Scrambled eggs with cheese has been a long-standing staple for our Saturday morning breakfasts. Here is my recipe for cheesy scrambled eggs as it looked about 2 years ago:

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 c 1% milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 5 slices American cheese

Assuming 8 servings, this recipe yields about 145 calories per serving, 100 of which come from fat. If I apply concepts of volumetrics to the recipe, I calculate approximately 1.8 cal / g. That’s not terrible, but I decided to experiment a bit to see if I could improve on this without noticeably sacrificing flavor.

Here’s how my cheesy scrambled eggs recipe looks today:

• 7 egg whites
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 c skim milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp butter seasoning
• 3 slices fat-free American cheese
• 1 slice 2% milk American cheese

To cook this, mix all ingredients except the cheese in a bowl with a whisk. Cook in a frying pan on low-to-medium heat, stirring occasionally until the eggs are solid. Then turn the burner down to low and mix in the cheese.

According to my calculations, still assuming 8 servings, this yields 95 calories per serving, 15 calories from fat, and a calorie density of 0.7 cal / g.

Quite the marked improvement, and yet it still tastes great. I make a double-batch (18 eggs) almost every Saturday morning as a part of our breakfast, and there’s rarely anything left after the family leaves the table.

– danBhentschel