I had never heard of this ingredient either, before my foray into plant-based cooking.  Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or other canned beans. Translated, aquafaba means bean water. Aqua (water). Faba (as in fava bean).  

It can be used for loads of different things in plant-based cooking. 

I use it as a replacement for oil in tofu bites and they are just as good.

I have used it in recipes that call for egg replacement that specify aquafaba.

I also use aquafaba when I roast veggies instead of oil. I admit it’s not as crispy as with the oil, but when the veggies are paired with something flavorful, it usually doesn’t matter.

And I made meringue cookies with it last year! I don’t bake as much anymore because I’m trying to avoid sugar, but I missed the egg-based chocolate meringues that I used to make and gave it a go. Once I added the cocoa powder to the recipe the fluffiness fell (which I was warned might happen) but the cookie still tasted good. Flat, but good.

Now when I open a can of chickpeas and don’t need the liquid for that recipe, I save the aquafaba in an ice cube tray. Each cube is approximately one tablespoon. So, if the recipe calls for two tablespoons of oil, I pop out two cubes of aquafaba. 

PRO TIP: TOMORROW’S (June 9, 2022) RECIPE WILL CALL FOR CHICKPEAS. If you are so inclined, save the liquid from the can rather than tossing it. It may come in handy. You can store it in the fridge for a couple of days and then after that it needs to get frozen (which I recommend). 

Why would we bother substituting aquafaba for oil? Well, even though plant-based oils (olive oil for example) are less unhealthy than animal fats (i.e. butter), there’s still a ton of calories from fat in each tablespoon. Since I learned about increasing fiber and decreasing fat, I have cut down dramatically on my oil intake, at least when I cook at home. When I eat out of the home, I expect many dishes will have oil in them. So, I try to offset the unhealthier prepared foods with healthier home-cooked dishes that use ingredients like aquafaba. 

Interested in some more recipes that use aquafaba? Check out this link.

I used to love butter — on toast, in a baked potato, in baked goods. You name it. But when I decided to give up eating animal-based products, that also meant switching away from butter. This was one of the last things I gave up too. Even when I had theoretically given up dairy, I couldn’t resist traditional baked goods.

Fortunately, there are now tons of alternative vegan butters to choose from in the plant-based butter aisle in the grocery store.

In years past, people ate margarine as an alternative to butter. Apparently, there could be animal products in margarine whereas the newer plant-based butters are 100% plant-based. Further, the margarines of yesteryear were filled with transfats, and the new plant-based butters are made from plant oils.

Why is this important? Studies show that it’s the actual saturated and transfat found in animal fats that are harmful. While too much oil from any source isn’t healthy, a plant-based, non-dairy butter is certainly better, all in moderation. 

Many proponents of a whole foods plant-based diet eschew oils because they are processed and we tend to use too much of them anyway. But we all draw the line in the sand somewhere and switching to a plant-based diet and utilizing some oils (in moderation) is going to be necessary for some people, especially in the beginning. 

I still enjoy a hearty grainy toast with some buttery spread on it from time to time and you might too. Plus, many other recipes that call for butter are still possible with the new plant-based butters.

We can eat plant-based and still enjoy the foods we’ve always enjoyed! Here are the plant-based butters that I enjoy in moderation: 

The first plant-based butter that I tried was Earth Balance. They’ve been around for a while.  Their product is pretty good, and it comes in soy free and organic options. You can purchase it in a tub and also in baking stick form which is handy depending on what I’m looking to use it for.

Earth Balance does use palm oil.  I contacted the company to ask if the palm oil is ethically sourced and they said yes, though maybe it’s best to avoid palm oils altogether just to be safe. To learn more about why eating palm oil isn’t ok, check out this video.  

And FYI, palm oil is in MANY processed foods, so please read your labels carefully.

More recently though, I learned of Miyoko’s Creamery. Miyoko Schinner (the founder) not only makes superior plant-based products (including butters and cheeses), she is also a champion for the plant-based and animal welfare movements.

My friend, Diane K, swears that she could only replicate her family baklava recipe when she started using Miyoko’s. (And I recently got to sample it, and man it’s good.) 

I like it too and the packaging of their original plant-based butter is eco-friendly. They also offer a version in a tub that adds oat milk and gives it a creamier consistency. That is my husband’s favorite plant-based butter, and we no longer have animal-based butters in our home. (We even snuck it on my son’s bagel, and he couldn’t tell the difference.) 

I have both brands in my house and use them for different things (they have different consistencies) though I use Miyoko’s more in order to support them because I love the company and what they stand for.

If you are new to eating plant-based, these are my two favorite options though there are others readily available in most markets. I have learned to use less and less of it since I eat more whole food plant-based, but it’s great knowing that we have some really good choices.

I’ve got a gazillion topics to blog about but since I mentioned nutritional yeast in the recipe post last week, I figured I’d start here.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Each week we post a new recipe in our super exclusive top-secret group.

KIDDING.

It’s open to everyone and it’s free! You can find us here.

Last week we posted our first recipe. It’s easy and yummy —so please join us so you can cook with us too!

One of the ingredients from last week’s recipe is nutritional yeast. I’ve briefly mentioned nutritional yeast a few times, but it deserves its own post.

According to The Spruce Eats, nutritional yeast is:

“An inactivated form of yeast commonly used to leaven bread, nutritional yeast looks like red pepper flakes, only yellow, or powdered Parmesan cheese, with which it shares a deceptively similar flavor, despite being non-dairy.”

Nutritional yeast is found in many recipes as it offers a cheesy flavor. It is so popular in the plant-based world that it even has its own nickname! “Nooch.” The first couple of brands I tried I didn’t like. Then I learned that some brands add B12. I prefer it without. The brand I like is Foods Alive and I add it when I make plant-based cheeses, pestos, scrambles and more! There are other highly regarded nutritional Yeast brands too.

As you may know, vitamin B12 is the only vitamin that vegans and vegetarians must take as a supplement. The reason animals have it in their system is that they graze on and eat the dirt (including feces) that contains B12. A few plants do contain B12, but for the most part, it must be supplemented.

Some people, like Dr. Michael Greger, the author of How Not to Die and also, How Not to Diet, eat B12 fortified Nutritional Yeast as their B12 source.

He has a very comprehensive website called Nutrition Facts.

You can pretty much learn everything you need to know about the health benefits of a plant-based diet from Dr. Greger.

He includes a couple of videos about nutritional yeast and also reminds us that if you have Crohn’s disease, that nutritional yeast is not for you.

Personally, I use the nutritional yeast in recipes for its taste and then supplement with vitamin B12 separately. I always have a spare bag on hand because I seem to use it a lot.

Have you tried nutritional yeast? I’d love to know your thoughts.