Egg Substitution: Flax seed

For most of us, buying powdered eggs isn't a good option for food storage because of how expensive powdered eggs can be. Well, there is a cheaper alternative. Vegans use flax seed as an egg substitute. Flax seed is a healthy alternative, high in fiber, in addition to being less expensive: a 16oz box costs between $3-4. (source and here)

Because of the nutty flavor, flax seed substitution is generally only used in baking: breads, pancakes, waffles, cookies, etc.

Take one tablespoon of milled flax seed. You can either buy it milled, or grind up the kernels in your grinder.

Add 3 tablespoons of water (amount of water may vary per recipe, but this is a pretty basic measurement).

Stir together and then let it sit for a few minutes so it can become gelatinous.

Add to your recipe instead of the eggs. Above cookie recipe is posted on the SGI Test Kitchen here.

Flax seed is like wheat flour in that after it is milled (ground) it needs to be stored in the fridge. So after you open a box of milled flax seed, stick it in your fridge. Actually seeds can be stored in the pantry until ground.

Flax seed can be found in health stores or in your local grocery store by the oat bran and other "hot" cereals.

Have any of you used flax seed before? Maybe in a different use than egg substitution?

Powdered Eggs

We haven't talked much about powdered eggs on this blog for a couple of reasons. The main reason is, we don't think they are necessary in your food storage. We consider them a perk, certainly, but we just hate to tell you to go out and buy something you simply don't need, especially since they are so pricey. That being said, they really are great to have and they open up many doors when it comes to baking. For example, you know all those boxed dessert or muffin mixes that call for oil, water, and eggs? If you have powdered eggs, you can add these foods to your food storage without worry.

I used powdered eggs from Shelf Reliance's THRIVE line. This was my first time cooking with powdered eggs so I didn't really know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I have heard of many people using powdered eggs for making omelets or scrambled eggs, so first I tried scrambling them. I reconstituted the powdered eggs using 2 Tbsp of powder and 4 Tbsp of water (according to the package, this is the equivalent of 2 eggs). I scrambled them up on a non-stick pan.

Out of 5 stars, I would probably give the scrambled eggs about a "3". They ended up making about 1 large egg's worth of scrambled eggs, and the consistency was a little mushy for my tastes. They tasted okay but they would have been better with some more seasonings or with salsa (all food storage friendly!).

Next I used the powdered eggs and baked my favorite cookie recipe, making it completely food storage friendly. I completely reconstituted the eggs and added them right in when my recipe called for the eggs. I baked a few cookies last night to see how they tasted, but we ate them before I could take a picture (they were great). So I threw another batch in while I was writing this post and didn't hear the timer go off, and they burned... so I still have no pictures to show you. But let me tell you, they were delicious last night!

Out of 5 stars, I would give the powdered eggs (for baking) a 4.5. The cookie dough was a little bit dry, so I wonder if maybe I should have added 3 powdered eggs instead of 2 (even though my recipe called for 2 eggs, it called for 2 large eggs, so I wonder if these powdered eggs are "medium" or "small". I did add a little water to my cookie dough at the end so it wasn't as dry, and that really helped.

All in all, I definitely recommend having a package of powdered eggs in your pantry, but only if you have the extra money for them. Having a package of powdered eggs will really add a lot of depth to your food storage, allowing you to bake so many more things. You can shop around to find what will work best for you, but I can definitely recommend the THRIVE eggs from Shelf Reliance.

Do you like powdered eggs (if you've tried them)? Do you have them in your food storage?