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Eggs are one of the staple foods in our family’s diet, so I don’t have to read news reports to know that prices have soared.

The bird flu, which has resulted in the deaths of millions of chickens across the United States, has led to the record high prices. The prices range from about $5 per dozen to $15 per dozen, depending on where they’re purchased, what the chickens are fed and how the birds are raised.

Though the prices are higher than I’m used to, eggs are still a great deal, in my opinion, and I haven’t changed my buying habits. There are a couple dozen in my fridge now and when those get low, I’ll buy a couple more dozen.

I think that the egg price seems exorbitant because we are used to cheap eggs and want the price to be only a couple of dollars a dozen, like it was before the bird flu outbreak.

Our perception results in a knee jerk reaction, which is to bemoan the per dozen price increase, instead of analyzing the nutritional content and number of people who can be fed with a dozen eggs. Preparing a main meal for six people that costs $6 and provides them each 14 grams of protein is a bargain in my book.

Speaking of perception, how many of us treat ourselves to a $7 foofy coffee drink without blinking an eye? Even a brewed coffee at coffee shops is usually more than $2. Most of us don’t question that because our expectation is that we have to pay the price for our caffeine habit.

The amount of protein in eggs is one of the reasons that I eat them in some form once a week for dinner. I prepare egg salad sandwiches, omelets or make crepes with them. Sometimes I stir up some scrambled eggs or frittata with veggies, make egg sandwiches or English muffins or bagels or avocado toast with eggs.

Eggs have 7 grams of protein and I eat two of them for my meal, so I figure paying $1 (the dozen I bought were $6 per dozen) for 14 grams of protein is pretty cheap.

Even if I paid $15 a dozen, which would amount to $2.50 for two eggs, that's still not breaking the bank for those 14 grams of protein.

Another way I use eggs is in baking, and the price of eggs hasn’t dissuaded me from doing that, either, nor has it tempted me to use any of the egg substitute ideas that are floating around the Internet. I don’t like the taste of the subs, so if I bought them, that would be their sole use, unlike eggs, which I can use to make my meals.

Getting a flock of backyard chickens would not be a good way for me to get cheap eggs, either. I’ve been there and done that and have no desire to do it again.

In my personal experience a small flock of chickens was not a cost-effective endeavor, because by the time the cost of a chicken house, the straw for the bedding and the layer mash to feed them is calculated, I paid enough for many year’s supply of eggs. That doesn’t include the labor or cleaning the chicken house and feeding and watering them.

Instead of trying to find ways around the price of eggs, I’ll keep buying them, confident that they aren’t going to break the bank.

Ann Bailey lives on a farmstead near Larimore, N.D., that has been in her family since 1911. You can reach her at 218-779-8093 or anntbailey@gmail.com.