So, I'm on a very tight budget. Eggs are nice for this, because they're pretty cheap and are packed with delicious protein. However, I'd like to cut down on the number of yolks and up the number of whites.

Trouble is that tight budget-- if I want to make an omelet with, say, one whole egg and four egg whites, that's five eggs gone. They don't seem so cheap when you go through that many!

So, is there any cheap way to get egg whites? In the dairy case there are Nature Egg egg whites, but they're probably even more costly. Anybody else getting egg whites on a budget?

I was just having this conversation with my wife, because she just realized that egg beaters were ok to eat. She has funny ways sometimes, thinking that they wouldnt taste like egg or something. Anyway, that carton lasted 2 days with the 2 of us and its not cheap. Cartons of eggs are cheaper, but how interested are we in seperating eggs... ill do it because I am cheap. She, on the other hand, is not that cheap. You could buy more eggs at once in the sams club case or something, but how can you get an egg cheaper than an egg?

I was just having this conversation with my wife, because she just realized that egg beaters were ok to eat. She has funny ways sometimes, thinking that they wouldnt taste like egg or something. Anyway, that carton lasted 2 days with the 2 of us and its not cheap. Cartons of eggs are cheaper, but how interested are we in seperating eggs... ill do it because I am cheap. She, on the other hand, is not that cheap. You could buy more eggs at once in the sams club case or something, but how can you get an egg cheaper than an egg?

Heh, guess you're right. What I mean, though, is if i make a three egg omelet, I use three eggs. If I use one whole egg and five whites, I've used twice as many eggs for the same meal. I guess there's probably no way to get it any cheaper, but it's frustrating.

Can you do like 1whole egg 2 egg whites, and like a bunch of lowfat turkey ham? Turkey is lean and high protein... just scramble that up with like onions, and some fat free american cheese or something...

Do you have access to a Sam's or Costco? Those are the cheap places to buy both whole eggs or whites/egg beaters in bulk. I buy 36 eggs at least every week, and they actually have bigger packs I would get for cheaper but I don't have the fridge space for that many :)

Real eggs are nearly always cheaper than the seperated whites, though.

I typically make omlettes with 8 eggs. 2 whole + 6 whites. Not to mention Canadian bacon, cheese, spinach, peppers, salsa, etc. :eat:

I tend to focus more on protein sources like turkey patties, chicken breast, cottage cheese and whey/casein shakes. At Costco you can get a 16-pack of frozen turkey patties inexpensively, throw two of them on one of those electric grills like the George Foreman ones (forget the frying pan) and in 10 min. you've got 45+ g protein and very low calories.

Not to put eggs down but I read an article once that showed the absorption rates of the various protein foods by the digestive system, and surprisingly eggs were toward the bottom; again, in terms of how much of the protein in the eggs your body actually absorbs. Cottage cheese on the other hand was the highest if i recall. If I can find that list again I"ll edit this post with it.

Not to put eggs down but I read an article once that showed the absorption rates of the various protein foods by the digestive system, and surprisingly eggs were toward the bottom; again, in terms of how much of the protein in the eggs your body actually absorbs. Cottage cheese on the other hand was the highest if i recall. If I can find that list again I"ll edit this post with it.

That's just not true. Eggs are actually one of the highest bioavailable sources of protein. Cooked egg protein is 90%+ bioavailable. Uncooked eggs are significantly lower.

Eggs are only led by whey protein, and not even that depending on what data you look at.

See here (http://www.firstendurance.com/newsletter_protein2.html). First easily read chart I found.

EDIT: This (http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/proteinrating.html) is more directly to the point.

That's just not true. Eggs are actually one of the highest bioavailable sources of protein. Cooked egg protein is 90%+ bioavailable. Uncooked eggs are significantly lower.

Eggs are only led by whey protein, and not even that depending on what data you look at.

See here (http://www.firstendurance.com/newsletter_protein2.html). First easily read chart I found.

EDIT: This (http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/proteinrating.html) is more directly to the point.

That's interesting about the whites needing to be cooked to get maximum bio-availability. I remember when I was a kid (and I seem to recall this in the first Rocky movie but it has been decades since I've seen that) that the classic boxer-in-training breakfast was some raw eggs after a run. I assumed later (i.e., since JSF) that that was merely for a matter of convenience but at the time the impression given was that raw eggs were better.

Guess they're not...:nope:

Also in your next link, they list nuts, etc (i.e., non-animal sources) protein. Is it still the case that these are incomplete proteins that need to be complimented to act as proteins? I only count protein from animal sources in my macros.

That's interesting about the whites needing to be cooked to get maximum bio-availability. I remember when I was a kid (and I seem to recall this in the first Rocky movie but it has been decades since I've seen that) that the classic boxer-in-training breakfast was some raw eggs after a run. I assumed later (i.e., since JSF) that that was merely for a matter of convenience but at the time the impression given was that raw eggs were better.

Guess they're not...:nope:

I've posted pubmed links to the research before, but I'm too lazy to look for it right now :)

Also in your next link, they list nuts, etc (i.e., non-animal sources) protein. Is it still the case that these are incomplete proteins that need to be complimented to act as proteins? I only count protein from animal sources in my macros.

I count everything. Stuff can combine with other stuff you eat to make full proteins spreads of aminos I would assume.

So, I'm on a very tight budget. Eggs are nice for this, because they're pretty cheap and are packed with delicious protein. However, I'd like to cut down on the number of yolks and up the number of whites.

Trouble is that tight budget-- if I want to make an omelet with, say, one whole egg and four egg whites, that's five eggs gone. They don't seem so cheap when you go through that many!

So, is there any cheap way to get egg whites? In the dairy case there are Nature Egg egg whites, but they're probably even more costly. Anybody else getting egg whites on a budget?


How much are a dozen eggs in your area? A dozen large brown eggs costs me abut $2.19. So a 1 egg + 5 egg white meal would be about $1.

How much are a dozen eggs in your area? A dozen large brown eggs costs me abut $2.19. So a 1 egg + 5 egg white meal would be about $1.


Hmm... Well when you put it that way, I feel a bit silly. :)

Hmm... Well when you put it that way, I feel a bit silly. :)

No worries. :) Money was so tight in college that I only ate ramen noodles ($1 for a pack of 10) and took vitamin C to stave off rickets.