Monday, July 6, 2009

Challenge 2: Vegan Egg Salad

Today's challenge was posed by Nell!

I was actually a little scared of this challenge at first. Currently I'm trying to primarily eat a vegan diet about 5 days a week (so, whenever I'm at home), but when I took a week to see exactly how many calories, fat, carbs, fiber and protein I was eating I realized that I was only getting about half of the amount of protein I should! Oops.

So how much protein do I need? First you need to find your lean body mass. I happen to have a scale that tells me my percent body fat, so I am able to do this. Take your weight (for math's sake we'll say 100 lbs.) and multiply it by your percent body fat (we'll say 10%). This would mean that Hypothetical Math Girl has 10 pounds of body fat and a lean body mass of 90lbs. From what I've read, you need somewhere between .7 and 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. I personally am aiming low for right now with 70-75 grams of protein a day. Before, I was averaging about 30. This is a vegan no-no.

So I've been adding vegan rice protein powder to my morning smoothie and trying to cook more tofu. It's hard, but mostly just because I love pasta way more than tofu, which I'm still learning how to cook. Fortunately, this recipe was almost entirely tofu. So on to the recipe!

I was wary of uncooked firm tofu, but my favorite vegan cookbook, Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson has never let me down before. And I am kind of in love with veganaise. So I gave it a shot.

No-Egg Salad

16 oz. package of firm tofu
1 celery rib, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 tbspn. Dijon mustard
1 dill pickle, minced
pinch of turmeric
6 tbspn. soy mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
toast

The actual instructions are longer, but pretty much put all ingredients (except the toast) in a bowl. Mix well. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour. Serve on toast (or eat plain, on a sandwich, whatever. I like toast.).

My final verdict? It actually tastes pretty good. I can't tell the difference between it and normal egg salad, but then again I've only had real egg-salad once or twice. Oh Vegan Planet, you never steer me wrong. And in case you were wondering after that protein lecture, this recipe says it serves 4, with 10 grams of protein each serving depending on the type of tofu you use. And Veganaise, though it tastes fantastic, adds a pretty significant amount of of fat. But sometimes that's ok (particularly in my world, as it looks like I'll be having grilled eggplant for dinner tonight).

In other challenge news: a harmonica has been purchased, I finished City of Bones and have moved on to City of Ashes, and Scarlet Pimpernel is really really almost done. Push ups for today completed, and after I consult Second Lieutenant McArmy I'll do a post on that.

2 comments:

  1. Okay, so I have a question: what is veganaise?

    And, for the record, enjoying the blogposts thus far. Kudos to you. :)

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  2. Hey Cari! Veganaise is a vegan, egg-free mayonnaise. It's mostly canola oil, but as someone who was raised exclusively on fat free mayonnaise, I can't really tell the difference.
    And thanks!

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