Eliminating Eggs
If you decide to reduce or eliminate eggs from your diet, you can replace them in many recipes with a substitute. You can simply skip the eggs in many baked goods and you won?t notice much of a difference in texture. Or you can buy egg replacers in many natural foods stores. Simply follow the instructions on the package (which means just adding water).
Look Beyond Dairy
Vegetarian substitutes help to replace dairy in your diet. Look for soy cheese, soy yogurt, and "milks" made from soy, rice, or nuts. You can use them in recipes that call for dairy. Or try one on your cereal for breakfast.
Vegan cookies
The hunt is on for the perfect vegan cookie. While we may never know which cookie truly is the best, we can settle for the ones that taste great and are easy to make. Try this simple, crowd-pleasing recipe:
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- ? cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ? teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup soymilk
- 1/3 cup oil
- ? cup sorghum or corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. Next, mix the wet ingredients together. At the same time, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Then, combine all ingredients in one bowl. Place heaping spoonfuls onto the greased sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Soup Thickener
Instead of cream or milk, thicken soups with a velvety mixture of cooked, pureed cauliflower and white beans. Substitute 1 part water and 3/4 part vegetable puree for milk or cream.
Soy Beverages
When choosing soy beverages, be sure to choose fortified versions, especially for children. Look for the calcium and vitamin D levels on the labels to ensure good health.
Check for Freshness
Always check the expiration date of your milk substitute. Even a shelf-stable, aseptically packaged variety won?t stay fresh for much longer than a week in the refrigerator once it is opened.
Fantastic Vegan Pasta
Looking for an easy vegan recipe? If you have a food processor, this pasta delight is a breeze to make and heaven to eat:
- ? cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- ? cup olive oil
- 1 cup packed parsley
- ? cup vegetable broth (made from a vegan soup mix)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon plain bread crumbs
- ? teaspoon sea salt
- 16 ounces of angel hair pasta
- Process the walnuts, oil, parsley, broth, garlic, bread crumbs, and sea salt in the food processor until smooth.
- Leave pasta in boiling water until al dente (reserve ? cup of the liquid when straining the pasta).
- Put all of the pasta in a large serving bowl and add the mixture from the food processor as well as the reserved liquid.
- Toss everything together and serve immediately.
Soy Cheese
Soy cheese is made from soymilk. Its creamy texture makes it an easy substitute for sour cream or cream cheese and can be found in a variety of flavors in natural foods stores. Products made with soy cheese include soy pizza.
Perfect Measure
If you want to prepare a dish in accordance to a vegan recipe, it¡¯s important that you do it correctly. Baking is like science (more specifically chemistry) and the delicious outcome will not measure up to the hypothesis if the experiment is not performed correctly. Accurate measurements of your ingredients are essential and will ensure that your dish come out up to par. Here are some measuring tips:
- A rule of thumb to accurately measure dry ingredients, like flour and sugar, use the dry measuring cup that levels at the top (so you can use a spatula or knife to level it off). It¡¯s also helpful to scoop the dry ingredients into the measuring cup using a spoon to get even more accurate measurements. Be sure not to pack the ingredients too tight, as you¡¯re likely to end up with too much.
- If you¡¯re dealing with wet ingredients, use wet measuring cups that have lines along the side to assist in measuring.
Know the Facts
Why do you want to be a vegan? If you don¡¯t know the answer to this question then you have no reason becoming a vegan in the first place. Taking on a vegan diet is an important life decision that should not be made on a whim. Do some serious soul searching and figure out exactly why you want to do this.
If you don¡¯t have solid reasons behind your decision it will likely become a passing phase that you will wonder why you ever started. Before becoming a vegan, it¡¯s important that you know the facts. Read up on exactly what you¡¯re getting yourself into and know exactly why you¡¯re doing it. Pick up some literature, read articles, and buy some books on the subject. Know all the pros and cons and remember that the best decision is an educated one.
Cooking With Milk Substitutes
Before using a milk alternative in your cooking, taste it both chilled and heated to detect flavor overtones, such as sweetness, that would make it unsuitable for a particular recipe.
Who Needs Dairy?
Vegans are individuals who do not eat meat or any animal products at all. If you are a vegetarian contemplating becoming a vegan, don¡¯t dive in too fast. Make the transitions slowly so your body can adjust accordingly. Want to know a great hint to help you make the adjustment? Start by omitting dairy from your diet completely¡ALL DAIRY.
If you are attached to the taste, find tasty dairy substitutes (rice milk, soy milk, etc.) at any grocery store. After spending about a week without dairy you¡¯ll probably find that you don¡¯t even miss it. After practicing veganism your taste buds will start to change. At this point, you will likely find that using non-dairy substitutes instead of real dairy products will be more than satisfying.
Flavor-Infused Vegan Pasta
Want to add flavor to a vegan recipe for pasta? Unless it¡¯s seasoned correctly, pasta can be bland. Here are a couple hints to keep your vegan pasta dishes interesting:
- Unless you're on a diet that restricts you from ingesting sodium, put salt in the water when preparing any pasta. It is a common cooking tip that the water that pasta or vegetables are being prepared in should taste just like saltwater.
- If salt isn¡¯t your bag but you still want to add some taste to those noodles, toss a bay leaf into the water to infuse them with flavor. If you can find them, fresh bay leaves work much better than dry, jarred ones.
Give Soymilk a Second Chance
If you try soymilk for the first time and don?t care for it, give it a second chance and try another brand. Soymilk varies considerably in flavor from one brand to the next. Many leave a beany aftertaste, if you don?t like this, try flavored soymilk. Soymilk grows on you. If you try it for a while, you?ll probably grow to love it.
No-Dairy Whipped Cream
A great-low fat, non-dairy alternative to whipped cream.
1 pkg firm silken tofu
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a blender or food processor, puree all ingredients until perfectly smooth. Chill for 1 to 2 hours. Spread over your favorite vegetarian dessert or fruit salad.