If you want to eat a vegan diet, you have to avoid numerous animal foods. However, due to high demand, the industry has long since begun to provide replacements.
Cheese substitutes or yogurt substitutes, for example, make the switch easier - and even meat substitutes are available in large quantities. We will now show you what exactly these products are all about and what you should pay attention to.
The path to a vegan diet
The decision that you want to eat a diet free of animal products can have different motivations. Maybe you want to avoid animal suffering.
This can occur during slaughter, but also during normal husbandry - if the animals are not kept in a species-appropriate manner. You may want to lose weight and avoid fatty foods such as some types of meat or sweetened yogurt.
You may also want to help the climate, as meat production contributes to climate change .
Whatever your motivation , replacement products give you the chance to achieve your goals. Such a product attempts to imitate the "real" model. Salami, for example, looks very similar, smells similar and tastes similar.
So you can still eat a sausage sandwich - just without real sausage. People don't like to give up. That's why vegan substitute products are ideal for gently making the switch from animal to plant-based.
Vegan Substitutes: A New Versatile World
The term “ substitute product ” has become established in the industry. Actually, this word goes in the wrong direction. It suggests that everything is a substitute to recreate another, higher quality product.
In our opinion, this creates advantages and disadvantages:
- One advantage is that you immediately realize what you have in your hand. If you pick up plant-based salami, you will probably have a taste that is similar to animal-based salami.
- One disadvantage is that people quickly look for flaws. For example, if a cheese substitute doesn't taste the same as the original, it is considered inferior. However, we must not forget that vegan substitute products are alternatives. And they often just have different tastes.
Vegan substitutes can stand on their own two feet and open up worlds of taste that were previously closed. You can make a tuna substitute from beetroot.
Does this taste exactly like tuna? No, but it tastes different, new and exciting. We would advise you to view vegan cuisine as something new and not as a pure replacement.
Then experimenting in the kitchen will be much more fun and you will be less prejudiced.
What replacement products are there?
There are only a few everyday foods that cannot be imitated with plant-based products. A well-known example is honey . This is actually taboo because bees are insects, but they are also animals.
The “ stealing ” of the honey they produce is therefore not permitted. So far, no way has been found to make honey useful as a substitute product. Instead, we recommend using other sweeteners, such as maple syrup.
Apart from this exception, you will find practically everything you are looking for in stores. Meat substitutes are well known, and egg substitutes also exist in large quantities. Fish substitute products are very popular.
You can also find cheese, yoghurt, quark and similar foods that normally contain animal materials in the supermarket. In the following sections we will specifically focus on substitute products that imitate animal products.
Meat substitute
Avoiding meat is often particularly difficult. Unless you have already eaten a vegetarian diet before.
Several vegan meat alternatives can be considered here:
- Tofu is the classic. It provides a lot of protein and is almost tasteless. This means that you can process it with spices and marinades so that it tastes like a steak, for example. Tofu is made from soybeans and is well tolerated by humans. Delicious veggie burgers, for example, are often made from tofu. Due to the high amount of protein, tofu is an indispensable part of vegan kitchens.
- Tempeh comes from Indonesia and also consists essentially of soy. There are 20 grams of protein in 100 grams of tempeh, which makes it almost the same as beef. When shopping, you may have to search a little longer. You will usually find what you are looking for quickly, especially in Asian shops; tempeh is much more common there than here.
- Seitan is wheat flour that is rinsed again and again until only protein remains. You can then mold this powder at home and shape it into any shape you want - such as meatballs. The taste is absolutely neutral, so strong seasoning is a must. You can find schnitzel made from Seitan in stores as well as spreads and sausages.
- Jackfruit is a mulberry. These fruits are very large and heavy, taste is practically non-existent. The pulp is very dense, resulting in a meat-like consistency. You first have to cook the pulp, then you can process it further and grill or fry it. The same applies here: please season a lot!
- Black beans are also a good option. They bring a lot of protein and fiber. The darker the bean, the better it is usually. Burgers, for example, can be made very well. To do this, you boil the beans and then mash them together into a mass. If seasoned correctly, these replace the meat in the burger.
By the way : If you don't feel like doing this work, you can just grab it on the shelf in the supermarket. There are now a lot of ready meals there. Small burgers or schnitzels are completely vegan and quick to prepare - ideal after a long day at work.
Fish replacement products
The German Nutrition Society recommends two portions of fish per week. Since this is not possible vegan, we look for fish substitute products - and find them quickly.
- Fish broth is a base for many meals. It can be prepared with soy sauce, seaweed and miso paste. With the right spices, this creates a sauce that can form a good base for Asian soups. You can also use the sauce as a base for numerous marinades.
- Fish fingers are particularly popular with children. If you would like to introduce them to a vegan diet, you can try plant-based sticks. They are made from tofu and therefore soy. To do this, curdled soy milk is pressed into small blocks. You then season it accordingly and bread the tofu blocks. Properly fried, the sticks take on the color of fish sticks and also taste similar.
- You get a little vitamin bomb from tuna , which you replace with tomatoes. To do this, fillet them and let them lose some of the liquid (but not all). Then you marinate these pieces like the fish sticks just described. This tomato-derived tuna tastes good in salads or on a sandwich.
- Carrots can be the right solution for salmon alternatives . To do this, cut the carrots into thin strips and soak them in oil, vinegar and seaweed. The carrots take on the taste of salmon and change their consistency due to the moisture. This carrot salmon is particularly rich in provitamin A.
Fish substitute products benefit more from seasoning than any other food. This is the nature of fish. It tastes the way it tastes because of its habitat.
Salt water and algae leave a very specific taste in the fish. This is difficult to replicate on land. Therefore, algae is often included in fish dishes in more or less high doses.
These provide the desired taste and also a lot of protein. But be careful: algae are extremely high in iodine. The DGE recommends not consuming more than an average of one gram per day . “ A lot helps a lot ” is definitely the wrong statement if you want to test the best vegan fish-based products.
Milk substitute products
Milk is an all-purpose weapon in the kitchen and ends up in cakes, cereals, sauces, pancakes and other dishes - and in coffee.
The following vegan substitute products come into question:
- Almond milk is based on almonds and therefore has a slightly sweet taste that is somewhat reminiscent of marzipan. It is therefore very suitable for adding sweetness to coffee. In general, sweet dishes and smoothies are very grateful recipients of almond milk. The most common fats are unsaturated fatty acids.
- Coconut milk aims in a similar direction to almond products. This milk is also naturally sweet, smoothies and cereals are good targets. But coconut milk is also very popular as a contrast in curry. Experimenting is particularly worthwhile here. If the milk comes directly from the nut, you can also use the very tasty pulp!
- A contrast to sweet milk is oat milk . Compared to animal milk, it is low in calories and fat, and the taste is rather neutral. Oat milk also absorbs this flavor due to the grain from which the milk comes. So expect a slightly more bitter taste. Well suited for porridge or for frothing coffee.
Other alternatives include hemp milk, rice milk (very neutral in taste) or milk made from nuts. Hazelnut milk, for example, is perfect for baking and cooking, but is often quite expensive to buy.
Cheese substitute
Giving up cheese is usually more difficult than you think. Cheese can not only be found on a roll - but also on pizza. Cheese sauces for pasta? Taboo. Fortunately, there are also suitable cheese substitutes available in stores.
- Firm cheese
This is mainly made from water, starch and oils (usually palm oil or coconut oil). Depending on the desired flavor, nuts are occasionally included if you want something a little spicier. If it needs a cheese with more consistency, some manufacturers add tofu. Yeast is an important ingredient in many vegan cheeses because it leaves a cheesy taste.
- cream cheese
Vegetable fats, soy and soy protein as well as starch, spices and salts form the basis for cream cheese. Flavors and other additives are often also included. These are not of animal origin, but some people still do not want these additives in their food. If you look a little longer, you can also find cream cheese without additives.
Environmentally friendly organic certification is very important for cheese. Palm oil or coconut oil , for example, can be obtained using methods that are extremely harmful to the environment. With the right seals you can ensure that you are buying the best vegan products. Reliable seals on everyday products include the EU organic seal, Naturland, Demeter and others.
You can also do some things yourself. A little oil and margarine as well as soy cream, mixed in a pot and heated, make melted cheese. You can use this to prepare casseroles or lasagne. Mixtures of yeast flakes, flour, mustard and margarine are also possible.
Yogurt substitute
Yoghurt substitutes are particularly easy to make. Vegan yogurt usually consists of coconut, soy or various types of nuts. The difference in taste compared to yoghurt based on animal ingredients is usually hardly noticeable.
That's because the bacterial cultures that make these yogurts are identical. These lactic acid bacteria ferment the basic ingredient and this fermentation creates our yogurt. Whether it is animal or plant-based yogurt hardly matters.
You can easily find out in a blind test : place animal and vegetable yoghurt next to each other in two bowls and try it out. At most you will notice a minimal difference. Natural yogurt, without any added flavors, often tastes minimally nutty. This is due to the origin of the soybean .
However, you will hardly be able to find a completely sugar-free yogurt substitute because soybeans contain sugar. This cannot be removed during fermentation.
We advise you to also pay attention to organic labels when purchasing. Growing soy can be climate-critical (we'll go into that again in a moment). By paying attention to the necessary seals, you can avoid climate damage.
Egg replacement
Egg as a product is hard to imagine kitchens without. You don't have to go without it by replacing eggs . The basic idea behind the egg, which has a fairly neutral taste, is its binding ability. Fortunately, many foods offer this property.
- Replace eggs with applesauce : Applesauce is the well-known home remedy that grandma recommends, which then makes the child frown. However, it is true: applesauce can be an excellent substitute for eggs in cakes and pastries in general. One tablespoon is approximately equal to a full egg. It tends to bind even more strongly, which is why you should be careful when using it for the first time. If the cake batter is too crumbly, a spoonful of applesauce can work wonders!
- You can use oat flakes as an egg substitute in patties, potato pancakes and similar dishes. A good three tablespoons per egg are necessary. You simply add the oats to the mixture and then wait 15 to 20 minutes. During this time the flakes do their job and bind everything together tightly.
- Two tablespoons of tomato paste replace one egg. However, it does have a certain flavor, which is why you should use tomato paste for heartier foods. Patties or veggie burgers are a good idea. Cabbage rolls are also suitable because the taste of tomatoes harmonizes wonderfully.
The veggie diet: climate benefits?
Meat is extremely nutritious, but comes with the disadvantage of being expensive to produce. Vast amounts of water and animal feed have to be used until meat ends up on a plate as food.
For example, one kilogram of beef contains 6.5 kilograms of grain and 36 kilograms of feed. This brings with it numerous problems. CO₂-neutral production of meat, for example, is not possible, which exacerbates the problem of climate change.
In this respect, vegan products are better, but still far from optimal. Most products for vegans that are intended to serve as meat substitutes are made from soy. However, soy farming alone is responsible for about 19% of deforestation between 1990 and 2008. This releases CO₂, which in turn promotes global warming.
In other words : Vegan is better in this respect, but not yet the perfect solution. It's even better if you eat a plant-based diet but use regional products as often as possible.
This means you avoid CO₂ emissions caused by long transport. If you eat vegetables that are already grown nearby, no forest areas need to be cleared.
Where can I find vegan protein sources?
Proteins are sustainably important for our development and health. We find these proteins primarily in animal products. Lean beef, for example, has a total of 25 grams per 100 grams - a real protein bomb.
Turkey breast, salmon, egg, quark or chicken also range between 23 and 13 grams .
A good guideline for your own diet is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. For example, if you weigh 70 kilograms, that would be 56 grams of protein per day .
One problem is that the biocompatibility of animal protein is better than that of plant protein. Our bodies therefore process animal proteins better. So to get the same amount from plants, we have to eat more.
Good vegan protein sources include:
- Legumes provide a lot of protein, including peas, lentils, beans and sofa. This includes not only pure soy, but also products such as soy milk or processed soy.
- Grains such as millet, rice, spelled or quinoa are also possible. The advantage is that these vegan proteins remain intact even when they are processed. Bread, for example, still contains protein.
- Nuts are also a good source of protein. Which nuts they are doesn't really matter. Hazelnuts and walnuts are just as suitable as almonds or peanuts. Attention: Nuts are also very high in fat. If you have weight issues, nuts may not be the ideal solution.
The effect of other protein sources is currently still being investigated. Rapeseed, for example, seems to cause test subjects to stay full longer if they eat a meal containing rapeseed beforehand.
However, these developments are still in their early stages. If you initially limit yourself to legumes, grains and nuts, that is completely sufficient.
Conclusion: Vegan products are more than just substitutes
Fish substitute products, yoghurt, meat, cheese etc .: You can now find adequate substitutes for animal products for almost everything. You don't even have to go without protein thanks to good vegan protein sources . Even in normal supermarkets you can now increasingly find a large selection of products.
You should keep your eyes open when making your selection. Vegan does not immediately mean environmentally conscious and sustainable. Some soy and palm oil-based products can be questionable. With the right organic seals, you can find the best vegan products and eat consciously - and deliciously.