In order to veganize nonvegan goodies, you need to become familiar with a whole host of ingredients that’ll become your best allies in the kitchen. Here’s a guide to the animal-friendly pantry items that help make your junk food taste oh-so-good.
NONDAIRY MILK
For recipes in this book that specify using nondairy milk, any of the following unsweetened milks will work: almond milk, hemp milk, rice milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. Choose the one you prefer to drink. When soy milk is specifically listed as an ingredient, it is usually for the body that it lends to the finished product. Other nondairy milks might not work well in that particular recipe; for example, rice milk tends to be a little more watery and may change the finished product’s consistency. Replace soy milk in a recipe with a milk equal in body, such as hemp, coconut, or almond milk.
VEGAN BUTTER
Look for brands of vegan butter that are nonhydrogenated and are trans-fat-free. When baking, opt for vegan butter sticks, as they tend to have less water content and are easier to measure. One great brand to try is Earth Balance (www.earthbalancenatural.com).
NONHYDROGENATED VEGAN SHORTENING
While it does not impart any flavor, shortening is great for making pie crusts because it is better able to coat flour than butter—a key to flaky pastry. For frosting it is also great, as it doesn’t melt at room temperature. Try Spectrum brand shortening (www.spectrumorganics.com).
VEGETABLE OIL
Here’s the rundown on the different oils I recommend for your junk food recipes. The term oil used in recipes can apply to any of the oils discussed in this section.
• Extra-virgin olive oil—This is best for sautéing savory items, and it can also be used for baking where oil is called for, but it can impart a strong flavor.
• Canola oil or soybean oil—Their neutral flavor is ideal for baking.
• Virgin coconut oil—This works best in desserts, as it has a light coconut flavor and pairs well with chocolate. As with all oils, look for organic varieties. Nutiva is a good brand to try (www.nutiva.com).
SUGAR
Table sugar, powdered sugar, or most brown sugar is not vegan because of the use of animal bone char to filter it. Most brown sugar starts as white sugar that has molasses added to it later, and powdered sugar starts as table sugar that is then ground into a powder with cornstarch. Alternatives to these sugars are many and include unrefined cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, beet sugar, date sugar, raw or turbinado sugar, and coconut sugar. The term sugar used in recipes can apply to any of the sugars or sweeteners discussed in this section. Here are some one-to-one replacements:
• Table sugar—Use vegan cane sugar, beet sugar, or granulated and dehydrated cane juice. Florida Crystals offers a vegan version: www.floridacrystals.com.
• Brown sugar—Use Sucanat, a whole-cane sugar.
• Powdered sugar—Use powdered sugar that is made from organic sugar cane.
• Liquid sugars—Use in recipes where you don’t mind the additional flavor and softened texture that liquid sugars lend to baked goods. Agave, barley malt syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, corn syrup (not to fear: although this is a sugar, it’s not the same as high-fructose corn syrup), and pure maple syrup are good for baking and candy making. Raw agave syrup is a good replacement for honey.
MEAT ALTERNATIVES
Fake meat is a big part of vegan junk food, so here’s a rundown.
• Seitan, or wheat meat—Made from vital wheat gluten and flavorings, seitan has a chewy texture and can be flavored with seasonings to imitate many meat forms. Packaged in broth, prepared seitan is great for stir-fries and many other dishes that call for slabs of meat.
• Frozen meat crumbles and patties—The freezer section of your favorite organic grocery should be well stocked with all sorts of brands.
• Hot dogs—Try Yves Veggie Cuisine (www.yvesveggie.com). For beer brats, try Tofurky brand (www.tofurky.com).
• Soy chorizo—Made from textured vegetable protein (TVP for short) and spices, this is a vegan version of a Mexican sausage made with marinated and minced meat that’s perfect with tofu scramble and tucked into tortillas. Look for “Soyrizo,” as it’s commonly marketed that way.
EGG REPLACERS
In baking, flaxseeds do a nice job of replacing eggs. Ground into a powder and then mixed with water, flaxseeds create a gelatinous mixture that replaces the water weight, texture, and some of the fat in eggs, giving you fluffy cakes and cookies. Applesauce is another egg stand-in for baking, but can impart an apple flavor and a lot of sweetness (be sure to reduce the sugar in recipes if you are using applesauce in place of eggs). Blended tofu is a great binder in vegan quiches and crepes where an egg would add denseness and form. And a teaspoon of nutritional yeast or black salt is great at imparting egg flavor to tofu scrambles or vegan egg salad.
CHOCOLATE
Use varieties of chocolate that do not contain milk or lecithin, an emulsifier that can be made from animals (soy lecithin is vegan).
• Chocolate chips—Look for brands that don’t contain milk, like Enjoy Life Food’s (www.enjoylifefoods.com) morsels.
• Chocolate bars—For specialty candy bars, OCHO (www.ochocandy.com), Go Max Go Foods (http://gomaxgofoods.com), and Justin’s (www.justins.com) offer a wide variety of tasty veganized standard candy products.
• Cocoa powder—Cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans and is vegan.
• White bars—Organic Nectars (www.organicnectars.com) offers raw organic white chocolate bars.
• White chips—Oppenheimer white chocolate chips melt nicely and hold up in a cookie. You can find them online at Food Fight! Grocery (www.foodfightgrocery.com).
MARSHMALLOWS
Seek out varieties of marshmallows that do not contain gelatin, which is an animal product.
Look for Dandies (www.chicagoveganfoods.com) and Trader Joe’s (www.traderjoes.com) store brand.
SEASONINGS
Butler Chik-Style Seasoning (www.butlerfoods.com), Bragg Liquid Aminos (www.bragg.com), and kelp can help make things tasty and/or salty.
CHEESE
Cheese is an absolute must for pizza or for making your savory junk food, and there are lots of varieties of cheese shreds on the market. Follow Your Heart varieties are among the best (www.followyourheart.com). You can also try nutritional yeast to impart a cheesy flavor to many of your dishes.