The list below is for you to make an easier transition to what's known as electric foods. Electric foods to me means the least detrimental plant-based foods available in Today's grocery stores.
See electric foods list.
Water: Drink spring water. A much better option is to see if there is local spring water accessible to your community. To check if there is a local spring near you visit www.findaspring.com
All-Purpose Flour (alternative): Spelt or KAMUT flour will likely be the easiest transition. Spelt flour is usually less expensive than KAMUT. KAMUT is Khorasan Wheat but it is not to be mixed up with whole wheat nor white flour.
Gluten-Free Flour: If you have celiac disease and require a gluten-free flour then chickpea/garbanzo flour is a good alternative, it is also very affordable. Garbanzo/chickpea flour can be purchased or made from dry garbanzo beans see recipe at Homemade Chickpea Flour. Teff flour is another alternative. Brown teff has a stronger and more distinct flavor than ivory teff. Ivory teff is also whole grain.
Beans (alternative): Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are good to eat in moderation.
Baking soda/baking powder: A little of sparkling water i.e. Perrier can be used to allowed baked goods to leaven a bit. Aquafaba has also been used in recipes to make baked goods rise.
Black pepper corns, white pepper & paprika (alternative): Cayenne pepper is a good alternative as well as African bird pepper.
Bread: Try making flat bread or tortillas since it doesn't require a leavening agent. See our recipe for Flatbread.
Gluten-Free Bread: If you have celiac and require a gluten-free flour then chickpea/garbanzo flour is by far one of the best alternatives, it is also very affordable. See our recipe for Chickpea Flour Tortilla.
Butter (alternative): You can use avocados, olive oil or grapeseed oil. Grape seed oil will also work for baking goods although I've recently noticed that cake can be made with much less oil or your butter substitute.
Cereal (cold): So far I've noticed kamut puffs at Whole Foods Market, they have a neutral taste even less flavorful than plain Cheerios. You'll have to spice it up with sweetener, fruit etc.
Cheese (alternative): Avocados and tahini sauce mixed together.
Chips (alternative): Nori chips, which is a seaweed.
Collard Greens (alternative): Good alternatives are kale, turnip greens and Callaloo (amaranth greens).
Cranberries (alternative): All other berries are good.
Garlic(alternative): Red onion or green top onions (scallions) are good alternatives.
Grits (alternative): Fonio and amaranth are good replacements. You may also be find spelt oats at the grocery store.
Iceberg lettuce (alternative): Romaine lettuce is a good alternative.
Ice Cream: See our 1-ingredient ice cream recipe.
Juice/Drinks: Obviously use sweeteners in place of sugar for various fruit juices. I've noticed that raspberry leaves (herb) infused make a great tasting drink, serve cold after infusing. The raspberry has a subtle raspberry taste and it would go great with an added sweetener such as agave served cold. The herb Tila is also great for tea.
Lemon (alternative): Limes (key limes preferred) or sour orange as alternatives. Just like a lime with a taste a bit more on the citrus side, find it in Spanish corner stores or grocery store at times. They may look like limes, I've seen them in lime size and medium. A sour orange can also be used.
Sour Orange Recipes:
Meat/Fish/Flesh: Mushrooms are great alternatives for meat. Mushrooms get used often, if you don't like mushrooms give one of our simple recipes a try.
Note: This is a culinary alternative to use as a substitute for taste and texture of meat.
Mushroom Recipes:
Milk: Make homemade hempseed milk and/or walnut milk. Do not buy these milks from the store because they are acidic and tastes nothing like their the homemade version, store bought vegan milks also contains numerous chemicals and has a long shelf life. By far the easiest milk recipe is to blend 1 Tbsp of walnuts and 1 cup of spring water, add sweetener to taste. Whole grain cooked amaranth or quinoa can also be used for milk, simply pop the 1/2 cup amaranth (takes about 5 min) then blend it w/water, add sweetener to taste.
Learn how to make seed or nut milk.
Multi-mineral: Sea moss and bladderwrack contain many minerals that the body needs. We have available a sea moss/bladderwrack powder, these are two sea vegetables, organic, wild-crafted that provide the body with many of the minerals it needs.
Purchase organic sea moss from our store.
Nutmeg (alternative): Ground ginger combine with clove is a great alternative.
Nut/Fruit Bar: Use a food processor to process dates and nuts to create a fruit & nut bar or balls. See recipe for date and walnut balls.
Oil (alternative): Olive oil is best for dressing and is easily available. Coconut oil is another option for garnishing oils. Olive oil and coconut oil are best for garnishing and not to cook with.
Oil (alternative) for cooking: To cook there are an option of grape-seed oil, hemp oil, sesame oil and avocado oil. Here is the breakdown of the oils.
- Grape-seed oil: Neutral flavor, least expensive, comparable to corn or vegetable oil in taste.
- Sesame oil: Strong flavor, used in many oriental/Asian dishes. I use it to replace soy sauce for dipping.
- Avocado oil: One of the more expensive cooking oils, very tasty. It can substituted for cooking easily, very rich in flavor.
See our marinara pasta recipe.
Peanut butter (alternative): Home-made seed or nut butter is preferred. See recipe for seed and nut butter.
Rice (alternative): Wild rice, you can also try quinoa for a rice-like dish. See our Wild Rice Vegetable Stir-fry Recipe. Quinoa may be easier on the palate.
Sandwich: One sandwich example is to simply saute portobello mushrooms and vegetables for a veggie pattie, recipe here. There are many veggie burger recipes out there as well that get creative.
Sugar (alternative): There are many natural options for sweeteners agave (from cactus) being the most affordable as well as dates, figs, prunes.
Tomato Sauce: Make your own delicious marinara tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. Also, try our pizza sauce made from cherry or plum tomatoes.
Tomato Recipes:
Veggie Burger: Try this Portobello mushroom pattie recipe which can be pan dehydrated, pan fried or baked.
Yams: Squash as an alternative.
Making a meal: Learn how to make an electric meal easily with our guide Revolving Electric Meal.
