Questions on tricking my family into eating vegan foods..

[Learing Cordelia]

If there are threads about this, I apologize. I've just started to eat a vegan diet and I was hoping to find someone that knows quite a bit about vegan diets to answer my questions....

I want to "trick" my family into trying vegan foods, so I want to get it as close as possible to the real thing so they cant tell.

1. Do egg substitutes work well in cakes and things for baking? Or is there a reasonable difference in the finish product?

2. Does it make a difference if a recipe calls for milk and you use almond/soy/rice milk instead? Flavor and consistency wise.

3. Is there a way that I can make soy products to taste like the real meat without using real meat?

Also.. what is the best possible recipe to try on my family? They are very meat and potatoes kind of people.

[Saya]

1. Do egg substitutes work well in cakes and things for baking? Or is there a reasonable difference in the finish product?

I find vegan cakes and cupcakes tend to stay moist longer than regular cakes, but I can't recall a recipe that I have that even calls for an egg subsitute. I have some really delicious recipes if you want them, they're very enjoyable. And when making icing, using Earth Balance margarine instead of butter is really good, I really wouldn't recommend using any that just has soy milk and sugar.

2. Does it make a difference if a recipe calls for milk and you use almond/soy/rice milk instead? Flavor and consistency wise.

Depends on the recipe, for the most part, no. For things like banana bread, it tastes the same but its more dense, so adding nuts help tackle that problem, if you don't like that.

3. Is there a way that I can make soy products to taste like the real meat without using real meat?

Depends. If you fry a veggie burger, for example, in oil slowly, it does make it greasy, and a lot of people can't tell the difference between a real hot dog and a tofu dog, but overall, they will be able to tell, I don't think you can "trick" them into eating veggie meats without them realizing. If you really want to get them interested in veggie foods, I'd concentrate on everything else first, especially baking (vegan baking is so so so good!), and then once they are more open minded they might want to try the mock meats.

Also, for mock meats you might want to try making seitan, it replicates the consistency and texture of meat better than most soy products, and since its less processed its generally much healthier for you, unless you or anyone you're cooking for is gluten intolerant.

[Saya]

Oops, sorry, other than cakes, there are recipes that call for egg substitutes, sorry :3 Egg Replacer is great for cookies, gives it a crisp texture, but for soft baked goods like muffins, use banana or applesauce. Pineapple_Juice recommended the applesauce to me but I haven't tried it yet, using a banana doesn't change the consistency but it may leave a bit of a banana flavour (which I can't complain, I love bananas!) Rule of thumb is that for every egg that is called, use half a banana.

As what the best recipe to use is.....hmmm.....good question. Maybe seitan ribz? My omni friends are big fans of vegan tacos, veggie "ground beef" tastes pretty good, and a lot of people love that they don't feel icky after eating a lot of it as opposed to the real thing. Pretzel tofu dogs are also a favourite.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/05...itan-ribz.html

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Saya

1. Do egg substitutes work well in cakes and things for baking? Or is there a reasonable difference in the finish product?

I find vegan cakes and cupcakes tend to stay moist longer than regular cakes, but I can't recall a recipe that I have that even calls for an egg subsitute. I have some really delicious recipes if you want them, they're very enjoyable. And when making icing, using Earth Balance margarine instead of butter is really good, I really wouldn't recommend using any that just has soy milk and sugar.

I would love to borrow your recipes. =) Thank-you.

Depends on the recipe, for the most part, no. For things like banana bread, it tastes the same but its more dense, so adding nuts help tackle that problem, if you don't like that.

My mom loves dense banana bread, that would be perfect for her. I'm allergic to nuts so I can only eat them if I have antihistamines close. It sucks sooooo bad.. I love organic peanut butter.

Depends. If you fry a veggie burger, for example, in oil slowly, it does make it greasy, and a lot of people can't tell the difference between a real hot dog and a tofu dog, but overall, they will be able to tell, I don't think you can "trick" them into eating veggie meats without them realizing. If you really want to get them interested in veggie foods, I'd concentrate on everything else first, especially baking (vegan baking is so so so good!), and then once they are more open minded they might want to try the mock meats.

My brothers love cookies, brownies, cakes and stuff like that. So baking is something they expect from me. I'll ease them into it with baking first, I don't know how my brothers will react to eating what they call "hippie" food.

Thank-you very much =)!!!

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Saya

Oops, sorry, other than cakes, there are recipes that call for egg substitutes, sorry :3 Egg Replacer is great for cookies, gives it a crisp texture, but for soft baked goods like muffins, use banana or applesauce. Pineapple_Juice recommended the applesauce to me but I haven't tried it yet, using a banana doesn't change the consistency but it may leave a bit of a banana flavour (which I can't complain, I love bananas!) Rule of thumb is that for every egg that is called, use half a banana.

As what the best recipe to use is.....hmmm.....good question. Maybe seitan ribz? My omni friends are big fans of vegan tacos, veggie "ground beef" tastes pretty good, and a lot of people love that they don't feel icky after eating a lot of it as opposed to the real thing. Pretzel tofu dogs are also a favourite.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/05...itan-ribz.html

Thank-you, I'll write that down in my cookbook. I've never heard of using banana like that before C=.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Learing Cordelia

I would love to borrow your recipes. =) Thank-you.

I get a lot of my recipes from forums, and then I just play around with them, but we're not supposed to link to other forums and I can't pm you, so I'll just type it out from my cookbook.

My favourite recipe, Lemon Cake (super easy too!):

3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup canola oil (almost any oil will work really), 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract, 2 cups cold rice/soy milk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Grease pan and lightly coat with flour. Mix dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together, then add to dry ingredients, stir. Bake for 25/30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Wait until completely cool to remove from pan.

The icing recipe I have is inaccurate, it calls for 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 of a cup soy/rice milk, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 3/4 cups icing sugar. It requires a lot more icing sugar than that, in the end I didn't keep track of what I used, just be sure that the icing is thick and not dripping. Add the sugar a bit at a time and beat together with a egg beater.

This chocolate cake is very similar to the recipe I have, pretty good, although I'm not very crazy about chocolate:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6433.0

Rice Krispies without marshmallows, very very easy to make and I couldn't tell the difference: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6559.0

And if you're feeling adventurous, the PPK has really good recipes:
http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php

Pretty much all you need to do when you're looking for a recipe is google "[desired dish] recipe vegan" and you'll get a lot of sites with "veganized" versions.

My mom loves dense banana bread, that would be perfect for her. I'm allergic to nuts so I can only eat them if I have antihistamines close. It sucks sooooo bad.. I love organic peanut butter.

That sucks, my banana bread recipe calls for peanut butter >.< I'm betting the banana bread recipe you have calls for two bananas and two eggs, right? So just use three bananas instead. Add a cup of chocolate chips for more yumminess! It'll still be dense.

My brothers love cookies, brownies, cakes and stuff like that. So baking is something they expect from me. I'll ease them into it with baking first, I don't know how my brothers will react to eating what they call "hippie" food.

Thank-you very much =)!!!

Not a problem, I'm very much in love with cooking right now so I'm happy to share recipes and give advice ^_^

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Saya

My favourite recipe, Lemon Cake (super easy too!)

Thank-you! I will definitely try this, my mom wants me to make a cake soon so this is perfect.

Rice Krispies without marshmallows, very very easy to make and I couldn't tell the difference: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6559.0

That is something new. I'll try it.

I make my own candy.. I have this cashew, macadamia coconut crunch recipe, my family loves it. Would substituting Earth balance margarine mess it up? It calls for butter.

Not a problem, I'm very much in love with cooking right now so I'm happy to share recipes and give advice ^_^

You sound like an excellent cook! I'm very grateful for all the help and advice, my mom is from the south and taught me how to cook heavy southern food, I have absolutely no experience cooking more delicate foods ^-^.

[Saya]

Depends, do you usually use butter? I haven't had real butter since I was a kid, so I'm not sure what the exact difference in taste is between butter and margarine. However Earth Balance is just like regular margarine, most margarines are vegetable oil based but usually contain a small amount of whey.

I hear you, in Newfoundland the traditional meal is fish based, and my mom doesn't know how to cook vegetables other than boil them in the same pot as salt beef -_-* takes the flavour (and vitamins) right out of them.

[Learing Cordelia]

I'll try using Earth Balance. I like experimenting so it'll be fun, even if it doesn't harden right, I'll just freeze it. =P It'll harden dammit! haha..

My mom loves pork chops, gravy, mashed potatoes with corn on the cob and homemade biscuits. Or biscuits with sausage gravy and thick sausage patties. =). When I talked to her about me starting a vegan diet all she said was "Honey.. Eat all the veggies you want, just leave my cheeseburgers alone. I wouldn't like that gross crap." That is why I want her and my family to try veggie burgers and stuff, to show her and them it is actually really good.

[Saya]

Earth Balance hardens pretty well, its not very soft to begin with.

Well pork chops, can't help you, I hate pork and never had the desire to replicate it XD gravy is easy, you just use vegetable stock instead of beef stock. Potatoes and corn on the cop would be great with just Earth Balance, and I'm sure biscuits could be easily made vegan.

Does she like beans? If she's unwilling to try mock meats she might like to try a bean burger instead, they're fun to make and pretty tasty.

[Pineapple_Juice]

I was gonna answer this buy I guess Saya covered it.

You can also use applesauce as a replacement for egg in a lot of recipes, and sometimes if you're using prepackaged cake mix you can use soda as well, like Sprite.

If you wanna completely trick them I'd start with desserts and chilis.

Also, there are these things-gravy granules-where you boil water and just add the granules and you get a great gravy. If you can't find them in stores you can always look on a vegan internet food site.

I hate Boca Burgers-I think they have a weird taste to them. I like Gardenburger instead but the patties look nothing like a meat patty so you can't be fooled.

If you use Bisquick and add any sort of soy, rice, etc. milk, you can make these things called Drop Biscuits. They're on the box, and they taste just like real biscuits. They're amazing.

A bacon substitute that's fantastic is Lightlife Smart Bacon. It looks flat and unappetizing but I scarfed like 3 blt's in a day. If you just put it in a sandwich with all the other stuff they won't tell.

[Learing Cordelia]

She loves beans. Especially big pots of pinto beans. Lol I'm sure I can get her to omit the big slab of salt pork and hamhocks. That'll be really good for her.

I'm sorry if I'm asking way too many questions, I love learning about things and vegan food is currently a big obsession I'm having. I appreciate all the advice ^_^!

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Pineapple_Juice

I was gonna answer this buy I guess Saya covered it.

You can also use applesauce as a replacement for egg in a lot of recipes, and sometimes if you're using prepackaged cake mix you can use soda as well, like Sprite.

If you wanna completely trick them I'd start with desserts and chilis.

Soda? In cake? You speak madness! Instead of egg?

I forgot about chili!

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Learing Cordelia

She loves beans. Especially big pots of pinto beans. Lol I'm sure I can get her to omit the big slab of salt pork and hamhocks. That'll be really good for her.

I'm sorry if I'm asking way too many questions, I love learning about things and vegan food is currently a big obsession I'm having. I appreciate all the advice ^_^!

Hmm, maybe she'd like this then:

Black Bean Burgers

1/2 red sweet onion, diced (as small as you can chop it), 1 can of black beans, 1/2 cup of flour, 2 slices of bread crumbled, 2 tsps chili powder, 1/2 tsp seasoning salt, salt and pepper to taste, canola oil.

Dice the onions and sautee in oil. Drain beans and mash. Add onions, crumbled bread, chili powder, and seasoning salt to beans and mix together. Add flour by tablespoons and mix after each addition to produce a thick bean mixture. Form into six patties abou 1/2 an inch thick. Cook on stove in small amounts of oil, turning when necessary until somewhat firm and brown.

Black beans look disgusting when they first come out of the can, and when you mash them the mixture is purple, but when you're done it'll look nice and brown. So...don't make it in front of anyone XD

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Pineapple_Juice

I was gonna answer this buy I guess Saya covered it.

You can also use applesauce as a replacement for egg in a lot of recipes, and sometimes if you're using prepackaged cake mix you can use soda as well, like Sprite.

If you wanna completely trick them I'd start with desserts and chilis.

Also, there are these things-gravy granules-where you boil water and just add the granules and you get a great gravy. If you can't find them in stores you can always look on a vegan internet food site.

I hate Boca Burgers-I think they have a weird taste to them. I like Gardenburger instead but the patties look nothing like a meat patty so you can't be fooled.

If you use Bisquick and add any sort of soy, rice, etc. milk, you can make these things called Drop Biscuits. They're on the box, and they taste just like real biscuits. They're amazing.

A bacon substitute that's fantastic is Lightlife Smart Bacon. It looks flat and unappetizing but I scarfed like 3 blt's in a day. If you just put it in a sandwich with all the other stuff they won't tell.

Thank-you very much. I think I can get my mom to eat smart bacon. I'll try adding sprite to a cakemix and see if my family can tell the difference.

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

I want to "trick" my family into trying vegan foods, so I want to get it as close as possible to the real thing so they cant tell.

1. Do egg substitutes work well in cakes and things for baking? Or is there a reasonable difference in the finish product?

Most cakes will hold up well enough on their own


2. Does it make a difference if a recipe calls for milk and you use almond/soy/rice milk instead? Flavor and consistency wise.

Not even a fucking little.

3. Is there a way that I can make soy products to taste like the real meat without using real meat?
Many soy products do taste very similar. Boca provides a wide variety of items, especially their Chick'n patties. In addition, meats made out of wheat glutten taste remarkably good. Keep in mind, these are rather expensive to buy en masse, so try using lots of veggie side dishes.


Congrats on joining the Vegan side though.

Check out veganoutreach.org if you feel like spreading the veggie love.

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Saya

Hmm, maybe she'd like this then:

Black Bean Burgers

1/2 red sweet onion, diced (as small as you can chop it), 1 can of black beans, 1/2 cup of flour, 2 slices of bread crumbled, 2 tsps chili powder, 1/2 tsp seasoning salt, salt and pepper to taste, canola oil.

Dice the onions and sautee in oil. Drain beans and mash. Add onions, crumbled bread, chili powder, and seasoning salt to beans and mix together. Add flour by tablespoons and mix after each addition to produce a thick bean mixture. Form into six patties abou 1/2 an inch thick. Cook on stove in small amounts of oil, turning when necessary until somewhat firm and brown.

Black beans look disgusting when they first come out of the can, and when you mash them the mixture is purple, but when you're done it'll look nice and brown. So...don't make it in front of anyone XD

That sounds really good. Thank-you =D! I'll try these tomorrow night and see what she says.

[Learing Cordelia]

Originally Posted by Joker_in_the_Pack

I want to "trick" my family into trying vegan foods, so I want to get it as close as possible to the real thing so they cant tell.

1. Do egg substitutes work well in cakes and things for baking? Or is there a reasonable difference in the finish product?

Most cakes will hold up well enough on their own


2. Does it make a difference if a recipe calls for milk and you use almond/soy/rice milk instead? Flavor and consistency wise.

Not even a fucking little.

3. Is there a way that I can make soy products to taste like the real meat without using real meat?
Many soy products do taste very similar. Boca provides a wide variety of items, especially their Chick'n patties. In addition, meats made out of wheat glutten taste remarkably good. Keep in mind, these are rather expensive to buy en masse, so try using lots of veggie side dishes.


Congrats on joining the Vegan side though.

Check out veganoutreach.org if you feel like spreading the veggie love.

Thank-you =). I'll look at the site right now.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Joker_in_the_Pack

Check out veganoutreach.org if you feel like spreading the veggie love.

While their "Why Vegan" pamplet is good, they do have one there that says "Even If You LIke Meat....", and advocates eating free range and other Happy Meats, even though elsewhere on their website they condemn it. They also make the definition open by saying eating honey and wearing silk is fine, when one of the reasons why the term "Vegan" was coined was because they were frustrated that the term vegetarian included some animal products, the definition of vegan is to avoid all animal products within reason (not saying you shouldn't take a ride on the bus because there are byproducts in the tires), and honey and silk is so ridiculously easy to avoid. Even if you'll never convince omnis that we shouldn't farm insects just to harvest their vomit, people not caring doesn't invalidate the fact a vegan avoids an animal products and a bee is definately an animal.

Thats the only real problem I have with them, because it leaves the question, "Why not just eat only a itty bitty bit of meat sometimes and make sure its free range by visiting the farm?" I would also suggest www.peacefulprairie.org, they have pretty much the same info only tackle why free range isn't a compromise, and of course stays true to the definition of vegan as a lifestyle and not just as a diet.

Also for recipes http://www.theppk.com/ makes my mouth water sometimes.

[Underwater Ophelia]

So it'll be totally cool if someone tricks you into eating something you don't want to eat?

[JCC]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

So it'll be totally cool if someone tricks you into eating something you don't want to eat?

I think that you're missing the point. She doesn't mean:

"Hey guys, I made you a curry! The sauce is korma.

Not really, it's arsenic."

She means that she wants to be able to replicate the flavour of animal products as much as possible so that the taste is indiscernable, not to actually mislead them. She's already told her family that she's vegan, they wouldn't believe her if she said she was cooking meat.

[Underwater Ophelia]

Originally Posted by JCC

I think that you're missing the point. She doesn't mean:

"Hey guys, I made you a curry! The sauce is korma.

Not really, it's arsenic."

She means that she wants to be able to replicate the flavour of animal products as much as possible so that the taste is indiscernable, not to actually mislead them. She's already told her family that she's vegan, they wouldn't believe her if she said she was cooking meat.

Yeah, I get that.
It was a joke.

[JCC]

...Where was the joke?

[Underwater Ophelia]

I will admit it wasn't a good one, but I was attempting a joke about making folk eat crap they don't want to eat, but also expressing my irritation at the thought of people "tricking" people into eating crap they don't want.

[JCC]

So, it wasn't really a joke, merely a pointed rhetorical question to express your distaste for what you thought Learing Cordelia was implying, though she wasn't. The way that you say 'it's a joke' makes it seem like you're trying to chastise me for correcting you on your misunderstanding because you meant nothing by it, but you did mean something by it, it just happened to have some sarcasm thrown in.