Baking without Eggs

Taken from: The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook by Judy Krizmanic

Baking without eggs can be a little tricky because eggs do several important things. For one thing, they provide leavening, which means they make things rise. They also provide binding, which means they hold things together. They also add some liquid. so if you're leaving out the eggs, you have to find something else to do all of those things.
In baking, there's definitely a chemistry going on between the liquid ingredients, the dry ingredients, and the leavening ingredients. In place of the eggs in your favorite recipes, try the following:

Applesauce: Add about 1/4 cup in place of an egg. This holds things together and adds moisture, but it doesn't do that much in the way of helping things rise. For that, you might need to add a little extra baking powder (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Banana: Use 1/2 banana, mashed, for one egg in sweet baked goods. (This is good only in things that will work with a banana taste.) Also add about 1/2 teaspoon extra baking soda.

Tofu: Use about 1/4 cup mashed silken tofu for one egg. Also add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder.

Prune puree: You can puree your own or purchase pureed prunes in the baking aisle of the supermarket. You can also use baby food prunes. Use about 1/4 cup prunes plus 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder. (Prunes will add sweetness to a recipe.)

Baking powder: Add and extra 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and about 2 tablespoons extra liquid to replace one egg in a recipe.

Powdered egg replacer: This stuff is great. It's a powdered mix, available in natural foods stores (Whole Foods, for exampled), that you blend with water to replace an egg in recipes. It works really well. It seems pricey ($7 or $8 a box) but the box lasts a really long time, so it's worth it.

Flax seed: Flax seeds are available at natural foods stores. This flax seed mixture can be used in place of 2 eggs: Grind 3 tablespoons flax seed to a very fine powder in a blender. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until the mixture becomes thick, resembling raw egg white. Fold it into cake batter at the end of mixing for light vegan cakes, but only use in recipes that call for 2 or 3 eggs at the most. (This recipe used with permission for Good News About Good Food by Carol M. Coughlin, R.D.)

Homemade Fake Egg: Use the following recipe in place of one egg in baked goods; it works really well in cookies. It's best to whip it up right before adding it to the recipe. (Note: *this recipe is NOT meant to replace eggs in really eggy dishes, like scrambled eggs.)

Fake Eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons water

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix together with a fork or wire whisk until foamy.

Eggless baking can sometimes be a daring adventure. If you end up with hockey pucks instead of cookies, don't worry. Try something different next time.

*Tomorrow I will blog about my favorite Tofu Scrambler recipe!

Ramblings

There are so many things I need to do and I can't even get off the computer. The house is a mess. I haven't taken a shower. I haven't exercised. Nix. Nada. I got nothin'. Keeping myself motivated is a daily high wire act. I have a feeling there's a big payoff up the road, like seeing my grandkids. Can you imagine, me, a grandma? I'm going to be the weirdest grandma ever. Oh, I've finally decided what I want to be when I grow up: I want to be a nutritionist! I think all this food and nutrition stuff is fascinating! I'm waiting for an informational packet about an online degree. If that doesn't work, a Master's is offered not too far from here.
Okay, I've got to get moving.

I love you!

Exercise

I love Macrobiotics for Life by Simon Brown for its simplicity:



There are many forms of exercise. Gardening, cleaning, walking, and other similar activities require movement and use up energy. These for a gentle approach to exercise that involve movement and rest. We can sustain this kid of activity for most of the day.

Aerobic exercise is when we exercise at a rate that elevates our pulse and requires faster breathing. Here our body is expending energy more rapidly, but not so quickly that we could not, for example, hold conversation with someone. This could be achieved through activities like fast walking, jogging, running, tennis, football, basketball, swimming, and volleyball.

Anaerobic exercise takes us to a point where, through intense, vigorous exercise, we create more lactic acid than we eliminate from our blood. This is generally not recommended; for most people it is not particularly healthy. Examples would be running up a mountain, running up a hill carrying a heavy wight, lifting very heavy weights quickly, or fighting.

Aerobic exercise causes our hearts to pump our blood more rapidly so that we can move energy to our muscles more quickly. this strengthens our hearts and improves our blood circulation as the blood moves freely through our arteries to our muscles. At the same time we will experience an increased rate of breathing as we need to absorb more oxygen. This enriches our blood with oxygen. In the process, we exercise our lungs and increase in the rate of biological processes that get oxygen into our blood.

Our bodies respond well to use. By using our muscles regularly, we keep them in a state of good health. Too little use and they waste away. similarly, being physically active keeps our nervous systems exercised and healthy. Research indicates that regular exercise even helps keep our bones healthy and reduces the risk of osteoporosis, a state where our bones lose mass and become brittle.

Limiting Thoughts

Macrobiotics for Life is at the top of my favorite books ever list. It contains everything. Wisdom. Recipes. Comfort. Reassurance. I highly recommend it.

Letting Go of Limiting Thoughts
It's natural to adopt thoughts that can limit our thinking as we grow up. The problem with having a fixed mind is that our options in life become reduced, and our attachment to thought can even prevent us from taking a course of action that would be healing.
Fixed thinking is often centered on thinking in terms of good and bad or right and wrong, and being judgmental. This is not the same as having our own ethics; instead, it's trying to classify things such as food, people, or lifestyles. Fixed thinking can cause us the greatest harm when we develop ideas that we want to become universal truths. Rather than thinking that eating an apple is good for me, it is when I go on to think that eating apples is good for everyone, that it is a universal truth, that I become deluded, lose my honesty, and become disconnected from reality.

Can I get an AMEN?

I love you! Take care of my children's grandmother today!

Has It Been That Long?

Was June really the last time I wrote on this blog? Wow, that's too long! Sorry! I'm reading about Macrobiotics these days and wanted to share with you some of what I'm reading:

Sugar eventually affects every organ in the body.
In digestion, it's stored as a form of glucose (called glycogen) in the liver. However, the liver only has approximately 60 to 80 grams of storage, so its capacity is limited. As a result, daily sugar consumption can make the liver expand much like a balloon.
If the liver is filled, the excess glycogen returns to the blood in the form of fatty acids. These acids are then distributed to the most inactive areas and ore fatty areas of the body, such as the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, and breasts. When these areas become filled, excess then is attracted to active organs such as the heart and kidneys. eventually, this excess diminishes the organs' functioning, and their tissues degenerate and turn to fat.
Naturally, the entire body is influenced by the degeneration. As a result, blood pressure problems develop, circulation and lymph systems weaken, and immunity suffers.
From: Macrobiotics for Dummies by Verne Varona

I love you! Take care of yourself today!