Q: How do you replace eggs in a recipe?
A: There are a few ways, depending on the type of recipe.
- 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp. warm water = 1 egg. I like to use “flax eggs” in hearty recipes like banana bread, zucchini muffins, carrot cake, etc. – recipes where the earthy, nutty flavor of flax will be right at home.
- 1 ½ tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer + 2 Tbsp. water = 1 egg. This works well in desserts where you want a completely neutral taste (and no flecks of flax showing) – such as in vanilla cakes, citrus cakes, and other light-colored baked goods.
- ¼ c. silken tofu = 1 egg. I don’t use this method too often, but when I do, I like to use Mori-Nu brand. Just whip about ¼ c. tofu in a food processor (or mash it really well by hand), and add to the recipe as needed. The Vanilla Yogurt Pound Cake recipe in the cookbook Veganomicon uses tofu instead of eggs, and the cake is so moist & delicious.
- ½ banana, mashed = 1 egg. This method will impart a banana flavor to baked goods, so keep that in mind when deciding to use it. I think it works well in most sweet bread & muffin recipes.
Q: Do you eat a lot of soy?
A: Personally, I don’t. My friend Gena has a terrific blog post about the pros & cons of soy here that’s definitely worth reading, but I’ll sum up my feelings on the subject. I think soy, like most things, is perfectly fine in moderation. Would I want to drink soymilk at breakfast, eat a soy-based veggie burger at lunch, snack on soy jerky in the afternoon, and have a soy hot dog for dinner? Certainly not. But would I want to have coconut milk for breakfast, coconut milk yogurt at lunch, coconut-based ice cream as a snack, and coconut curry for dinner? No! Or if I ate meat, chicken sausage for breakfast, a chicken breast for lunch, and chicken tacos for dinner? No way. Too much of any one thing is never optimally healthy, right? So while I don’t necessarily “monitor” my soy intake, I pay attention to when I eat it, and if I have tofu at lunch, I won’t usually have tempeh with dinner. Variety is the spice of life, and our bodies thrive when we provide them with lots of different, healthful foods.
Additionally, I am not a fan of the highly processed soy products like soy sausage, soy sour cream, soy cream cheese, etc. In my opinion, I think these products are okay every once in awhile & they can definitely be helpful “transitional foods” for people starting to eat a plant-based diet – but personally, I don’t eat them often. I’m sure we can all agree that steamed organic edamame is very different from an isolated soy protein frankenhotdog. It’s a personal decision for sure, and I just do what feels right for me! I think that the closer we eat to nature, the better off we’ll be.
Q: What does “veg*n” mean? I’ve seen that written before & I don’t understand why the * is there.
A: Veg*n is a way of easily referring to both vegetarians & vegans with one word. The * stands for both “etaria” & “a” to mean “vegetarian and vegan.”
Q: Where do you get your protein?
A: Ah, the infamous protein question. I think that this is by far the most common question vegetarians & vegans are asked – and that’s okay because I know that most of us don’t grow up learning that plant foods contain protein!
Well, to start, Americans, in general, consume waaaaay more protein than is necessary (or healthy). Almost everything we eat contains protein, and obviously some foods have more protein than others. Vegan sources of protein include legumes, beans, nuts, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and whole grains. I have absolutely no problem getting enough protein each & every day! It’s generally accepted that if a person is eating enough calories, s/he is consuming enough protein.
Q: Don’t you think there are too many people suffering to care about animals?
A: In a word, no. Caring about animals and caring about humans are not mutually exclusive causes where we have to pick one or the other! It’s not as if we only have X amount of care & compassion to go around, and once we pick one issue to spend it on, it’s gone. I’d like to give people more credit than that! It seems to me that compassion is limitless, and I’ve found that once a person opens themselves up to caring about animal causes, a passion for eradicating all sorts of injustices is ignited. In fact, Psychology Today recently published a study by an international team of scientists that found that vegans and vegetarians are more empathetic to both human and animal suffering than omnivores. (I’m not sayin’, but I’m sayin’… 
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We all have to work on causes & issues to which we’re drawn & about which we feel passionate. We can’t all concentrate on the same thing because there are so many important causes that need our attention. Makes sense, no? To me, saying that caring about animals is “stupid” (or naive, or a waste of time, or any of the other negative terms I’ve heard used to describe veganism) is like telling a teacher that teaching history is stupid because so many people need to learn science. Both subjects are different, but equally important & worthy of our attention. We don’t need to ignore one to learn about the other. The important thing is that we’re all trying to make a positive difference.
Q: Aren’t humans just part of the food chain? All animals eat other animals, so why shouldn’t people do the same?
A: Actually, not all animals eat other animals. There are plenty of herbivorous animals in the world! I do want to make it clear that I’m not on a crusade to stop actual carnivores from abiding by their instincts & feasting on other animals. Will you catch me trying to tell a lion that eating a gazelle isn’t very nice? Hell no! That is silly, and not even close to what veganism is about.
The Vegan Society defines vegan as: “[A] philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose…”
Do I think we’ll ever live in a world where every person is vegan? To be honest, probably not. But that’s not going to stop me from doing my part to reduce animal suffering, while improving the health of my body & the planet! Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, founder of the incredible organization Compassionate Cooks, has a great saying: “Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything. Do something. Anything!” Just because not everyone will make compassionate changes doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t!
In my opinion, many people have the means to at the very least reduce their animal consumption. I just want to do what I can to raise awareness about how beneficial, rewarding, and delicious the vegan lifestyle is. Veganism is about reducing suffering as far as is possible & practical. I, unlike many people in the world (and the true carnivores of the animal kingdom), have the option of choosing what to eat. I don’t have to eat animals or their secretions to survive, so I don’t. And honestly, I feel much healthier this way! It’s a win-win.
–>Please write to me at thedomesticvegan (at) gmail.com if you have a question you’d like me to address!
