I have noticed that a LOT of the recipes for dieting use a mix of eggs and egg whites, rather than just eggs alone. I'm envisioning my refrigerator filling up with unused egg yolks or just throwing them out, which seems so wasteful! Is it possible to buy just egg whites at the grocery?

Yes, they sell them in little cartons by the eggs (like the kind milk come in, but smaller.)

Yup! It's not the most cost effective way, but it means you don't have to toss yolks. I just give mine to my dog.

It comes in a green carton. You can find it in the egg section with the Egg Beaters.

Thanks! I will look for them when I go shopping tomorrow!

The eggwhites are so much more expensive than tossing the egg yolks, that I don't worry too much about throwing away the yolks. I figure that the ecological footprint is actually smaller for throwing out the few yolks I discared myself (the factories that seperate the yolks from the whites may be throwing the yolks away anyway, and even if they're using the yolks for another purpose, the extra overhead in factory building costs, utilities, workers wages, extra packaging, transporting costs and garbage generated... I'm pretty sure it actually creates less garbage just to throw my yolks away.) Also, the egg shell protects the freshness of the egg, and I'm pretty sure that my eggs are fresher than any egg white product I could buy.

Bottom line for me is freshness and cost savings, so I'd rather just toss the extra yolks. When we had a dog and cat that weren't overweight, we would give them the yolks. However our current cat is overweight, so she doesn't need the extra fat. If we lived further into the country (we're on the edge of town, so attracting wild critters is possible, but not a good idea) I would cook the yolks and leave them for critters (not too close to the house), but luring more crows, skunks and raccoons into our neighborhood (not to mention bear, but I think we're still too close to town to attract bear) would annoy the neighbors and would be dangerous to the animals (and possibly the humans).

You make a lot of good points, kaplods. I guess I should just get used to tossing yolks. hmmmm . I wonder if they freeze?

I toss the yolks, too. Mostly for cost reasons -- I hadn't thought of the other reasons kaplods raised! Another reason is that I like the flexibility of having either whole eggs or just whites, and buying the actual eggs alone gives me that.

Ask anyone you know if they would like them? Personally I've stopped eating just egg whites and have gone back to using the yolk- I got tired of it lol.

a dozen jumbo eggs at Wallyworld are cheaper than a doz. large eggs. I buy the jumbos and use 1 white in place of 2 mediums. Much cheappa.

And all of what Kaplods said, too! The yolks are really good for the dawgs coats, but I don't think they do any harm down the drain, either.

You can also put out the egg yolks (cooked) for birds, although this works best if you already put out bird seed, so you have a place in your yard that the birds regularly go to for food (that way they find the eggs yolks before the ants or critters do).

What-to-Do-with-All-the Egg-Yolks Bread

* 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 1/4 ounce envelope)
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup water
* 3/4 cup skim milk
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 1 tablespoon orange zest, chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
* 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sun-dried cranberries
* 1 cup pecans, chopped

1. Butter a 10" tube pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, 1 tsp.
2. of the sugar and the warm water.
3. Set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Combine the milk, butter, oil, zest, remainider of the sugar and salt. Stir into the yeast mixture. Add the egg yolks, stirring well.
5. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate the flour thoroughly.
6. Knead 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and satiny.
7. Knead in the cran berries and pecans.
8. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk.
9. Using a wooden spoon, beat down the risen dough for about a minute. Place the dough into the buttered tube pan and allow it to rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk.
10. Preheat the oven to 375 .
11. Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes or until it is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
12. Place on a rack to cool or serve warm.
13. Once cooled, the bread is also excellent sliced and toasted.

Egg Yolk Cookies

* 1 cup butter (or shortening for cookies that won't spread quite as much)
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 6 egg yolks
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
* 1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Separately, beat egg yolks and add extracts.
3. Add beaten egg yolk mixture to creamed butter and sugar.
4. Blend well.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and cream of tartar).
6. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture, mixing until well blended.
7. Form into balls about the size of a walnut.
8. Roll balls in sugar, place on greased cookie sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet, and slightly flatten.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on desired softness/crispness.

I don't throw as many yolks away as I used to, because I follow a low carb exchange plan. My fat and protein exchanges allow me to eat the yolks if I want to (low fat and low carb is a very unhealthy combo).

One whole egg is one protein exchange, three egg whites are also a protein exchange. When I scramble eggs, I usually use one whole egg and three egg whites. It reduces the fat content, and seems to me more filling than two scrambled eggs. I don't like egg white only omelettes, but I very much like the combo of a whole egg with extra whites.

because of the cost, I don't buy the cartons of egg whites. I usually give the yolks to the dogs or down the drain. I tried keeping the yolks but then I would forget they were in the refrigerator. Green is not the color for egg yolks.