Baking Binders vs "Eggs"

If you need eggs for baking, there are many alternatives. Some can do dual duty as an egg substitute in a meal AND as a binding ingredient in cakes or cookies, but others are only suited to one job or another. If you try to make scrambled eggs on toast with nothing buy one of these binding products, then you will assume vegan eggs are terrible (and people have done this!), but if you can match the right replacement to the right job, you might wonder why you didn't go egg-free sooner.

Seed Meals

These are best used for baking bread, cakes, cookies, pancakes, etc. They are NOT appropriate for "meat" dishes. Any time we have tried these with meaty dishes such as kofta, the resulting "meat" always seems to come out with an undercooked, soft/wet feel.

• Chia Seeds or Chia Meal - This usually comes as whole seeds, because storing them ground up looses some of the nutrition. However, if these go through your system without being physically broken down, then you'll miss out on the protein, Omega Fatty Acids, and other nutrients these are rich in. You can just soak these for a few minutes before use, but for maximum nutrition, you should grind them up in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle before soaking.

• Flax Meal These often come pre-milled, but can be found in whole form. The same information applies to these and chia seeds, though both have different amounts of protein, omega fatty acids, etc.

Fruits & Other Random Ingredients 

You probably already have at least one of these sitting around in your fridge, cabinet, or even on your kitchen counter. The sweet options are usually best reserved for sweet recipes like cakes, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes, and cookies, but if you are making substitutions for regular/non-sugary eggs, then consider subtracting some sugar or whatever other sweeteners the recipe may call for.

• Apple Sauce - Best for moist recipes like cupcakes.

• Aquafaba This is the juice from a can of beans. Chickpea aquafaba is the most commonly suggested, but any white or creamy bean should do for making mirangues or other pale foods. If you are baking something dark like brownies or chocolate cake, then the bean colour shouldn't matter.

• Bananas Mash up some left over banana and reduce the amount of sugar if needed. 

Egg Mayo

(Salad or Sandwich Filling)

This was one of my favorite foods while growing up, and something I was particularly afraid I'd miss by going vegan.

Tofu Egg Mayo

Instead of giving specific measurements, I suggest you play around by adding a little of each and taste testing as you go, so you find the right amount of mayo, salt, etc. for your tastes. 

Most tofu comes with enough to make 5 servings, which usually calls for around 4-6 TBSP of mayo depending on your taste preferences.

Raw

You can make this raw by just pressing the water out of your medium, firm, or extra firm tofu (play around to find the one you like best!). Then you'll want to smash up the tofu with a fork or crumble it by hand, and mix in salt, pepper, kala namak, garlic, and finally some mayo. Eat right away, or let the flavors meld together in the fridge for 30 minutes or more. This should be good for up to a week.

Cooked

Follow the same instructions as above, but before you add the mayo, throw some vegan butter (about 1TBSP is good for a whole pack of 5 serving tofu) into a frying pan and cook the tofu and spices until the mixture smells and tastes eggy. 

Take the tofu out of the frying pan and place in a non-plastic bowl (you never want to put hot food into plastic because the chemicals can transfer into your food that way). Allow the mix to cool to around room temperature, then start adding mayo. 

Add a Potato for Texture!

For both options above you can smash up some potato (you can just microwave or boil one, then pull off the skin), and mix it into your tofu "egg" to emulate emulate slightly mushier egg yolk.

Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs can be made a few ways. One common, and probably the simplest method is to boil some potatoes, cut them in half, use a baller or spoon to dig out where the yolk would be in a chicken's egg. This dug out potato flesh should be kept in a bowl, mixed with kala namak/black salt, garlic, salt, pepper, vegan mayo, and whatever other flavors you would expect in your deviled eggs. After mashing it well, you can use a spoon or an icing bag with a decorative nozzle to put the "yolk" onto the "egg white" potato bases.

Other recipes include yolk made with mung bean flour, besan, or firm tofu. The best result I've had (after asking party guests to give feedback on tofu only, potato only, and mixed potato/tofu yolks was the latter, as people found the texture the most realistic with a little potato mixes in with the tofu.

Mayonnaise

Omelets

Egg Foo Yung

Quiche

Tools & Apps

Finding Safe Food

As a gluten-free vegan, I've found the best way to find food is to search with both of the following apps, and see which restaurants pop up in both. Then check out their online menu's/reviews to see if the foods overlap. If that info isn't available, calling the restaurant often clears up any lingering safety questions.

• Find Me Gluten Free "Either plan ahead by entering your destination or find places near your current location. New restaurants listed every day all across the world!" This app focuses on GF food, but some of the restaurant descriptions or reviews will mention or show menus with soy-free, nut-free, and other allergy friendly options.

• Happy Cow "find vegan restaurants nearby" great for eating locally or traveling internationally.

Diet Tracking

People with dietary restrictions are at higher risk of nutrient deficiencies, and even more so when we are very active. To be on the safe side, it helps to use a diet tracker, and the one bellow is the best I've found so far.

• Cronometer Free diet-tracking app allows you to create new foods and recipes, which saves a lot of time if you make big batches and eat lots of left-overs. There's also a "Copy to today" option if you left-click a food you already ate, "explode recipe" and other useful features.

Infographics

• Hidden Soy Learn how soy has snuck into most of our food, especially via livestock feed, which is much less sustainable or efficient than consuming soy directly.

Grants & Funding

International

• Beyond Animal "Where investors and vegan businesses meet" "Using technology, for online funding, networking and business services, to accelerate the transition to an economy free of animal exploitation. Our vision: a kinder, cleaner, healthier world."

• EA Animal Welfare Fund "The Animal Welfare Fund supports advocacy, research, and movement-building work aimed at improving the wellbeing of nonhuman animals, primarily farmed and wild animals. This includes corporate and policy advocacy, research, and the promotion of alternative products."

Further Reading