Last Call: Egg Men Love Peeled Eggs

When I was in college, I did something horrible called an Egg Fast. During an Egg Fast, you eat nothing but cheese, eggs, and butter for three days in an attempt to drop a few pounds. (Not good, not healthy, very disordered, do not attempt.) I was spurred on by the online Egg Fast community, propelled by thousands of acolytes who swear that the human body thrives when stuffed to the brim with yolk despite strong research to the contrary.

Unsurprisingly, the Egg Fast experience pretty much put me off eggs for life. Now, I wince every time I see those pre-peeled boiled eggs in convenience stores. But, at least according to Men's Health, they're actually pretty popular. Men presumably love the eggs, which is how Eggland's Best Organic Hard-Cooked Peeled Eggs ended up on the magazine's 2020 Best Snacks list. Men's Health editors describe the eggs thus:

"Good eggs, cooked and peeled. You could chop them to make egg salad. Or just eat them straight out of the bag."

Good eggs! So good, in fact, that you can eat them... straight out of the bag? While pre-peeled eggs do seem mighty convenient as an ingredient, I shudder to imagine looking to my left on public transportation and seeing a brawny man popping eggs into his mouth like cold, slippery potato chips. Bet you can't eat just one.

I'm probably biased after my ungodly Egg Fast experience, but I just can't see myself snacking on eggs. I think it also has something to do with personal snacking philosophy. The Men's Health Best Snacks list is full of bite-sized goodies that are meant to sustain. To energize. To send protein and iron and riboflavin (?) shooting down your manly craw to keep you pounding away at your manly keyboard with your manly hands until quittin' time.

I, on the other hand, look forward to my afternoonsies because I like a bit of levity between meals. My snacks are usually something sweet like graham crackers or kettle corn, which excludes me from the Instagram community of folks who flex their butts and whip in and out of ketosis.

Look: Both approaches are fine. A snack can be delightful, or it can be functional. Or, if you like sucking down eggs from a bag, it can be both. I am pretty curious about the mechanics of the pre-peeled egg snack, though. Do you season them? Do you sprinkle a bunch Cavender's Greek seasoning into the open bag and shake it to evenly coat your wet eggs? If you're an Egg Man, I'd love to hear from you.