Vegan cooking

I'm transitioning into vegan (from lacto-ovo vegetarian). I've already stopped eating eggs in the regular, omelet, scrambled, etc sense, and I know how to substitute eggs in recipes for cookies and such.

But what about french toast? How do I make french toast without animal-derived ingredients? I know it sounds silly, but I love french toast, haha.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

rlheatley

Fri. Jun 15, 10:09am

Are egg beaters vegan? (I have no idea!)

The main qualities of eggs that make french toast so good are that they're a liquid that becomes a soft solid when cooked. So anything that does this will work. Probably even dipping bread into a combination of soy milk with a little olive oil, and flavorings like vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon, would be a good substitute, at least if you think of french toast really as "flavor-infused bread." Just a thought; I've never actually tried this.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 10:40 AM

here's a link to the pages google came up with. looks like there's a lot of recipes! thanks for the question! i am always trying out new vegan foods with my frie3nds, but breakfast has been the hardest! now i have french toast on the menu!

Friday, June 15, 2007, 10:50 AM

oops! here's that link...

Link

Friday, June 15, 2007, 10:51 AM

Why did I never think of just googling it? Thanks so much for the link. I knew there was a vegan life that included french toast, haha.

OP - rlheatley

Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:03 AM

rockin' vegan chef

Isa Chandra Moskowitz of The Post Punk Kitchen has a couple of cookbooks out that focus on vegan baking and traditional comfort foods modified for the vegan diet. Her website and blog are very cool too.

Link

Friday, June 15, 2007, 12:49 PM

I really don't understand the vegan philosophy

I am not trying to be negative, I just would like to understand the rationale.
As babies, we drink our mother's milk, which is an animal product. So what is the rationale for cutting out all animal products?

Is is a helath issue? It doesn't seem to be health-related because a vegan diet is not necessarily healthier - in fact it seems much tougher to be a healthy eater as a vegan an to acheive balanced nutrition.

Is it an animal-rights issue? Is the reason you are vegan is to stop the exploitation of animals? If so, it seems that there are ways to consume animal products without contributing to their exploitation - albeit pretty tough in this day. But hunting or fishing in the wild and consuming/using all usable parts seems an option. Is that acceptable for the vegan lifestyle?

I am just curious because it has always puzzled me.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 1:04 PM

it's a personal choice. everyone has different reasons. i might not agree with another vegan's reasons. why do you eat what you eat?

i don't like the idea of eating the flesh of another once-living being. i do not like the affect milk has on my digestive tract. many cheeses use rennet and some do not tell you, so i just avoid cheese. as far as achieving a well-balanced, nutritiously sound eating plan, it's much easier than you appear to think it is. even though you might not at this moment know about the many alternative products available, you can easily educate yourself by going online and just poking around or, better yet, take a short visit to your local health foods store and look around. ask questions. i think it's rather closed-minded to make assumptions without giving the vegan eating plan a try yourself, even though you were trying to be polite about it. after giving it a legitimate go for a couple of weeks, i'd be interested to hear your opinion again. back when i first changed my eating habits there were few options, but now you can find some vegan products at regular old supermarkets. i really hope you will try!

Friday, June 15, 2007, 1:33 PM

I never went Vegan, but I became a Vegetarian for several years after working on a series of food safety ads- there's nothing like learning all about "acceptable levels of contamination" to put you right off meat for a while.

I eventually went back to meat, mainly because at the time it was nearly impossible to travel and eat vegetarian, and because I ended up gaining about 20 pounds as a vegetarian...

Friday, June 15, 2007, 1:56 PM

What you eat and how you eat are personal choices. I strongly disagree with the Vegan diet. It's not natural and certainly not God's will.

Anyone hear of the GA couple doing life in prison for killing their infant. Yeah, the baby was on a Vegan diet and starved to death. The baby didn't get enough nutrients from the mother's breastmilk and was fed organic apple juice.

I know I sound extremely closed minded, I really am not that type of person. Now that I'm a mother, I more fully understand the importance of a well balanced diet and a balanced diet cannot be attained by being Vegan. Consult any doctor on this.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 2:04 PM

sorry to point this out, but not only do you sound closed-minded, you are ignorant about the nutritional assumption that one cannot eat a balanced diet if vegan. it really does no one any good when people don't know the facts behind what they are opining about.

and by the way, meat-eating parents also starve and neglect their children. that situation is not about being a healthy vegan, it's about bad parenting. any parent has to choose wisely what foods their child will be given. any parent worth their salt will educate him/herself with regard to nutrition before trying to educate their child about it.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 2:13 PM

2:04- really? You "strongly disagree" with the Vegan diet? That's a pretty bold stance to take. You must have quite an iron will to stand up to the throngs of vegans out there.

I'm guessing you spend a lot of time out in front of the local Whole Foods with the other protesters, trying to bring the Vegans and Organic food lovers back to "God's will". *sigh*

Lighten up.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 2:29 PM

I don't mean to be defensive, but...

How is it that asking for a recipe for french toast turns into a big debate?

If you don't like the vegan way of life, too bad! Why did you click on this thread? Do I go into the "turkey sandwich recipe" thread? No, I don't, because I don't give a fuck about a turkey sandwich.

I am so sick and tired of people criticizing what I choose to ingest (or not ingest). I was hoping by outlining the word "vegan" in the title, only people who see my side of that issue would even think of posting to avoid this nonsense.

And another thing, read the book "Dominion," and then you tell me about "God's will."

-OP

Friday, June 15, 2007, 2:36 PM

i recently heard good ol' gw bush speaking about stem cell research. he claimed that, according to god's will, we should not create life in order that it be destroyed. that's a great sentiment coming from a cattle rancher, don't you think!!

Friday, June 15, 2007, 2:41 PM

Back to the original topic- you gonna share that recipe or just keep it to yerself?

I'll trade you for a vegan Po'boy sandwich recipe... I've made these- they are DELICIOUS!

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10142

Friday, June 15, 2007, 3:06 PM

3:06:

10:51 left a link to the google search for vegan french toast --- a lot of great ideas on there. Check out the link at the top of this thread, I think it's the fourth post down.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 5:51 PM

Vegan diet "not God's will"

Just to totally sidetrack this thread...

This kind of comment is exactly why excessively religious people just drive me right up the wall. It is amazing how often God agrees/supports exactly the position that the poster wants supported, even down to the diet they eat. It must be nice to have a direct line.

Saturday, June 16, 2007, 9:09 AM

And in seeking forgiveness for the sidetrack and growling

I don't really use a recipe, but to make vegan French toast:

Blend some soy milk, a small amount of tofu, a teeny bit of turmeric if you need some color, some sweetener, and some flavoring. Examples would be maple syrup for sweetener and maybe some grated orange rind and cinnamon for flavor.

Dip your bread in the mix and either sautee in mild oil or Earth Balance, or bake at 350F until brown on one side. Flip, continue cooking by method of choice until done.

You can use some juice in place of some of the soy milk - try tangerine juice.

Savory French toast is good - use herbs or curry spices, and no sweetener. (make sure you use unsweetened soy milk) You can use olive oil cooking for savory French toast.

Saturday, June 16, 2007, 9:17 AM

9:09/9:17 - Hey, I loved your sidetracking AND your recipe idea, no need to be forgiven :)

"It must be nice to have a direct line," haha!

Thanks so much everybody for so many great ideas.

-OP

Saturday, June 16, 2007, 11:55 AM

June 15 - 1:04 poster here

I apologize to the OP for taking it this thread off track, but was just truly trying to hear perspectives from those who follow a vegan lifestyle. Remember the thread title was "Vegan cooking".. not "I am looking for a recipe.."

I was just trying to learn and this is only one of the ways to do it. I can read all day on the internet, but understanding the "why" behind the approach needs to come from those who practice it, not those who oppose it.

As for assumptions, they are based on my experinces so far, which admittedly are limited. That's why I wanted to hear more.

Thanks for providing some additional insights.

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 10:50 AM

rlheatly-check out this blog for recipes:

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

i'm not vegan myself but i've used several of her recipes and they came out pretty well! Of course-the "fat-free" thing isn't really my style, so i tweak things as needed!

I fully agree w/ everything 2:13 said. Couldn't have said it better myself. geesh.

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 1:35 PM

oops-sorry i spelled your name wrong!!

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 1:37 PM

why vegan? what is the mentality behind chosing to be vegan?

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 4:19 PM

while i don't speak for every vegan, i will answer that i don't know what "mentality" (def: a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations) is behind choosing to follow a vegan food plan, but i just don't like meat, eggs, cheese or butter. all of these products have a residual animal taste to my palate. finding suitable foods is not difficult. eating properly, with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and soy is easy, too. for me. it's not an attitude that i adopted, it's a preferred food plan that i follow. nothing more. a lot of people i eat with don't even notice that i don't eat meat or dairy. i don't bring in strange concoctions for lunch or order a bunch of side dishes for a meal. it's like any other choice you make about how you live; you make it work for you, not for everyone else who does the same thing.

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 4:27 PM

reasons to go vegan-
-some people just don't like the taste/texture of eating animal products.
-some people are allergic to dairy and/or eggs
-some people are opposed to the mistreatment that happens in slaughter houses, farms, & ranches
-some believe it is wrong to kill animals in order to eat them, and wrong to manipulate them to obtain their secretions.
-some are concerned about the health issues related to eating animal products (high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, acne, ect.)

i'm sure there are many reasons that i'm leaving out. these are just a few that i can think of off the top of my head. :)

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 4:51 PM

4:51 again..

like some previous posters, i also love isa chandra of "vegan with a vengeance" and "vegan cupcakes take over the world" fame (her cupcakes are to DIE for). i know she has a french toast recipe. definitely check out theppk.com. it has tons of recipes, a blog, a cupcake blog, and an awesome forum. and no... i don't work for her, i just really like her stuff. :)
i also frequent fatfreevegan.blogspot.com, and for those seeking to understand the vegan mentality or just get more information, check out compassionatecooks.com. founder collen patrick-goudreau has an awesome podcast called "vegetarian food for though" that you can download from the site or subscribe to on itunes. i love love love the podcast. she's very informative.

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 5:01 PM

More reasons to go vegan

Environmental - you make as much difference in your environmental impact by eliminating animal products as you would by giving up your car!

Human rights - people who work in the animal foods industry are known to be horribly treated - even in the US. Slaughterhouses and chicken processing plants are especially notorious. The injury and death rate (for humans) is appalling.

Animal rights - especially concerned with the gross cruelty involved in factory farming.

Health - the less animal food you eat, the more healthy food you have room for. And the more fruit and veg you eat, the better off your body will be. AND you'll probably get thinner.

Friday, June 22, 2007, 7:02 AM

Thank you 1:35! I'll check that out.

And to everyone else, mostly 10:50, 4:19, etc:

Couldn't you just start a "debating/attacking/criticizing/inquiring about the vegan diet" thread instead of wasting space in here, having people explain themselves to you? I have to scroll through a bunch of debating just to find actual responses to my question. Stop. Please.

-OP

Friday, June 22, 2007, 10:05 AM

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