Eggs are one of the best foods we have available today. They’re delicious, high in protein, and low in calories as well as carbohydrates. They’re wonderful by themselves or in salads, sandwiches, or other dishes at just about any time of the day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They are a necessary staple in many recipes such as baked goods and casseroles. And they used to be cheap!
Have you seen the price of eggs lately, though? On my most recent trip to the store, eggs were $7 a dozen! I remember a time not too long ago when you could buy them for .39 cents a dozen just about anywhere.
This huge price increase is being blamed on the Avian bird flu which has wiped out a lot of chickens. Why are egg prices escalating, but chicken prices have only increased slightly? According to this CNBC report, the bird flu is mostly impacting egg-laying chickens and not those raised for meat.
In the fall of 2021, eggs were less than $2 per dozen. Now they are at least $6 per dozen. That’s triple the cost! In contrast, chicken breast, thankfully, has only gone up by about $1 per pound over the last couple of years. If the price of chicken had gone up in price as much as eggs, we’d be paying $12 per pound for chicken today! Or, most likely, we wouldn’t be eating chicken.
The flu is extremely hard on egg farmers because they are required to kill the remainder of their chickens once it hits their flock to stop the spread. Chickens raised for meat have a much shorter life span and are thus less susceptible to the bug.
One can’t help but wonder, though, if this huge price increase is all because of the bird flu or if the industry is using this opportunity to push the prices up to see how much people will pay? Hopefully, that’s not the case. I love eggs and use them a lot in cooking, but if we collectively stopped buying them, there would be a surplus the price would come down. Perhaps it’s time for us to say, “This chick ain’t paying this price any longer! As good as eggs are, there are plenty of other things to eat.
Experts tell us it may be a while before egg prices start to come down, so if you want to boycott eggs altogether or just cut back until they become more affordable, here are some options for cooking and eating without the incredible edible egg.
Alternative breakfasts
Oatmeal with any number of toppings from fruit to peanut butter and nuts is very satisfying. Add some meat on the side such as bacon and sausage for more protein. I’m personally not a big fan of cold cereal, but if you choose one without sugar and add meat as a side, you’ve got a pretty healthy breakfast. Fruit and yogurt with granola is also a fantastic option as well as bagels and cream cheese. Baked beans are a popular breakfast dish in Europe. Maybe we should try that here in the USA. Assorted cheeses with fruit are yummy for breakfast. Some people eat pork chops or steak for their day’s first meal. My husband’s favorite non-egg breakfast is currently a kale salad with avocado, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and bacon.
Vegan recipes
You can find numerous delicious recipes in any vegan or plant-based cookbook or website that doesn’t use eggs and you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy them. My favorite is Forks Over Knives. Additionally, in many baking recipes, the egg can be substituted with applesauce. Here’s a link to some delicious vegan pancake recipes I found.
Looking ahead
If you have some breakfast ideas or recipes for baked goods that don’t include eggs, let us know in the comments below. I will be happy when eggs return to an affordable price and look forward to eating a lot of them in the future. In the meantime, I’m thankful we have options!
Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more importance than they?”
Matthew 6: 25-26
Duking Out Retired Life 