Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I'm looking for...

A recipe for eggless french toast. I've tried several (mostly banana* based), and haven't been really satisfied yet. The trouble is, bananas are so sweet that the sugars in them cause the bread to stick to the pan. So all the goodness gets stuck to the pan (even my ceramic non-stick GreenPan) and the bread just stays kinda soggy. It's yummy, but not the golden crispy morsel I'm looking for. So if you know of a good egg-free french toast recipe, please let me know. Meanwhile, I'll be experimenting in the kitchen. I do still eat dairy, but eggs are out.

A DHA supplement (Omega-3) from an algae source. Most Omega-3 supplements contain fish oil (ew!) which is obviously not compatible with my vegetarian diet! Also, many in pill form contain gelatin (made from boiling animal skin and bones), also a no-no for me. So I'm seeking a good DHA supplement (as opposed to ELA or ALA which are related, but must be converted by the body into DHA). I want to take about 600mg daily so I want one that has a fairly high mg-per-tablet (I don't really want to be taking 6 extra pills every day!).

I went to our very small local health food store yesterday to check for the supplement, and after half an hour of searching, they came up with:
  • a bottle of oil (about 700 mL, of which I'd need to take 6 tablespoons a day (ugh), so it's about 8 day's worth at a cost of $24. Too icky to take 6 Tbsp of oil a day - and too expensive!
  • a bottle of tablets that only had 100mg each (so I'd need to take 6 a day), had 30 tablets in the bottle, and cost $17 - and that was on sale at half price! Five days' worth for $17? Regularly $35? That's madness.
I wonder if I'm way out to lunch looking for this product for a reasonable price. I think an online source has got to be the solution - if anyone can help me out, let me know!

*fyi, bananas are one of the worst crops for pesticide use, that puts workers at risk, kills songbirds, and persists in the environment, affecting sensitive coastal wetland areas. Apparently there are 286 different pesticides approved for use in banana farming in one of the biggest production areas, Costa Rica. That's 286 poisons applied to fruit, just to keep it pretty. Please, if you buy bananas, spend the extra 20 cents per pound and buy organic!

6 comments:

  1. Hey Emily :)
    I haven't found any good egg-less ideas, but have you tried using 2 slices of bread, then putting the banana mixture in the middle- and fry it up that way? its more like a grilled banana sandwich, but yummy.
    Also I just reviewed a good liquid supplement for Omega 3 (from Sibu beauty) They are a great comapny and very blog friendly- i'm sure they would send you a sample for review. They have pills too- but they contain gelatin (so i didn't try them).

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  2. Would applesauce work?

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  3. I love french toast maybe this one might work
    The recipe?
    2 tablespoons tapioca starch
    1/2 cup half and half
    1/8 teaspoon egg nog flavor
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    I put the tapioca starch in a measuring cup, and added 1 ounce of the half and half. whisked it to make a slurry, to avoid getting any lumps. Then added the rest of the ingredients to a thin batter.
    dip the bread, fry and enjoy

    Good Luck

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  4. Tropical Tradition has a great Omega 3 Supplement! It's great! It's the Anti-oxidant Omega 3 Green Drink! The flavor is berry or mint. I LOVE the berry!

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  5. Thanks, Helena - the Tropical Traditions one is ALA Omega-3, which is good, but I'm looking for DHA Omega-3 (found in a specific species of algae)

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  6. OMG did not know that about chemicals in bananas :( will buy organic from now on!!

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