One of the most common issues that our clients have is how to live without eggs and dairy. As it turns out, gluten, dairy and eggs are the most common food sensitivities, and of course, the most difficult for people to adjust to. If you think about it, wheat, eggs and dairy are ubiquitous in our food, our coffee and everything else we consume. It’s almost unthinkable for people when they are told they can’t have these things.

When a new clients calls us, we have them fill out a comprehensive survey that asks about their food preferences and sensitivities. Two of the questions we ask are whether they like creamy soups and sauces, and the interesting thing that I’ve noticed is that the people who are avoiding dairy say they can’t have creamy sauces. The reason, of course, is that they assume that the creamy texture has to come from cream. Fortunately for us, nothing is further from the truth!

Today, I would like to give some simple tips on how to make your food taste great without eggs or dairy. Even better, you should still be able to use most of your favorite recipes with some minor adjustments. To illustrate, I will use a couple of my favorites that I hope you will try out and enjoy.

Let’s start with eggs. There are a couple of pretty good egg substitutes out there. The most popular seems to be flax seeds. However, my favorite egg substitute hands down is chia seed. The reason is that it has a texture that is very similar to eggs and it is able to bind just as effectively. The nice thing about chia seeds is that you can replace any number of eggs in a recipe and the texture won’t be affected. Paleo recipes in particular use a lot of eggs due to the fact that they use coconut or almond flour and require a lot of eggs as a binder to hold these non-grain flours together. I have used chia seeds in these recipes successfully for years and they work great every time. Pretty much the only thing you can’t substitute chia for is an omelette or egg custard :).

The secret to using chia seeds is that they have to be very finely ground. You can’t really use them whole or the texture won’t be as good. If you have a coffee or spice grinder, you can grind some chia seeds in there. I’ve also used blenders for grinding, they work fine. Once you have your ground chia seeds, you will need boiling water. The proportion is 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds to 1/4 cup of boiling water equals one egg. Mix the seeds into the water for about a minute and they will thicken up and become exactly like an egg. Use in your recipe the same way you would an egg, one for one.

Dairy is a bit harder in some ways and easier in others. There are a lot milk alternatives out there – almond milk, hemp milk, soy milk, and many others. The truth is that I don’t like any of the commercial “drinks” due to the fact that they contain carageenan. I might do a longer post about this at some point, but here’s a pretty good summary of the hazards of carageenan from one of our long-time partners, Fern Life Center. And if you scroll down to the bottom of the post, their wonderful nutritionist, Erin, has some recipes for making your own dairy free milk at home!

In general, coconut is my favorite dairy substitute. Most stores carry coconut milk in small cans. It’s not hard to find organic coconut milk that does not have preservatives or stabilizers. You can use coconut milk in many recipes that call for normal milk, although the flavor is a bit different – more coconutty so to speak 🙂 So use your judgement in which dishes it would work well and which it wouldn’t. Coconut cream or “mana’ is another wonderful coconut product that we use often to create that creamy flavor associated with dairy. You can get coconut cream in most health food stores, but in my experience the most affordable are small green boxes of the “Let’s do organic” brand creamed coconut. They only cost a couple dollars compared to a jar of coconut mana that can cost $8 or more.

What about butter you ask? My favorite substitute is coconut oil, one to one. Isn’t the coconut amazing? I don’t know what I would do without it!

Let’s try these ideas out in a couple recipes. The first is a recipe for our world famous chicken patties (probably our most-requested recipe) and the other is a recipe for almond cookies.

Chicken patties

This recipe works anywhere from 1-3 pounds of chicken, so quantities are given adjusted accordingly. Please note that the measurements for salt and spices are not exact and you might want to adjust to your own tastes.

1-3 pounds ground chicken thighs
1 egg (or 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds mixed with 1/4 cup boiling water)1 large yellow onion (if doing 1 pound use 1/2 onion, if doing 3 pounds use a whole onion)
1/2 – 1.5 tablespoons salt (or adjust to your own taste)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 – 1 cup gluten free flour (brown rice, sorghum, etc) or coconut flour for paleo and additional flour for rolling
Coconut oil for cooking

Equipment: 1 large skillet with tight fitting lid

In a large skillet, melt about a tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Add minced onion and cover. Stir every few minutes. Cook onions until browned and caramelized. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients except for the flour. When the onions are ready, add to the chicken mixture and mix well. Depending on the amount of chicken you are making, start with adding 1/2 cup flour and mix well. Add more flour as necessary to achieve a texture that will hold together. You do not want it to be too dry or sticky. It should be similar in texture to meatballs.

Note: if you are using coconut flour, start with using 1/4 cup and add in small amounts. Coconut flour sucks out moisture very quickly so adding too much will give a very dry texture.

When you are happy with the texture, get a large plate or cutting board and cover it with the flour of your choice. Start by making a patty about 2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch high. You don’t want to make them as thin as burgers because they won’t hold together very well. Roll in flour on all sides and remove to a plate. If you want to, you can fry a test patty at this stage to test for flavorings and how well it holds together. If it isn’t holding together well, you can add a bit more flour.

Place patties in hot frying pan with plenty of oil in a single layer and give them some room for flipping over. Cover with lid and cook for about 7-10 minutes per side until crispy and cooked through.

Almond cookies

My favorite almond cookie recipe comes from the website for The Wannabe Chef. It’s a wonderful basic recipe for a delicious cookie made without any flour. You can find the original recipe here: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/05/04/almond-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Let’s go through it and figure out how to make a dairy and egg free version:

Ingredients(Makes about 12 cookies):

  • 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) almond flour
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature (or 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg (or 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds mixed with 1/4 cup boiling water)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips (dairy free, soy free chocolate chips)

Preheat your oven to 375.

In a large bowl, place all the ingredients except chocolate chips. If using butter, cream with sugar before adding the beaten egg. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and fold in gently.

Prepare a parchment covered baking sheet. Scoop the batter into even portions onto the parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing the cookies from the tray.