Many of you may be in a panic because of the recent egg recall. Well, have no fear, yours truly is here to assure you that life is not over without eggs. I have been egg-free for five years now, yep you got it 5 years! Just like many of you, I was in a panic because I love to bake! There are lots of alternatives or substitutions for eggs, but it depends on your needs and/or recipe.
Though I think that this recall is tragic for the farmers’ income, I think that this would be a great opportunity for many people, especially those with challenges with high cholesterol, to take a break. I know many of you are saying, “eggs are good for you, they have plenty of protein.” Yes, but they are also packed with cholesterol; in fact one egg has about 200mg. Why is that an issue? Well, for a normal 2000 calorie diet we should only be consuming about 300mg or less cholesterol per day! So if you like to eat traditional egg omelets, that’s about 400 to 600mg, not including the cheese that you stuff inside the omelet! The other reason why you can benefit from taking a break from eggs is because many eggs come from chickens that have been raised in a cage, jammed packed wall to wall with hundreds of chickens that may have been boosted with antibiotics or other growth enhancers in order for the chickens to produce in a short amount of time. [If you haven’t seen, Food, Inc. you must watch it immediately!]
I’m not trying to make you turn against eggs. I know that organic, cage-free eggs have lots of nutritional value with the biggest being protein, as well as the fact that they are an excellent binder when baking. The intent of this article is for you to consider other alternative foods that can also provide similar nutritional benefits.
The following is small list of high protein foods:
- Quinoa (keen-wah)
- Avocados
- Lentils (and other legumes such as red beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, etc.)
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Nuts (almonds, Brazil, walnuts, macadamia, hazelnuts, etc.)
If you are a baker looking for egg alternatives, the following list are a few of many options that have proven to work well in baked goods:
- Ground flaxseeds
- Tapioca flour
- Arrowroot flour
- Guar gum
- Ener-G Egg Replacer (click to see my egg-free pancake recipe)
- Xanthan gum
If you have any questions, please let me know! I can definitely help because not only am I’m egg-free, but also gluten-free and vegan!
Photo credit: Getty photos
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