Becoming vegan didn`t happen overnight. There were certainly several stages. Eggs was probably the last thing I was holding on to. Traditionally eggs are more than just a food. Sunday Brunch buffet with your friends, hot hearty omelets on a cold winter morning, soul-warming eggnog on holidays - so many memories are revolving around them.
However, with time, the realization came that consuming eggs is neither good for me nor the environment and the decision was made to stop eating them. Now, 3 years later, I don`t crave the taste of it but I do miss the tradition. I`ve been exploring the substitutions and I came across JUST Egg product in the Whole Foods market and I was intrigued. JUST Egg is vegan. It’s made with 100% plant-based ingredients, and it’s not tested on animals. No chickens were harmed in the making of JUST Egg, so vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters can enjoy this plant-based scrambleThe list of the ingredients pleased me so much. The main ingredient in JUST Egg is one that Americans don’t consume frequently but has been around for more than 4,000 years. It’s mung beans.
Mung beans gelatinize and scramble when they cook, making for the perfect egg texture. Add in some turmeric and carrot extract for color, and you’ve got yourself chicken-free eggs.
Here is the full list of JUST Egg ingredients:
Water
Mung Bean Protein Isolate
Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil
No cholesterol - no guilt. I decided to give it a try. I experimented with different recipes and came up with this one and I honestly can tell you that it became a hit in my household.
The texture came out so close to the real eggs that it was just astonishing.
This is a super fun recipes that I named "Vegan egg bites". The fun part is that you can mix up all of your favorite ingredients that you would normally order in your omelet. This dish would be perfect for the whole family to enjoy in the morning. Everyone can get what they like.
INGREDIENTS (12 egg bites)
For the "egg mix"
1 can of JUST Egg
1/3 of the firm tofu pack (150 g)
3-4 tbsps nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Agar Agar powder (OPTIONAL)
Note: You don`t really need to use tofu in this recipe as JUST Egg mix gelatinize pretty good while baking. I honestly use tofu to make the batch bigger as JUST Egg is a little pricy so when you mix it with tofu, the amount of bites come up to 12 ;)
For the filling
(note that it can be any of your favorite ingredients that you normally use for omelets)
4 vegan hot dog sausages chopped (I use the Smart Dogs by LightLife)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped spinach
PREPARE
1. Chop all of the ingredients. Place them in the bowls and put them aside.
The other ingredients can be:
basil
bell peppers
corn
vegan cheese
etc........
2. Add JUST Egg, nutritional yeast, tofu, Agar Agar and salt to the food processor and blend until smooth.
AGAR AGAR IS A GELLING AGENT DERIVED FROM SEAWEED. AGAR IS AN EXCELLENT PLANT-BASED GELATIN SUBSTITUTE WHICH IS A COMMON THICKENER. ALWAYS APPLY HEAT TO AGAR TO ACTIVATE IT, EITHER BY BOILING WITH WATER IN A POT OR SPINNING IN A HIGH SPEED BLENDER.
In our case, we are going to bake our bite so Agar Agar will be heated together with the mixture.
3. Pour 1/4 of your JUST egg mix into a middle-sized bowl and add fist set of ingredients. You can make all of your egg bites the same. I just prefer make them different as there is always that one family member who doesn't like onions ;) Mix the ingredients and spread them between first three baking cups (like it is shown on the next video). Clean the bowl and add second quarter of the mix and the next set of the ingredients. Keep going till the whole tray is filled.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 40 min. Cool down before serving.
Enjoy!!!!!!
If you love this recipe, please share it on your social media and tag #nataliealeycooks . Let`s connect on Instagram @natalie_aley
Have a wonderful day! Stay healthy and happy!
Yours truly, Natalie
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