Are You Feeding Your Family Bad Eggs?

Lets forget about the whole 'chicken and egg' argument for just a seconds and focus on the yolk, well, the colour of it.

The colour of an egg yolk says alot about the health of the chicken that laid it and for most of our breakfasts, it's less than ideal.

When we think about a chicken laying an egg, most of us think they're out roaming the yard where they are pecking away as they please, flapping their happy little wings and generally enjoying life, like this one.

BUT, most eggs come from chickens who spend their entire life in a cage. They will probably NEVER see the sun and will certainly not be able to roam free. Imagine a person living it's life in the box your fridge came in!

So, how can you tell if your egg was from a chicken wandering the paddocks freely, or a prisoner, you can tell by the yolk!

Which one of these would you say looks normal?

If you buy your eggs in most supermarkets, the lighter one in the middle probably looks normal!

It also means that the chicken probably wasn't being fed the healthiest of diets.

Although it may look unusual, a thick yolk with dark orange colouring is what you should be looking for.

Richer coloured egg yolks are more likely to come from free range chickens says Dr. Hilary Shallo Thesmar, director of food safety programs for the Egg Nutrition Centre. Because free range chickens get the opportunity to eat more pigmented foods, the pigment is then transferred to the yolk.

While macro nutrients (protein and fat) remain the same regardless of yolk colour, darker coloured yolks indicate the presence of xanthophylls and omega-3 fatty acids in the hen’s diet.

Xanthophylls are found in dark leafy greens like spinach, kale and collards, as well as in courgette, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in flax seeds and sea kelp.

When these nutrients are part of the chickens diet, the nutrients are passed on to their eggs and concentrated in their yolks. And guess who eats those?!