New to vegan cooking/baking and or just looking to "veganize" some old favorites? At first it might seem daunting but soon it will be second nature. Here is a quick glance at some simple substitutions to make the transition painless.
Cow's Milk
You can sub for soy milk, oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk or a nut milk such as almond, coconut, or hazelnut milk.
Each one will add a different dimension to your recipe. Most of these also come in flavors so be sure to check the label.
Buttermilk
Put 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup then add your soy milk to the needed amount for your recipe.
Cheese
Check the label to be sure that your sub cheeze does not contain casein, which is not vegan.
Check out Daiya Cheese, their cheddar style is so good, or try the mozzarella style on a vegan pizza. MMM
Eggs
Depending on what you are making, there are many substitutions for eggs. More so in baking.
Instead of scrambled eggs, try tofu scramble
In baking, you can use a commercial egg substitute like Ener-G egg replacer, ground chia seed or ground flax seed mixed with water.
Chicken or Beef broth
You can replace with water or a vegetable bullion. There are some pretty nifty products out there like "not chicken" or "not beef" broth, that you can add to your dish and not miss a beat.
Honey
Agave Nectar is a good sub. Depending on what you are using for, you can use brown rice syrup or maple syrup (100% of course.. none of that Eggo stuff) that gives a good sticky factor.
Sugar
Many vegans stay away from refined sugar because the refining process uses animal bone char (eww), or simply because it isn't as healthy as the alternatives. You can replace your refined granulated white sugar with: date sugar, beet sugar, fructose, organic sugar, turbinado sugar, or maple crystals. Experiment and find which you like best.
Meat
Obviously if you've eaten meat your whole life then veggie meats are just not going to be the same. But don't think about it that way. Eat and enjoy for what it is. There are a lot of great veg meat brands out there and some not so good. Give it an honest try.
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