For vegetarian’s considering going vegan, eggs can be one of the more difficult animal based foods to give up.

Initially most vegetarian’s are reluctant to go egg free, believing them to be a convenient and healthy protein source.

However, despite what the industry would have you believe, eggs are certainly no health food.

They may contain protein and calcium, but their overall nutrition profile is very poor: zero fibre, loads of saturated fat, and more dietary cholesterol from just one egg than is recommended for an entire day. Avoiding eggs might at first appear difficult.

Eggs show up in all sorts of baked goods: pancakes, muffins, cakes, pies, puddings, you name it. Yet despite the fact that eggs may seem ubiquitous, they’re remarkably easy to avoid.

When you think about it, there are two main ways that eggs are consumed. The first is in foods like scrambled egg and omelettes — in each of these cases eggs are the main ingredient.

The second way that eggs show up in foods is when they’re used in relatively small quantities for their binding, moistening, or glazing properties.

How to replace eggs in cooking

With a bit of research you will soon learn that eggs are usually easy to replace, regardless of whether they are the main part of a meal or a bit-player. For example scrambled tofu is a really tasty alternative to scrambled eggs.

There are likewise great super-eggy omelette recipes made entirely from vegan ingredients. Most general-purpose vegan cookbooks are loaded with egg-free recipes for cookies, brownies, cakes, and pancakes.

In some cases, when eggs are used for moistness, simple ingredients like applesauce, mashed bananas, chia seeds, or flax seeds can replace eggs while providing additional flavour.

Eggs may be ubiquitous in Western cooking and processed foods, but as we’ve just seen they’re surprisingly easy to remove from your diet.

With the obvious exceptions of sunny-side up and hard-boiled eggs, you can effortlessly replace eggs without anyone noticing the difference.