Watching Your Cholesterol Level? Leave The Yolks To The Other Folks

For many years, my friend Eric worked as an egg cook for a large restaurant. In his opinion, the most skilled cooks in the world handle eggs and sauces - the delicate foods, he called them. You have to command a certain light touch to produce a fluffy omelet or a creamy hollandaise.

When Eric got interested in healthy cooking, some of his enthusiasm for eggs went away. “High cholesterol, high fat,” he’d moan to me. “How can people eat three a day, knowing that one egg yolk contributes 213 milligrams of cholesterol to an already overloaded diet?”

Since egg whites contain no cholesterol or fat, they piqued Eric’s interest. A new challenge: Could he create an equally fluffy omelet without egg yolks?

One afternoon Eric proudly served his first egg-white omelet. He’d beaten the whites just to the soft-peak stage, blended in a small amount of fresh spinach and created a light and fluffy omelet without a speck of yolk. To adjust the lighter color, he finished the omelet by briefly browning it under the broiler.

When I tried my first egg-white omelet, Eric reminded me of the basic rules:

Keep the egg whites at soft peak stage; beating them too stiff can result in flatter omelets.

Make your filling ahead of time, since egg-white omelets don’t wait well.

If you’d like a more golden color, add a sprinkle of turmeric to the beaten egg whites or broil the folded omelet briefly before serving.

Here’s Eric’s basic recipe. The lack of cholesterol and very low amount of fat make it suitable for almost any diet.

Spinach Egg-White Omelet

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1 teaspoon water

6 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

Filling (recipes follow)

Cook spinach in 1 teaspoon water in tightly lidded medium saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes or until wilted.

Beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy and mounding in soft peaks. Add salt and pepper.

Brush 10-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat until drop of water sizzles when flicked on pan’s surface. Fold spinach into egg whites. Pour egg white mixture into skillet and cook, stirring, until whites begin to set, about 1 minute. Add choice of filling, then fold omelet over filling. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 38 calories, 1.2 grams fat (28 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 353 milligrams sodium.

Curried-Vegetable Omelet Filling

The golden hue of this curried-vegetable filling complements the bright green spinach in the omelet. Make it spicy with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or a dash of Tabasco.

1 teaspoon safflower oil

1 tablespoon apple juice (more if needed)

2 tablespoons minced green onions

1/2 cup thinly sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash

1/4 cup seeded and diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon curry powder

Heat oil and juice in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add green onions and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add zucchini, red bell pepper, mushrooms and curry powder and cook, covered, 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add more apple juice as needed to prevent scorching. Spoon into cooked omelet, then fold over filling.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 19 calories, 1.3 grams fat (62 percent fat calories), 0.5 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.

Spicy Tex-Mex Omelet Filling

This omelet filling reminds me of favorite Mexican dishes like huevos rancheros. To make it even lower in fat, substitute nonfat, plain yogurt for the lean sour cream.

1/4 cup diced mild green chilies

1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1/4 cup minced green onion

1/4 cup prepared medium-hot salsa

1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

1/3 cup reduced-calorie sour cream

Mix together chilies, tomatoes, green onion, salsa, cheese and sour cream in bowl. Spoon into cooked omelet, then fold over filling.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 39 calories, 1.5 grams fat (35 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrate, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 62 milligrams sodium.

Low-Fat Cheesy Omelet Filling

Rich and creamy, this is a perfect omelet filling for a lazy Sunday morning brunch.

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded reduced-calorie Swiss cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed

Mix together cheeses, tomatoes, parsley, garlic and dillweed in bowl. Spoon into cooked omelet, then fold over filling.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 129 calories, 5 grams fat (35 percent fat calories), 4 grams carbohydrate, 24 milligrams cholesterol, 282 milligrams sodium.