Monday, January 17, 2011

Do you need eggs in baking?

A friend of mine just asked me: 'Can I use flax seed meal as an egg substitute? Is that even possible? Great question. Some people really see the recipe as the way it has to be, but with such a high-quality substitute that is much healthier and doesn't have the food-safety concern of Salmonella enterocolitis (Salmonellosis)

No need to keep eggs in the fridge for baking when Flax is cheaper, healthier, a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids, essential fiber and protein, without the risk of salmonella, as are a concern with eggs--especially those from factory farms as is the case with the majority of eggs consumed in the United States.
each Tablespoon of ground* Flax, or "Flax Meal" provides, according to: Nutritiondata.self.com , 1600 mg Omega-3, 2g of cancer preventing Fiber and 1g Protein with only 37 calories.
*I have an inexpensive "coffee-grinder" that I only use for the purpose of grinding flax.

--> For baking, instead of each egg, substitute:
1 Tablespoon ground Flax
3 Tbs Water (or Almond/Walnut/or Soy milk)

Ground flaxseed has many uses, such as in soy/coconut yogurt, mixed with some water and dabbed onto a pizza crust or on the top of bread will help to create a browning effect in the oven. It is also useful in smoothies, such as:

Super-hero Smoothie:
1 cup (or so) Kale, just the leaves, setting thick stems aside for other use
1-2 bananas fresh, ripe ( or frozen over-ripe bananas, saved for such use)
1 apple, de-cored or 1 orange
Blend well with just a couple cups of water, just enough to keep things moving. Add a couple tablespoons of ground flaxseed as desired.

Note:Since Flax is so high in Omega-3, if you grind it (i.e. make Flax Meal) find an empty jar to re-use and store in the fridge to keep it fresh.
Grinding the flax will puff it up, slightly increasing its volume, so measuring a tablespoon of ground (unpacked) flax will have 1600mg Omega-3/37 Calories vs 2300mg/55 Calories in whole/non-ground flaxseed, which may be more important if making large batches of egg-free baked treats.

1 comment:

cacatua said...

Hi Daniel. I'm the Merlin hermit from the T Colin Campbell Foundation post. Just thought you might find some interesting information here about flaxseed. I want to look back through it again myself. I roast it in a large, dry skillet or wok, so that I can keep stirring it. It has ever so much better flavor roasted and is heavenly with nutritional yeast and peanut butter on WW toast. Will see if the link will post live: http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/index.jsp?p=nutrition1&mp=nutrition

My satelite connection is a little hinky tonight out here in the trees, so here goes........