What's the Alternative?

My newest project is taking all the recipes I've collected from my Vegetarian Times and Whole Living magazines, and various clippings sent from my mother, and putting them in some sort of coherent cookbook.  Even though it's only for my personal use, I haven't quite figured out the best way to organize everything.   I figured the easiest way to sort recipes is by category: appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, desserts-- rather than by vegetable or by ethnicity.  So I was sifting through the recipes and separating them into their appropriate category, when I came across a handful of dessert recipes that use eggs.  I considered throwing them away, but then thought there has to be some way I can change the recipe and use an alternative to eggs.

Instead of scrambled eggs, you can use some spices and crumbled tofu.  But I wasn't sure whether tofu would work when it came to baking.  In various food blogs, I found out that a teaspoon of soy flour and a tablespoon of water works as a substitute, or you can buy EnerG Egg Replace or Orgran No Egg, which contain potato starch and tapioca.  Others say 1/4 cup of mashed banana works too.

There are vegan alternatives for other common foods that might help new vegans:

Milk: Can use soy, rice, or hemp milk in recipes, over cereal, or to drink plain.
Butter: Use a dairy-free, 100% natural, non-hydrogenated oil-based margarine like Earth Balance.  Good in mashed potatoes, any recipe that calls for butter, or melted over popcorn.
Mayonnaise: Try Follow Your Heart Vegenaise.  It's an acquired taste, but it works on sandwiches or in dips.
Cream Cheese: Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese.  They also have a sour cream.
Ice Cream: Any soy or rice-based frozen dessert will usually do the trick.  Tofutti Chocolate Cookie Crunch is so good and it has half the calories of regular ice cream.  Even if you do eat dairy, you'll still enjoy this.  Also, I'm a sucker for Tofutti Cuties, which are vegan ice cream sandwiches.  Yum!

There are also alternatives to whipped cream, cheeses and yogurt-- as long as you find ones without casein, which is a milk protein.  Silk Live Soy Yogurt actually has milk in it.  I'm pretty sure So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt doesn't.

Some people like soy or tofu-based burgers masquerading as a meat patty, like Boca or Morningstar.  They also have bacon, sausage, and other "meats."  I prefer veggie patties that aren't posing as the meat kind, but are simply mashed up vegetables.  I like Gardenburger Veggie Medley or Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burgers.  The latter are harder to find, unless you live near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

A lot of breakfast foods have eggs.  Try Nature's Path Flax Plus Frozen Waffles.  They are completely animal-free.  If you're feeling ambitious, spread on some organic peanut butter.  Nature's Path makes wonderful cereals and also toaster pastries, which are the healthy version of a pop-tart.  Some of those may contain dairy, though.  If you're in the mood for something like a danish or a crepe, try Tofutti Mintz's Blintzes.  Top with organic raspberry jam and it could be a breakfast or a quick dessert.

Most marinara sauces are devoid of dairy, but some do have hidden high fructose corn syrup.  I love Newman's Own Bombolina Sauce the best.  Newman's Own products are made with quality ingredients and without bad chemicals.  They can be found on most store shelves.  I'm also a fan of their salad dressings, sauces and salsas.  And when summer rolls around, I'm also a sucker for their lemonade.  It reminds me of being a kid and drinking lemonade out of a plastic yellow lemon at Busch Gardens.   I have yet to try their wine.