Vegetarian/Vegan substitutes

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echo627
echo627 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I am looking for substitutes for eggs, milk, butter, and cheese that taste like the real thing. I am EXTREMELY picky about my butter and cheese especially. I would appreciate any help I can get. I don't know if I will be able to go completely vegan, but I want to try, (if I can get my DH on board).

Thank you in advance for any help and support!

Echo

Replies

  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
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    For butter-Almost all margerine is vegan.
    For cheese-vegan sliced cheese is NAST, it is seriously plastic, but shredded veggie cheese and cashew cheese are good.
    For eggs- scrambled: tofu for baking: powdered egg replacer

    *disclaimer.. I am not vegan... however my best friend is and when I stay with her I am
  • SwimFan1981
    SwimFan1981 Posts: 1,430 Member
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    I have heard that Daiya vegan cheese tastes like the real thing....I haven't tried it though.
    I use organic dairy free spread from Abel & Cole (only in UK)
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    With regard to eggs, I hear there is a new plant based egg substitute available online http://www.thevegg.com

    I have been a vegetarian since 1991 and went vegan this year.
    Good luck! I hope you find something that you like.
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
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    Actually, a short correction to the above: In the US, most margarine isn't vegan. Most of them have small amounts of milk products in them.

    Earth Balance margarine is vegan.

    Daiya shredded cheese and wedges are the best, IMO, so far. They are supposed to be coming out with slices sometime soon.

    Milk... all kinds of stuff and they vary a lot from type to type and brand to brand. Soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk are biggies available. I like Silk chocolate milk and So Delicious Almond Plus 5X in vanilla is good on cereal (I generally like vanilla almond milk on cereal, that one has more protein than most).

    Eggs, as other said tofu is great for scrambles and other stuff where you'd use eggs in a similar manner. For baking I use Ener-G Egg Replacer (it's basically just potato strach and tapioca powder mixed in a particular ratio).
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
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    smart balance is vegan, so is the other brand we buy that i can remeber the name.. i just asumed it was most of them were
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
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    Yep, Smart Balance is what we have here usually the they make 2 vegan margarines - their Smart Balance Light and Smart Balance Organic. The rest of their margarines have milk or fish in them.
  • FITBY30
    FITBY30 Posts: 39 Member
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    hey there-great question since these are staples in alot of homes. For butter we use earth balance soy free. i love it for cheese-we use daiya cheddar shreds, these are great with anything cooked ie pizza grilled cheese enchiladas etc but i have not had anything i would recommend for cold things like sandwiches. I do like the daiya wedges-if you let them warm to room temp, you can spread them on crackers and its really good flavor(havarti jalapeno~yes!) and i like to make my own almond cheese for salads and spreads, or a cashew cheese ball for holidays with crackers. eggs-like everyone has said tofu. if you get extra firm or super firm tofu, press the liquid out and crumble it it will soak up ANY flavor and is the consistency of scrambled eggs.and ive read you can use soft tofu for omlet type thingys. there isnt anything comparable to say deviled eggs or poached eggs. there is the new product the vegg, but i havent had it and dont want to. in recipes, applesauce, the ener-g everyone mentioned(but i hate the flavor its so soidumy) or you can make a flax egg made with warm water and ground flaxmeal. there is such a great veg/vegan community on here, just holla if you need anything else, i know were all here to help:)
  • echo627
    echo627 Posts: 5
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    Thanks everyone! My friend offered me eggs from her chickens that roam around her yard, I figure humane eggs are ok, and I know where they are coming from and know that the chickens are beloved pets. As for butter and cheese, I might just have to give them up, bc margerine is really bad for people and is only a couple molecules away from plastic. I will try the tofu/soy cheese, but make no promises, lol!

    Thanks again!
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
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    Toffuti''s "Better than Cream Cheese" is very close to real cream cheese.
  • popsicklestar
    popsicklestar Posts: 166 Member
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    I think it's healthiest and tastes best to make your own if you have a food processor.

    Try this vegan "cheez" recipe:


    Basic Cheeze

    1 tsp of chopped fresh garlic
    1/2 tsp of salt
    2 cups of your fave nut or seed (I used cashews)
    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
    1/4 cup water, as needed

    Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process into small pieces. Add the nuts or seeds, and process into small pieces. Add the lemon juice and water; process to mix well. Add more or less water to reach your desired consistency

    Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
  • badtastebetty
    badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
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    There are a lot of substitutes for eggs that can be used in baking.

    - Apple sauce
    - Chia or flax seed mixed with water
    - Bananas
    - Oil

    These are the ones I have tried.

    For cheese I will use nutritional yeast for flavor.
    I`ve substituted olive oil for butter in the past on toast .

    I know there are a ton more, most of the ones I know are for when you are baking.
  • badtastebetty
    badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
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    I think it's healthiest and tastes best to make your own if you have a food processor.

    Try this vegan "cheez" recipe:


    Basic Cheeze

    1 tsp of chopped fresh garlic
    1/2 tsp of salt
    2 cups of your fave nut or seed (I used cashews)
    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
    1/4 cup water, as needed

    Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process into small pieces. Add the nuts or seeds, and process into small pieces. Add the lemon juice and water; process to mix well. Add more or less water to reach your desired consistency

    Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

    That sounds really good! I have a recipe for something similar that I have been wanting to try.
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
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    oh coconut oil can be used like butter too.. but it does taste quite different.. i like it though
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
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    butter: EARTH BALANCE (yeah some margarines aren't even vegetarian, but EB is the bestest!)

    Cheese: Daiya!

    Cream cheese: TOFUTTI (now you can make a cheesecake!)

    Scrambled egg? Kiss those goodbye, man. You just have to be ok with eating tofu scramble instead. It's pretty yummy.

    For baking use NRG Egg Replacer, or just find pure vegan baking recipes. I do all my baking vegan, except i sometimes make real cheesecake too.
  • chkn_WANG_Train
    chkn_WANG_Train Posts: 143
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    I am looking for substitutes for eggs, milk, butter, and cheese that taste like the real thing. I am EXTREMELY picky about my butter and cheese especially. I would appreciate any help I can get. I don't know if I will be able to go completely vegan, but I want to try, (if I can get my DH on board).

    Thank you in advance for any help and support!

    Echo

    Earth Balance is my <3 butter , even when I'm non vegan I prefer it over the 'real' stuff!
    I always used avocado instead of cheese when I was vegan, it's more delicious and NO FAKE CHEESE TASTE LIKE THE REAL THING, THEY ARE AWFUL.

    I like mixing almond and soy milk together, pacific and almond breeze. great for lattes/cappuccinos etc.

    but at home I usually prefer hemp milk with vanilla.... super yum!

    tofu scrambles are prettty decent with the right work, tofu in general.

    when it comes to baking you can always substitute applesauce (1/3 cup per egg) or banana (1/2 per egg) in place of eggs in recipes, usually tastes better and has less cholesterol!

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