Healthy Vegan Baking – gluten free, dairy free and egg free

My new book Go Lean Vegan is a fabulous gluten free vegan diet book with loads of great healthy recipes. As I was creating these vegan dishes I realised that sometimes taking things out of regular baking can make it more difficult to get the desired result. Baking can be tricky if you are not only trying to avoid gluten grains but also dairy and eggs. Here are number of easy solutions to keep your bakes healthy and tasty.

Dairy

Avoiding dairy is actually not that difficult. There are so many dairy free products now available.

Instead of milk you can use almond milk or coconut milk.  Rather than yogurt switch to coconut yogurt – here’s a video showing you can also make your own .  To make your own vegan buttermilk try coconut kefir or simply add 1tbsp lemon juice to almond or coconut milk and let it sit for five minutes before using.

I also love making nut cheese – easy using nuts and nutritional yeast flakes for flavour. I  add in probiotics to make it a healthy fermented food.

Butter

Rather than butter in recipes switch to coconut oil or olive oil. I prefer these than shop bought margarines which tend to be higher in omega 6 fats. Most of us have far too much omega 6 in our diets than omega 3 this creates an inflammatory response in the body.

Eggs

Replacing eggs doesn’t have to be difficult – here are a number of options you can try:

Chia seeds. Use 1tbsp chia seeds soaked for five minutes in 3 tbsp water for each egg. As they are rich in soluble fibre they are great for binding in recipes

Flaxseeds. Similar to chia – use 1tbsp soaked in 3tbsp water for each egg

Psyllium husks. Another great fibre rich option – 2tsp in 2tbsp water will work for each egg

Aquafaba – this liquid from a can of chickpeas is great – use 3tbsp per egg

Mashed Banana. This is great option in sweet muffins and breads. 1/2 banana mashed equates to 1 egg

Coconut yogurt – use 3tbsp per egg.

Pureed Fruit. Stewed apple is a good choice but any thick fruit puree will work. 1/4 cup of pureed fruit can replace each egg.

Starches – cornflour, potato starch or tapioca starch can be used. Use 1tbsp mixed with 2tbsp water. Add 1/4 tsp baking powder to create a lighter texture.

Vegan mayo – use 3tbsp for each egg and add 1/4 tsp baking powder to give it more lightness

Silken tofu – mash or puree it to create a thick cream. Use 1/4 cup for each egg

Check out my new book Go Lean Vegan for a range of delicious recipes – we also have many in the recipe pages for you to try.