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Sntrose

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
7
Location
South
Hello all!

I am new and so excited to find this forum! I love to cook...I call it my hobby. It's something I do everyday, and I look forward to it too! I've never been satisfied with making the same things over and over. I try to make at least one completely new meal a week, and I'm forever tweaking the ones I already use.

My husband and I decided that we were going to eat very healthy right after we got married (about a year and a half ago.) The diet we have chosen has made us feel great! But it's not always been easy to make delicious and healthy at the same time. It's been a challenge, but one I have certainly enjoyed. There's nothing like having a supportive partner when you're trying to eat healthy!

For reference, we eat vegan except for seafood. We only eat seafood 2 - 3 times a week. So everything else has no animal products in it. In doing this, we drastically reduced our cholesterol intake. The trick to this, is we also are very strict on our budget. It has been no easy task finding substitutes that are cost effective and tasty.

So! I join this forum in hopes that I can partner with some of you on my never-ending quest for the healthy-delicious-inexpensive variety of meals we love so much. My husband is a wonderful recipe eater, but he is not a cook. He is not so much help with brainstorming.

My biggest fear is not being able to make gingerbread for Christmas (I know, I know...it's ages away...but it's the most important holiday at my house...) so any suggestions on vegan cookies would be very much appreciated! Particularly the holiday variety. Even if you're not vegan, it can be fun to experiment, right?

I look forward to teaming up with some great cooks and learning so much... This is really such a great opportunity and I am very excited! Thanks in advance! :chef:
 
Welcome to DC. You are going to have a lot of laughs and find some great friends here. You should start practicing on that gingerbread now so that you have it perfect by Christmas. It is not a hard thing to make. My mother used to make it for me all the time and top it with real whipped cream. YUM! :angel:
 
Hello and welcome! There is a lovely bunch of people here and I am sure lots of us will be interested to see how you get on with your search for a vegan gingerbread recipe. :)
 
Welcome, as I am very much mest eater, i'm no help with vegan food. But I have a question, what is in ginger bread, that is not vegetarian?
 
Welcome, as I am very much mest eater, i'm no help with vegan food. But I have a question, what is in ginger bread, that is not vegetarian?

My guess is that since a vegan diet usually means no animal products (not just no meat), it can't include dairy products such as eggs and butter.

Sntrose appears to be following a mainly vegan diet for health reasons rather than ethical/spiritual ones (otherwise she couldn't possibly eat sea food).
 
I thought there were egg substitutes out there, and as far as butter, my wife been making all kind of desserts using margarine and it is as good if not better than butter.
 
KatyCooks is quite correct...I don't use eggs or butter. I also don't use margarine for similar health reasons! "partially hydrogenated oils" to be specific. That always means trans fats, regardless of whether or not the label claims to have 0 grams trans fat. I have had some success substituting nut butters, but it makes for quite a rich cookie! I will have to experiment...I will probably try almond butter mixed with a little vegetable oil (to loosen it up) first.
 
The greatest challenge I face is finding a good egg substitute. (Healthy and inexpensive) In cake-like gingerbread, pumpkin will work fine in place of egg. I'm not sure how well that will work for cookies...it makes it very moist, not crunchy. The boxed egg substitute is something I have not tried, mainly because it costs almost 10 dollars and it says on the box that it is not guaranteed to work! Has anyone tried something like this? I'd hate to waste the money...
 
Hello! :)

My diet is similar. I am pescetarian. I do eat eggs and dairy (occasionally) though.

Anyway, welcome!
 
The greatest challenge I face is finding a good egg substitute. (Healthy and inexpensive) In cake-like gingerbread, pumpkin will work fine in place of egg. I'm not sure how well that will work for cookies...it makes it very moist, not crunchy. The boxed egg substitute is something I have not tried, mainly because it costs almost 10 dollars and it says on the box that it is not guaranteed to work! Has anyone tried something like this? I'd hate to waste the money...

Here is a good chart: Egg Substitutes in Baking | Vegan, Egg Free Substitutes | Chef In You
 
KatyCooks is quite correct...I don't use eggs or butter. I also don't use margarine for similar health reasons! "partially hydrogenated oils" to be specific. That always means trans fats, regardless of whether or not the label claims to have 0 grams trans fat. I have had some success substituting nut butters, but it makes for quite a rich cookie! I will have to experiment...I will probably try almond butter mixed with a little vegetable oil (to loosen it up) first.

So it is more than vegan issue, how about coconut butter?
 
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