A simple (visual) guide to eggs - take 2

(click image for larger viewing options on flickr)

This week I finally had a chance to work in some more of the great feedback I got on the egg infographic from earlier this year. Thanks again to all those who provided encouragement and constructive feedback. I know there's always room for improvement, but here's my humble attempt at V2. Once again, the standards and regulations referred to in this infographic are U.S. specific. If you'd like to learn more about eggs, the original egg infographic post has more explanation, background information, resources, and some great suggestions in the comments.

This version was also made to be print friendly, and at the request of some readers, I've put the infographic up on Zazzle here for print/poster purchases. Note that the product link defaults to the largest (and thus most expensive) size - be sure to check the print options on the right sidebar. Proceeds will go to charity.

Easy soups for cold and flu season (Part 1 of 2)

It's been taking me a while between posts lately because I've managed to be sick for the better part of the last two months. Cold and flu season can be pretty rough on your diet for a number of reasons - you may become so congested that you can't smell and thus can't really taste, or your throat might become raw and then swallowing becomes a pain. Or worse, you may lose your appetite entirely (which is when a foodie knows whatever bug he/she got is pretty serious).

If you're really lucky, you've got someone awesome in your life who's able to take care of you and cook some of your favorite comfort foods. But more likely than not, there are days when you have to fend for yourself, and then obtaining good nutritious food can feel like a herculean task. The lowest effort foods, which are those you can order for delivery/take-out or heat up out of the box/can, are often loaded with sodium or fat. At first they taste great, but eventually they leave you craving a good home-cooked meal. Luckily there are some really easy and nourishing meals you can whip up even when you're sick (I managed to pull it off even while groggy from flu meds). With the help of some half-cooking principles, each of these dishes took around 20 min or less of active prep/cooking time and had minimal chopping.

A simple (visual) guide to eggs

>> Update on 3/30/11: Thanks again to all those who provided great feedback. An updated version of the infographic had been added below and you can read more about it here. The infographic is also available for print here.

When I got a question asking about the different labels on eggs and shortly thereafter had a brunch-time discussion about how to order eggs, I realized that it was time for another Culinaut infographic (check out the previous one on the dangers of cooking with teflon).

So here's my attempt at capturing egg basics in an infographic guide. For simplicity, I stuck to chicken eggs in their most common forms. The top of the graphic covers info relevant to buying eggs from a store, and the bottom has some of the basic egg cooking/ordering options. It's also worth noting that the sizes, grades, and farming methods here are based on US guidelines and differ in other countries.