Salad on a plate with dressing

Vegan 101: 12 Months to Vegan-April

Can you believe we are 4 months into 2021? April takes us further into spring and into our next step for the Vegan Sexy Cool 12 Months to Vegan challenge!! If you have been following us since January, CONGRATS for making it this far. If you are new to the website, you can read more about the overall challenge here. And as a reminder, you can continue using Vegan versions of butter (January), Vegan milk, ice cream and yogurt (February), and Vegan breads (March) as you move into April, or just focus on using substitutes meant for this month.

For April we are switching out eggs, mayo, sour cream and dairy-based salad dressings for Vegan substitutes. Just in case you don’t know, the dairy versions of these foods are not so good for your health and harmful to animals. Here are some of the products I use instead.

Eggs

Just Egg. Period. I know there are other egg substitutes on the market, but this one is hands down my favorite. Check out my previous post on what is in Just Egg and how I cook with it. (https://vegansexycool.com/listen-to-me-the-eggiest-non-eggs-on-the-market/). You can use it for scrambles, French toast, baking and so much more. And it tastes and cooks like the real thing. Also, it is not made from soy, if you are concerned about that.

You can also use a flax seed and water mixture as an egg substitute when you need an egg for binding or baking.

Mayonnaise

Just about every mayo company has a Vegan version by now. I prefer the ones that are avocado based because the flavor is so much better and avocados are really good for you. Listen to me, the consistency taste of Vegan mayo is just like the real thing but not every brand is the same. So if you end up with a brand you don’t like, just try another one. My favorite is Sir Kensington’s which makes both Vegan and non-Vegan mayo, so check the labeling closely. It really is sooo good.

Sir Kensingtons Vegan Mayonaise

Sour Cream

This is a tricky one. I have not found many great store bought Vegan sour creams, but I have tried some that are ok. That’s not to say I have not had great Vegan sour cream. The best I ever had were from restaurants or from my Purple Carrot meal kit delivery dinners. What I do in a pinch is use a bitter nondairy yogurt (with no sweetness). It is really close to the real thing. You can also google plant based sour cream recipes online, if you want to give that a try. Tofutti sour cream is one that I have tried and liked, but did not love. Kite Hill also has a sour cream, but it is almond based and I am allergic to almonds, so I have never tried it.

Salad Dressings

This is the easiest of them all. There are so many great Vegan versions of your favorite salad dressing that tastes just like or very close to the real thing. I honestly just make my own. I combine an oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic… and then to make it creamy, I will add some Vegan yogurt, some avocado or a little Vegan mayo. There are many great recipes online for Vegan creamy salad dressings. Here is one of my favs from The Great American Test Kitchen’s Vegan cookbook (which has so many other incredible Vegan recipes that it is worth the purchase):

Vegan for Everybody Cookbook

If you have been following the challenge since the beginning or are just joining in, please take a moment and leave a comment and let me know how you are doing or if you have any questions.

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