Egg Replacer

I would like to share with you a healthy substitution for eggs in baked goods. Understand though that I see nothing inherently wrong with eggs. In fact, I think they are a remarkable food, possessing a combination of nutritive properties not found in other sources.

However, I understand also that we need a suitable egg replacer when there is an egg allergy, when eggs are unavailable or when one is following a physician prescribed, egg-free diet.

What do I mean by suitable replacer? One that is real food AND that does the work of holding baked goods together as real eggs do. I do not consider Eggbeaters real food. Neither do the scientists who performed an interesting study on rats.

The picture below shows two rats from the same litter 6 weeks after birth. The one on the left was raised exclusively on real eggs from birth, while the one on the right was raised exclusively on Eggbeaters. Do you remember that Eggbeaters were advertised as having the same taste and nutrition as farm fresh eggs? Synthetic foods are just not the same!

MK Navidi and FA Kummerow, Pediatrics 53: 565-566, 1974. Thanks to Dr. Stephen Chaney.

So what is my suitable replacer? Well, you certainly couldn't fry this up in a pan, but it works for baking! It is ground flax seed mixed with water. Simple, right? (Stick with me here and I'll show you how it works.) The flax seed has a gelatinous property that will work to hold your baked goods together. And, flax seed is a rich source of fiber and important Omega 3 Fatty Acids. It's good stuff.

A long time ago, I read in Sue Gregg's cookbooks that flax seed could be substituted for eggs. I didn't try it because she gave a recipe for mixing up a whole batch and keeping it in the fridge for your baking needs. I never really had a need to keep the stuff around. However, the other week, I mixed up the first part of muffins only to discover that I didn't have any eggs. Instead of waste the already mixed ingredients, I decided to give the substitution a try. I only wanted enough to replace two eggs, so I had to make some alterations to Sue Gregg's method... later I found out that many people use the same "altered" method.

For every egg you want to replace, use 1 Tbsp of flax seeds, freshly ground...

(I used my coffee bean grinder to mill the seeds into meal.)

Then add 3 Tbsp of water for each Tbsp of flax seed. (I thought that it had to be hot water, but I've done it both ways and it doesn't seem to matter.)

Let the mixture sit for about five minutes, or the time that it takes to mix the other ingredients. Add it as you would the egg.

These are the Blueberry Muffins I made using this Flax Seed substitution. The first time around I made some Orange Almond Muffins. Both turned out very nicely.

Be sure to check out my current giveaway while you're here... it's for an eco-friendly toy of your choice... can't beat that! Click here to enter.

For more Works For Me Wednesday posts, check out WeAreThatFamily.com.