Egg Replacer Taste Test

Now that we’ve successfully built up to baked milk, I have to give my kid a baked good containing dairy milk daily. And you know what she’s not having? Any more of those frozen plain muffins she was forced to eat for 3 months. I’ve branched out to banana muffins, blueberry muffins, and even a lot of chocolate cakes (which she still refuses to eat some nights!) I’ve tried my old vegan recipes (replacing the milk) a few times, but it feels a wrong to put real dairy in. Since I only have to replace one thing (egg) in normal recipes, I’ve been branching out into the land of store bought egg replacers.

First up, Simple Truth Organic Plant Based Egg Replacer. Which I bought because it was the only option at my normal grocery store and I needed it to make the those muffins last fall. There are only 2 ingredients in it- chia seeds and garbanzo beans. And you know what? I have both of those things at my house. And a blender. But that’s neither here nor there. 

The first time I used it, I followed the directions on the back- 1 tb of egg replacer mixed with 2 tb water for one egg. I let it sit for a minute (because that’s what you do for a flax egg) and that was a poor choice. When it was time to add it to the batter it had congealed and didn’t remotely mix into the muffin batter. The muffins were flecked with chia clumps that my kid expertly avoiding when picking at her muffin.

The second time I tried it, I listened to the baked milk muffin recipe that said to use “1.5 tsp egg replacer” and just added that to dry mixture. Well, that was an even worse choice. The result was the gummiest muffin I have ever tasted. The package says it’s equivalent to 34 eggs, but I think it should be thrown directly into the trash.

Next up, Follow Your Heart VeganEgg. This was a roller coaster. First of all, the packaging. What is with the pretend "egg carton"? Once you open up that part it’s just a bag. A bag of powder. There is absolutely no need for that extra packaging. Not only does it take up more space on the shelf and when shipping, but it also wastes cardboard! It does have a note that the outer packaging is make 100% from recycled materials. But you know what would not create any new waste? NOT HAVING IT.

Okay, after I finally got it opened, I tried to make sense of the directions. This egg replacer is primarily for cooking on the stove to simulate scrambled eggs. There’s one set of instructions for how much water to add for that purpose and then a completely separate set of instructions when used for baking. Once I figured out the correct amount of water to use, I opened the inner bag and was accosted by a sulfur smell. So much so that I was hesitant to add it to my cake mixture. I get wanting your fake egg product to smell like eggs, but maybe shying away from rotten would be a good idea. I forged ahead holding my nose, and added it to the muffin mix.

Guys. You’re never going to believe this. These muffins were AMAZING. Taste: no sulfur. Texture: great. Crumb structure: just like the real thing. I couldn’t believe it! I ended up making chocolate cake with it, too, and it was the best one I’ve made without eggs! Is it worth the smell? I think so! Will I try them scrambled up in a frying pan? Not in a million years. 

My last trial was Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer- which is the egg replacer I was most familiar with but every store I went to was sold out of (I didn’t realize the avian flu causing an egg shortage would effect our egg free family!). Packaging: great. Ingredients: no allergens, mostly potato starch. Instructions: super clear. I mixed it up with water and hoped for the best. The cake was good, fluffy, but a little less moist than the weird Follow Your Heart brand. I’ll definitely use the rest of the package, but the standard has been set and this is a definite runner up.

Our First Successful Switch Witch

Valentine's day: another candy themed holiday, another chance for anaphylaxis! Just what I’ve always wanted. But, another holiday where candy is given without thought about food allergies, is another chance for the Switch Witch! And this time, we knew the actual rules.

Okay, okay, so we probably should have called "Switch Cupid". But that doesn't rhyme and witches need love, too!

We opened all of the valentines together, setting aside things that had allergens in them, and letting her choose which of the safe candy she actually wanted. She could eat as much candy as she wanted after dinner and then decided what additional candy to give to the Switch Witch. The more candy she gave away the better prize she got.

Not only did she not feel left out when some of her candy got taken away, but her brother wanted to play, too! He decided to give up a surprising amount of candy (even some that he has been hording since Christmas) to get some puzzles. The Switch Witch’s backstory got more and more elaborate as the night wore on- candy is like her vegetables, she gets all of her nutrients from it, she stores all she gets at holidays and then has to live on it throughout the year so the more you can give away, the happier she’ll be… I think there’s a book that has an actual origin story, but we definitely don't have the book. So might as well make it up!

So, happy top 9 allergen free valentine’s day to you! May the Switch Witch enjoy her spoils!

Cookbook Review: Air Fryer Revolution

I suppose for my first air fryer book I should have gone for her first book- but why settle for everyday recipes when we can have a revolution?

With the recent addition of an air fryer to our kitchen appliances, I was on the hunt for good recipes online. One of the first ones I tried, I bought all the ingredients, then I got locked out because I didn’t have a subscription, so I decided another cookbook was in order. My wife perused the cookbook section at the bookstore and settled on Air Fryer Revolution by Urvashi Pitre. It has been a joy- 1) the air fryer is easy and amazing 2) the recipes are delicious. It is much less work than the instant pot, so much so that after loading it up I literally have no idea what to do with my life. Play with the kids? Clean the dishes? “Free time”? What is this “free time” you speak of?

Chicken jalfrezi! This recipe says it takes 15 minutes of prep time but... I think you could easily do it in 5. Then you just microwave the sauce! What kind of magic is this?

Is the food actually good?

Yes. Everything has been really good. Every recipe has a delicious spice rub or sauce and the end of the book even has recipes for all the of spice mixes so if you can’t find them in the store (or like me, can’t find them in the store without garlic!) you can make them all at home. The introduction is a tad condescending talking about how there are a lot of spices in the book but you shouldn't be scared. While I don’t like the insinuation that I’m afraid of spices, she’s not wrong- all of the spices have been very delicious.

Ras al hanout-roasted carrots with harissa sour cream: yes, that's a lot of potentially scary (I guess?) words for a white American. But I'm not scared! Give me that cumin, tumeric, smoked paprika goodness.

Is it good for food allergies?

This is what was so exciting about this cookbook! It’s got a little section at the top of each recipe that says what it is free of (dairy, egg, gluten, grain, nut, and soy are all included) and it’s even got a table in the back that cross references each recipe with what it’s safe for. It’s not completely accurate (one recipe said it was egg free, but used mayo), but just that it acknowledges that food restrictions exist makes me really happy. 

The dessert section isn’t great for people with milk, dairy, or (pea)nut allergies, so I haven’t tried any of the baking recipes yet. But other than that, 5/5: would recommend.

Vegan Cream Cheese Taste Test: PART THREE

Why, why am I doing this to myself? Why am I tasting vegan cream cheese again?! Well, the only vegan cream cheese that our kid would eat has disappeared from existence. I knew it was bad news when they had a close out sale of 2 for 1 at the end of last year. I bought out my close grocery store, I bought out the grocery store near my work, and gradually began to prepare for end times. From our previous taste test, I knew that Tofutti was out second favorite brand, so I bought a couple of those. And, that might have gone well, until we accidentally spread Toffuti sour cream on bagels for a week wondering why in the world was it so soft? And did it always taste like this? The answer was clearly no, it did not always taste like that.

Other than the slight different in height, you can't tell me these two tubs don't look EXACTLY THE SAME.

Philadephia Plant-Based Original

Having burned that bridge, first on the tasting menu was Philadelphia’s new plant based cream cheese. I spied it a few months ago and thought it was a worth a try. Philadelphia is definitely the brand I think of when I think cream cheese, so I crossed my fingers as I opened the container. The texture is firmer than dairy cream cheese, but still spreadable. First seconds of tasting it and I thought we had a winner- it tasted creamy and tart and maybe like the real thing? Nope. The after taste erased any pleasant thoughts I had. Do you remember the popcorn tasting Daiya cream cheese? Well, this brought all those memories back. What are they putting in there that tastes like popcorn? Ok, let’s say that that flavor tastes exactly like dairy cream cheese for 2 seconds. It’s not worth the aftertaste of popcorn. It’s just not! Stop doing it! What is wrong with people?!

Seed to Spoon Strawberry

Okay, next up, I saw a strawberry flavored version at Wegmans. Strawberry, while maybe not delicious on a turkey bagel sandwich, had the potential to be game changing. What better way to cover up something not being dairy than adding another flavor? And strawberry cream cheese would be good for spreading on graham crackers or dipping some cereal into. The packaging is great, too. My kids immediately wanted to try it. It’s one of the softest ones I’ve tried- easy to spread on things, but just disappeared into a toasted bagel. The strawberry flavor doesn’t quite cover the “I’m not real dairy” taste, but luckily for everyone involved, there’s no hint of popcorn. I think it’s okay as long as you aren’t too aggressive with how much you smear on. My kids, though, were not fans.

Violife

Last chance was Violife. Somehow, Violife had missed all of our previous taste tests despite being a well known brand for dairy alternatives. Their smoked gouda cheese is the only fake cheese I’ve enjoyed (in this case the smoke flavor works hard to cover the fake cheese taste). Other reviews I have read online said it just doesn’t have a lot of taste. Strangely, they made that seem like a bad thing. If I’ve learned anything from my time spend in the diary replacement world it’s that things rarely taste like the real thing. So if it’s not going to taste like the real thing, I’d much rather it taste like nothing that like popcorn. Violife’s texture is medium, its initial taste is pretty mellow (though a bit like the Philadelphia one), and best of all it’s after taste is also mellow. There is still a hint of popcorn, but if you are eating it with anything else it’s easy to overlook.

 

Is Violife as good a normal cream cheese? No! Will I eat it on a bagel? Yes! Did my kid eat it? Finally, yes!