Soft Boiled Eggs for Kids Lunches
If there’s a food I use more often than any other in our home, it’s got to be eggs. We recently got chickens so now our eggs come right in the back door! These soft boiled eggs have proven to be a great addition to my kid’s finger food lunches, to snacks or added to salads and other meals.
The Reason for Soft Boiled Eggs
When I was a kid, I remember my mom making a lot of hard boiled eggs. Their protein was high, making it a great alternative to meat in a meal. She knew how to penny pinch and make meals from scratch at the same time. We had plenty of egg salad sandwiches for lunch. She’d make them into potato salad or eat them plain for a snack. Thanks for the education Mom!
Yes, they were useful, but I always noticed that it didn’t digest right if ya know what I mean. Hard boiled eggs are known to be gas producers.
Enter me as a young adult learning to cook. I was having quite a bit of trouble with food sensitivities, blood sugar and more, so I began to try to heal my gut with foods. One thing I learned was that cooking an egg completely (whether frying or boiling)denatures the protein. This results in food that is much less digestible. It also lacks some nutrition that has been killed in the process. Yes, all “cooked” eggs have some denaturing but when they are cooked completely, (think hard yolk) it leaves digestion much more difficult.
Then there’s the soft boiled egg. This egg has a gelled center and can still be used in all the recipes. The best part is these eggs can make so many meals for kids with their high protein and soft kid friendly texture! You can even make them kid sized, not to mention they’re cheaper when smaller…
Or be like us and walk to the hen house now that we finally got our chickens!
How to make Soft Boiled Eggs
I’m not sure you could classify this as a “recipe.” Maybe more of a tutorial. For the sake of all you blessed mothers of little ones out there, this tutorial uses medium sized eggs.
Learning “how to” is not the end all. You’ve got to use your creativity. There are just so many possibilities with this food! Even cutting it a little differently can make it a brand new addition for the little fingers eating it. Don’t worry though, I’ll lay out some of the ways I use these eggs at the end of this tutorial!
- Bring water in a large ( 3 quart) saucepan to boiling. To make this go faster, I like to heat the water in my kettle, before pouring it in the saucepan.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add the eggs to the boiling water.
- Set the timer for six minutes ( 8 minutes if using large eggs)
- When timer goes off, remove saucepan from stove top and place under cold running water for about 10 minutes.
- You can either use these right away or store in a container in the fridge for up to a week.
How do I use Soft Boiled Eggs
I like simple things like cutting them up in different ways. Kids are drawn to shapes and colors so slicing them into white circles with yellow centers has become the “eyeballs” snack in our house.
Lunches
Finger foods are some of my kid’s favorite lunches. This means less hassle for mom and I take it! I’ll chop up some soft boiled eggs (or let the kids peel off the shell themselves), some carrots, cucumber and dip. Wa la! Lazy mom’s healthiest meal. Give em’ a few crackers and they’ll be in heaven.
My kids are also into cheese (what? yours too?) and I’ve started making cheese on toast with a couple eyeballs er, I mean sliced egg on top.
Deviled eggs are also a fun one but more for special occasions. Add some eggs to fried rice and they give an extra dose of protein.
Potato salad is one that takes time but can last a whole week and be a huge help to have in the fridge for your meals! Another one is Avocado Egg Salad There are so many ideas out there!
Protein Power with Color
NO matter how you look at it, soft boiled eggs are a nutritional power house. Blend them, chop them, eat them whole. Not every kid will love them, but the ones that do will benefit from this budget friendly protein as much as you do!
Simple Soft Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 5 medium eggs ( or 5 large eggs if you prefer)
Instructions
- Bring water in a large ( 3 quart) saucepan to boiling. To make this go faster, I like to heat the water in my kettle, before pouring it in the saucepan.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add the eggs to the boiling water.
- Set the timer for six minutes ( 8 minutes if using large eggs)
- When timer goes off, remove saucepan from stove top and place under cold running water for about 10 minutes.
- You can either use these right away or store in a container in the fridge for up to a week.
Find more recipes and food fun:
Chewy Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies
All About Einkorn Flour: What You Need to Know
Thanks for reading!
From the Hilltop,
