Egg-free grocery items

I’m trying to avoid buying eggs and products that contain egg as much as possible these days for compassionate reasons. The odd, determined egg now and then slips through the filters when I am less than diligent but so be it in an imperfect world.

First up, Jamie Oliver pasta …

Pasta does not need to be made with eggs as is plain to see from these three packs of egg-free pasta. In fact, there are numerous brands of dried pasta in the supermarket that do not contain eggs. You just need to take the trouble to read the labels. I’ve picked this brand as it is the newest, most visible and most colourful of the lot.

Here’s a close of Jamie’s statement about the ingredients on the one packs:

I have no idea why Jamie has chosen to use and so endorse egg-free pasta as he is certainly not a vegan but I am pleased nevertheless as he is a popular foodie personality, he is influential and it is truly hard to miss his flood of products into Woolworths in Australia. Whilst he has undoubtedly done some great work by promoting fresh, wholefoods for home cooking, I look forward to the day when he will use his influence to promote a more compassionate way of eating. For now, we have egg-free pasta.

So far, we have tried the fusilli in the yellow pack. It was very good. No complaints at all.

According to information gleaned off the packages, this dried pasta is made:

• of durum wheat semolina (and water);
• in Italy using a traditional recipe; and
• with extra texture so that it can hold more sauce.

Next up, egg substitutes for baking …

All manner of ingredients can apparently be used to replace eggs in baking, eg, banana, chia seeds, peanut butter, etc. Orgran’s “no egg” provides a more neutral kind of tasting substitute and I have successfully used it to make cupcakes.

I need to do more “no egg” cupcake experimentation using my own recipe from scratch but so far I have successfully made tasty, well received and seemingly conventional, egg-free cupcakes using Green’s Golden Butter Cake mix and Basco’s gluten-free Golden Butter Cake mix. As I am also trying to dodge dairy, I used a plant-based shortening instead of butter and Pureharvest Oat Milk instead of cow’s milk. I slipped up with my dairy dodging with the Greens as it contains milk solids which I discovered after the fact thanks to my less than diligent label reading! Grocery shopping has indeed become a minefield for the mindful shopper.

“No egg” is soy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, yeast-free and is vegan. It is also very economical as the pack contains the equivalent of 66 eggs which makes it about 9c per “no egg”! I bought mine from Weigh ‘n Pay in Woodvale, Perth.

“No egg” is made in Australia. See the ingredients in the photo below. I have only used it for baking but, according to the box, it can be used to make fillings, batter, custard and meringue. I’d really like to be able to make a good vegan custard!

Last up in this post is vegan mayonnaise … 

I was very happy when my local health shop, Stay Healthy, managed to source this Melrose vegan mayonnaise for me. As added bonuses, it is made in Australia and is organic.  I’m very pleased to have found a readily available vegan substitute.

Mayonnaise is, however, one of those products that some people have very strong feelings about when it comes to brand loyalty and specific tastes and textures. This one is more like a salad cream to me than a mayonnaise but I am happy to have found it. The ingredients are visible in the photo below:

 

The next step is to try make my own vegan mayonnaise and I already have the recipe for “No Eggy Mayo” in the amazing cookbook called The Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook by Skye Michael Conroy (aka The Gentle Chef) to help me achieve this goal. See his website at gentlechef.com. His book is available in digital form for instant download and in print.

 

Swan Valley Café, Perth

I’m on a mission at present to try out as many Perth vegan/vegetarian restaurants as I can. The process is slow! My main challenge seems to be my location as there is not much in the way of those kind of specialised restaurants in the north of Perth. There are several mainstream restaurants in the area that have a vegetarian option or two and if you are really lucky, a vegan option.

Some plant-based people simply stop eating out due to the challenges. Some will try order a bowl of parsley or a selection of sides. The latter strategy often proves to be a highly satisfactory experience as I recently discovered at the Indiana Tea Room in Cottesloe. I love eating out and believe that all home cooks deserve a regular break from the endless monotony of providing meals for the rest of the family, so I will continue with my vegan/vegetarian dining out adventures.

After endless trawling on the VeganPerth.org.au Facebook page the other day, I ended up “liking” a whole heap of suitable local restaurants and I discovered to my delight that the Swan Valley Café exists and is the north of Perth. There is one catch though: it is WAY inland, a 26 minute drive one way according to Google Maps. So whilst not impossibly far, for me it falls into the leisurely weekend lunch category as it is out of my way. I envy the Swan Valley locals!

Armed with Google Maps and Bluetooth, we set forth on a gorgeous Perth winter’s day, with drizzle and rainbows, on Sunday adventure inland to the Swan Valley winelands. I was on the receiving end of endless “are we there yet?” enquiries. As the café is located on the Great Northern Highway, which can be busy at times, my only travelling recommendation is to keep left as you near the destination and slow down despite all the cars behind you as you can miss the driveway that you need to turn into in a flash and turning around on the highway is a real pain even though it is a very rustic kind of highway.

I just love the vibe I get at these alternative restaurants and that relief that I can order just about anything there. My best ever experience was going to Loving Hut Perth (south of the river) where I could have thrown a dart at the menu blindfolded and been safe to eat whatever menu item the dart landed on. Definitely a happy experience!

I ordered this veggie burger with salads on the side and it was great! I would definitely order it again and would recommend it highly. I also ordered a slice of non-dairy “cheesecake” for dessert – definitely enough for two to share!

One of the things that excites me most about the Swan Valley Café is that they offer children a special platter of food instead of the usual, awful kids’ menu choices. We know them all: chicken nuggets and chips, fish and chips, steak and chips, cheese pizza, etc. I know how hard it is to feed a child, especially when limited to menu items, but mainstream restaurants seem to be drumming it into their formative little minds that this is the way you eat when you go out. It is very hard to unlearn these food habits that you learn from such a young age.

So back to my sheer delight at seeing a more healthy and sensible food option for kids: I think the menu did state that you could specify dietary preferences but as I felt I was in a “safe zone” I just went with the standard offering with no specifications. This is what arrived:

My little one was delighted. Half an egg disappeared before I could photograph it. I was surprised to see egg and cheese as I had been lulled into forgetting that this is a vegetarian restaurant and not a purely vegan one, though it has vegan options. At this point I must add that we are a home “in conversion”. I raised my child as an “omni” and I have to accept my choice to have done that at the time and the consequences of that choice. My new goal with my child is to undo the omni in a kind and compassionate way vis-a-vis her by first drastically reducing animal-based foods and in many instances eliminating them entirely with her consent. Consequently she mainly eats vegan food, often eats vegetarian food and only when she eats out does she have the choice to eat meat. She general picks a vegetarian pizza or fish and chips, so that I guess makes her a pescatarian once a month! She has granted pigs, sheep and chicken immunity but for some reason or other cows have not been deemed “too cute to eat” but I am sure we will get there. Rome was not built in a day!

Fortunately I did raise her with a love of fresh, whole food so all manner of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils are eaten with relish. I wish more restaurants offered children a simple platter like this which can so easily be tailored to suit dietary preferences. You just need a list of options and the patron and pick and choose and nothing is easier to prepare than one of these little platters: salad leaves, raw veggie sticks, baby tomatoes, olives, fruit, dip, crackers, nuts, seeds, beans, egg and cheese.

If alternative restaurants do not offer suitable children’s options, they risk losing the patronage of the parents. We went to a great restaurant for adults last weekend but all they could offer my child was roast potatoes and sadly she isn’t a fan. I simply cannot go there again until the menu has been made more accommodating for little people.

Here’s an example of a splendid children’s platter served at a Cape Town restaurant. This was the first time I had ever seen such an option for kids like this on a menu. It was called “Organic Salad”.

It went down a treat!

Goi Vietnamese Rolls

Vegan options in the northern suburbs of Perth can be hard to come by. This is both annoying and disappointing but we can only hope that more choices and vegan/vegetarian restaurants start appearing to match the apparent rise in interest in plant-based, cruelty free lifestyles.

Many mainstream restaurants are clueless as is apparent from their menus with no vegan option and vegetarian options which are so rich and cheese-based that they literally make the plant-based diner feel ill. Often a garden salad and a side of fries is your best way to go in these places which is truly sad.

Anyway, with that as my backdrop to dining in northern Perth, imagine my delight when I discovered that Goi Vietnamese Rolls in Whitfords Shopping Centre has a vegan option. (See how easy to please we can be … delight at one mere option!) They make a delicious Buddah’s Delight rice paper roll which consists of various greens, tofu, sautéed mushrooms and noodles in a rice paper wrap served with a vegan sauce. I have ordered these countless times since I discover them earlier this year. The quality is consistently superb and the service is always friendly and excellent.

I will no doubt keep ordering them. They are fresh and light and you feel great eating them. They have become my absolute favourite takeaway food. A huge thank you to GVR!

New salt reduced olives

Salt reduced anything is a good idea (even better is salt-free!) so I was pleased to find this new product in the Always Fresh range recently: salt reduced pitted Kalamata olives. They are stocked by Woolworths which is convenient.

I was pleasantly surprised by the taste which is much milder and softer than the regular type in this range. In fact, I would urge those who aren’t great olive fans to try these as they are very different and you might just find yourself converted into an olive eater. These olives would also be great to introduce to children, though many kids do like the stronger tasting ones.

According to the jar, they contain 45% less sodium.

The ingredients are listed as kalamata olives, water, olive oil, salt, sugar, food acid (260). colour (150d) and mysteriously “flavour”.

Perhaps consult a reputable guideline regarding the meaning of those numbers but according to my superficial Google search 260 is “acetic acid” and 150d is “Caramel IV – ammonia sulphite process”. Neither of these have been flagged red for danger on the fedup.com.au Complete List of Additives but that I cannot confirm personally.

For olives which are to the best of my knowledge additive-free and organic, try Eagle Vale Olives from Geraldton, Western Australia. I need to take a bit of time to find my closest stockist in Perth from their list on their website eaglevaleolives.com.au. These are a great alternative to supermarket olives as they are excellent quality, very well priced, taste good and there is a wide range of products from whole olives to tapenades to body products.