Avoiding fats What to do when vegans come over to eat

When vegans come to eat: Avoid fats when cooking
Vegan is in: More and more people abstain from using their diets on animal products. Even many meat eaters want to live vegan, as a survey showed. Some do not dare to take the step yet, but they deal with the topic. If vegans are invited to dinner, it is natural to prepare appropriate dishes. However, it is sometimes not so easy to recognize animal products as such.
More and more people are vegan
More and more people are vegan for moral and ethical reasons. The health aspect also often plays a role. Many animal products are considered unhealthy. For example, red and processed meat is suspected to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, although it has recently been reported that this relationship is somewhat over-interpreted. Of course, not all people are vegans.

This is how it works with vegan food when friends come to visit. Picture: gkrphoto - fotolia

However, acceptance of people who do not want to eat animal products has increased significantly in recent years. When a vegan is invited to dinner, it is usually clear to the good host not to serve meat and dairy products. But there are also ingredients that are not quite as obviously of animal origin. The list of ingredients should therefore be considered accurately. In a message from the dpa news agency, an expert has valuable information about alternatives and substitutes.

Cooking and baking without egg
Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk: Vegetable milk alternatives are there enough. But how can the egg be replaced in the cake? Hobby cooks should know: vegan cooking and baking is also possible without an egg. Nutrition expert Nadia Röwe from the consumer information service aid explained that there are vegan substitutes, mostly based on potato starch and tapioca, containing mineral supplements. Others are corn starch and lupine flour, for example.

There are other options, but they bring their own taste. "If you want to make muffins for your vegan guests, you can replace the eggs with applesauce," said Röwe. Three tablespoons of applesauce correspond to an egg. Ripe bananas are also suitable. "Use it best in cakes that match the taste of bananas." Here's how half a crushed banana equals one egg. If wholemeal cookies are on the menu, you can also use milled flaxseed mixed with a little water. And locust bean gum works as a vegan binder in creams, puddings, sauces and soups.

Vegan alternatives to cheese
As the food trend has been booming for some time now, more and more vegan and vegetarian alternatives to meat products are on offer in specialist shops. Also for cheese there are these. So if baked products such as casserole or lasagne are covered with a golden brown crust, that's no problem. According to Röwe, yeast flakes are an alternative to cheese. There are vegan Parmesan made from yeast flakes, cashews, salt and garlic powder. And vegan mozzarella is based on sprouted whole grain rice, psyllium husks or silk tofu. Other cheese alternatives are made, for example, from nuts, coconut oil or potato starch.

Beware of additives
It sometimes gets difficult, if not exclusively fresh ingredients are used. In many normal foods lurk additives that would not assume the animal origin. For example, in sauce powder or spice mixtures, which may contain lactose, butterfat or sweet whey powder. In addition, many products are often not vegetarian or vegan, as traces of shellfish, milk or egg in the manufacturing process can not be excluded. A look at the fine print is therefore always advisable. If in doubt, hosts should ask how closely the vegan guest takes it. With fresh produce and spices you are usually on the safe side. If you are looking for suggestions for delicious vegan recipes, you can find them on the internet. (Ad)