thicken see the recovery instructions below.
- Taste and add any additional seasoning you’d like!
I really love being creative with my mayo. This was fairly basic, using mustard, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper. You may prefer something spicier, with chipotle chili powder, red pepper flakes or even cayenne. You may want something warmer like adding garam masala or red curry powder. Perhaps you have fresh herbs from the garden, like tarragon, rosemary, basil or sage or some fresh garlic? All are delicious! Play with it and change it up!
What Do I Do If My Mayo Won’t Thicken?
Do not despair! This happens from time to time. If you’ve never made mayo before, there’s a good chance you added the oil in too quickly. Slow is KEY! I’ve seen some quick-and-dirty recipes that say you can add it all in at once but that’s honestly only ended up in a mess for me. Even if you’re a mayo-making-pro there are days when it just doesn’t emulsify properly. Perhaps it’s the temperature or age of the egg, perhaps there are other environmental concerns, I don’t really know but it happens to the best of us. Here’s how to save your mayo:
- Set aside your first batch of mayo that didn’t thicken. Warm up another egg by placing it in warm water for 1-3 minutes.
- Start with a clean blender bowl or clean vessel to make your mayo in if you’re not using a blender. Add the egg yolk to your bowl and blend until smooth. Add another tsp of vinegar or lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.
- Now take your goopy mayo mixture and very slowly add ~1tbsp to your yolk mixture while blending. Blend until it starts to thicken. As with the original directions, continue adding the old mayo mixture slowly and don’t add more until it really begins to get thick. Once you’ve added about half of the mixture it should seem thick and you can begin going a little faster.
- Continue to blend until nice and thick. Taste and add any additional seasoning.
So, essentially you’re starting by making a new batch of mayo, but this way you don’t have to scrap the 3/4 cup of probably-not-cheap oil that you just used. This trick has saved my butt many times!
Easy Egg Salad
It may seem a little silly to post a recipe for egg salad, but everyone’s got to learn somewhere, right?
Ingredients (for two servings):
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp homemade mayo (see recipe above)
- Optional: 2 stalks celery chopped
Directions:
- Place eggs in a pot and add water until it covers the eggs fully.
- Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat.
- Cover, remove from heat and set timer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, pour out water and cover the eggs in the pot with cold water. Optional: place in fridge until cool.
- Peel eggs using your preferred method. I’ll be honest, I’ve been trying the “Peel Eggs in Water Glass” method to no avail. I like to make little cracks all over the egg and roll it around in my hands for a few seconds. That seems to give me the cleanest peel.
- Slice eggs horizontally and vertically. I use a fancy schmancy egg slicer and even though I’m generally not a fan of one-use kitchen gadgets, this has always been one of my absolute favorites:
- Add mayo and mix well! As long as you spiced up your mayo already there’s nothing else to do but eat! I’m a fan of making lettuce wraps with my egg salad, as seen above. If you don’t make a lettuce wrap you may want to add some chopped celery to give it some crunch.
Have other egg salad or mayo tips? Please share in the comments below!
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