Recipes with egg in that don't taste of egg (DS taste affected by Covid)

[eleflump]

My DS age 17 had Covid last October. On Christmas Day his sense of smell and taste went haywire and still hasn't returned to normal.

He used to eat a lot of eggs but they taste awful to him now - I have tried fried, scrambled, hard boiled, soft boiled, French toast, egg mayonnaise but he can't stomach any of them.

Can anyone suggest any recipes that have egg in where it is 'hidden' and he wont be able to taste it?

He is also struggling with all types of meat and doesn't like cheese, so any other suggestions for recipes with other sources of protein would be very welcome.

Why are you trying to give him eggs if he no longer likes eggs? Isn't he a bit too old for you to hide ingredients in food?

Anyway, here are a couple of suggestions in which you can't taste them.

• Meatloaf has a couple of eggs in it

• sweet stuff crepes, pancakes, waffle (I put 8 eggs in it)

Every single food has protein, even lettuce, protein rich food that are not meat or eggs is seafood (think a tuna steak marinated in soy sauce and honey, , a sole cooked in butter, mussel with a white wine sauce, clams in a pan, prawns in oven with garlic butter and parsley , ....) , lentils, chickpeas, tofu, edamame, quinoa,

The taste of meat can change dramatically depending on cooking, marinating, try saltimbocca all romana, Italian meatballs in tomato sauce, sauté stripes of chicken with prosciutto and shaved parmesan added at the last minute, pork loins with white wine and lemon, turkey roast , ...

Will he drink milk/eat stuff with milk in? Milk is a fantastic source of protein. Similarly yoghurt or porridge (either a high protein version or with milk)

Nuts are awesome for protein. Yy to peanut butter although actually marmite has similar amounts of protein

Tomato salmon/fishy pasta. Do a tomato pasta, add fish stock cube or fish sauce, add salmon/prawns near the end to cook. You can do it with cheap frozen salmon just add it first.

Yy to lentils and chickpeas. Jack Monroe's vegan-ish book is worth a look

What about egg whites instead of eggs? You can usually get a pot in the supermarket these days. They work well for scrambled or frittata.

Thank you - just to clarify, I am not trying to hide ingredients in my 17 year old's food that he doesnt know about!

He wants to eat them but can't because they now taste rancid due to the after-effects of Covid, and so I am trying to think of ways to include them in his meals for nutritional value without him having to taste them as a food in their own right.

Thank you for the suggestions- pancakes is definitely a good idea - we can try those and see how they taste to him now.

He is having loads of milk, nuts and yoghurt, and bananas are also still ok. He can manage tuna pasta as well.

Egg whites on their own is also a good idea, he might be able to stomach those.

He has never had a particularly adventurous palate and his favourite meals used to be things like roast dinners or steak and chips, so it's a challenge now they aren't options any more.

It's a really awful side effect and is actually getting him quite down - nothing tastes good to him any more.

The good news is that the affect seems to wear off, with me certain vegetables tasted of chemicals and took nearly a year to fully get back to normal, can now eat them without masking their flavour in gravy.

As to your issue - try mild curries, chilli etc - he might like them now. Quorn is another option

@eleflump sorry, I misunderstood the "hiding' part.

Could maybe a ton of spices, herbs help? Think butter chicken, Thai curry, ...as PP suggested.

Why not just avoid eggs? What is the point of eating then if you ds no longer likes them?

Perhaps a fried rice recipe that’s really big on flavour like this www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/prawn-fried-rice

Sorry I've just woke up with half a braincell obviously and totally bypassed the protein part of your post.

How about custard ? Either on its own or custard tarts?

Tofu is pretty flavourless itself. It’s great for soaking up other flavours and it’s high in protein and calcium. You could try tofu fried rice www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/recipes/scrambled-tofu-fried-rice or stir fry www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/edamame_and_tofu_97832

For meals without cheese or meat, you could try:
Veggie bean chilli
Chickpea or lentil curry or dal
Chickpea tagine
Bean burgers
Falafel
Lentil ragu

And if tuna isn’t causing a problem, try tuna burgers www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/tuna-burgers-with-cucumber-salsa

Spaghetti carbonara? It's not strictly traditional but I use two whole eggs per person for my carbonara to up the protein and it's delicious and not eggy at all. Per person:

100g pasta
2 eggs
A spoon/splash natural yog/creme fraiche/cream/milk
A big handful of parmesan or similar
A big handful of peas
Salt and pepper
Bacon/mushrooms/any additions

Whisk eggs, dairy, cheese and seasoning together. Fry off any bacon/mushrooms/whatever you fancy in a little bit of oil. Cook pasta and peas, drain (not too well, keep a bit of water clinging. Toss in the bacon/oil pan, stir in the sauce and if need be stir over a low heat til it all thickens up. Super quick and easy!

I think avoiding the eggs till his taste returns to normal would be best too. If you eat things like pancakes it has a lot less egg, so lower protein and higher carbs. That would reduce a lot of the health benefits of eating the eggs. Of course not saying he can't have a pancake if he wants! But if the main reason for eating eggs is health benefits he would be better off eating alternative healthy foods.

Thanks so much for these suggestions - the carbonara and tuna burgers are definitely ones to try.

He is six foot one and sporty but is increasingly leaning more towards white carbs for ease and because he knows they taste ok to him, but we definitely need to keep trying different things to see if he can manage them.

Have you tried a fritata? If you cook the veg with finely diced chorizo before the adding the egg the egg takes on the flavour of the chorizo.
How about tuna steaks. They don’t really taste fishy and have a good texture. Maybe marinated in balsamic vinegar with plenty of black pepper.

Also just had egg fried rice for lunch which made me think of this thread! Can you tell we eat a lot of eggs

Get over some spring onion/peas/chopped up carrots/Leftover meat/bacon/anything that needs using up and fry in a dash of seseme oil. Add cooked rice (ideally leftover or cooked yesterday so it's cold from the fridge, you get a better texture this way) and fry until it's all hot and combined. Whisk two eggs per person with a good sploosh of soy sauce, make a gap in the puddle of the frying pan by pushing the rice to the edges, and pour in the eggs. Stir round a bit to scramble, and then slowly combine the edge-rice in. Cool til all the egg is firmed up and serve as it is or top with sriracha/hot sauce/crispy shallots/coriander/whatever you fancy!

When you say all meat, does that include chicken, beef, lamb and pork and in all forms? eg, chicken breast fillets lightly crumbed with seasoning added including lemon, thyme etc is a very different thing to spaghetti bolognaise?

Having said that, if he's sporty and you're worried about protein, you could get him some supplements - protein powder to take daily with milk/yoghurt? Increase his eating of nut butters. Oats are, I believe, quite high in protein, especially made with milk? Plain yoghurt is quite high in protein too and could be eaten at breakfast with a nutty oat-based granola.

Lentils are fairly high protein - made into a warm salad with roasted veg (include broccoli) and a strong flavoured dressing, he might find that v edible? Mix with rice if too many lentils are hard for him (I love lentils, but can't eat them as the base of a main dish for example - I need them to be, at most, 1/4 of the total mouthful!)

Yes - all meat unfortunately - it all tastes and smells to him like it's gone off.

It's quite a common side effect apparently- I just hope that everything goes back to normal again for him at some point, there is just so much that's unknown about the after-effects of Covid.

@eleflump

Yes - all meat unfortunately - it all tastes and smells to him like it's gone off.

It's quite a common side effect apparently- I just hope that everything goes back to normal again for him at some point, there is just so much that's unknown about the after-effects of Covid.

Yup, pretty horrendous. Well, a mostly vegetarian or pescatarian diet isn't the worst thing I guess (DS is 10 but I'm pretty sure will be mostly pescatarian by the time he's in his teens bar the odd burger. Simply because of taste preferences). Hopefully suggestions on here will give him some ideas for increasing protein.