Food intolerances: how to replace eggs in recipes for children

Preparing appetizing recipes and dishes when there are children with food intolerances or allergies in the house is something that requires attention and patience. However, the challenge can be solved if the right recipes are found and above all the alternative ingredients to those that contain the offending allergens.

After sharing  the gluten-free recipes for the basic preparations  (as I have already had the opportunity to tell you, I have a celiac child so I too have to deal with this type of need) today too I would like to give you a little help on the subject of ” recipes without something “.

For example, let’s talk about eggs. The egg is a very nutritious food that is introduced gradually into the baby’s diet (first the yolk around 10 months and then the albumen after 12 months) precisely because it is one of those foods that could cause allergic reactions.

Unfortunately, however, the egg is also a food widely used in the kitchen (indeed I would say that it is one of the basic ingredients of many dishes and recipes) and children who are allergic/intolerant to it are forced not only not to eat it, but also to avoid all those dishes that contain it such as desserts, cakes, creams, fresh pasta, meatballs, mayonnaise, and many other sweet or savory dishes).

Fortunately, however , it is possible to replace eggs in recipes , so if you are good in the kitchen and if you use valid substitutes, you can still prepare excellent dishes.
So let’s see which alternatives to adopt instead of eggs and some recipes without eggs suitable for children

When eggs have to be replaced in the children’s menu, there is no single substitute suitable for all dishes, but different ingredients must be used depending on the preparations to be made. These can very well replace the function of the egg Unless it is a recipe that requires numerous eggs. In this case any type of alternative ingredient will not be able to match the original recipe.

Valid egg substitutes

Depending on the dishes to be prepared, the egg performs different tasks. In some preparations the egg works as a binder or thickener, in others it has the function of a leavening agent, in still other cases it can be omitted completely (better if replaced with a spoonful of water) when its presence is not strictly necessary for success of the recipe.

To bind dough.

If, on the other hand, the eggs are used to bind the ingredients together, there are excellent foods that can replace the egg.
For example, if you want to prepare homemade cakes, plum cakes or muffins for your children , to bind the dough you could replace the egg by adding half a mashed banana or a little apple or plum or pureed avocado. In fact, the addition of this fruit makes the dough compact and moist enough, gives it a good scent and an amber colour. If you want, you can also add a touch of instant yeast.
If, on the other hand, you are wondering how to replace the eggs in the shortcrust pastry because  you want to prepare good homemade biscuits for your children ,a genuine tart, or creams and spoon desserts , to bind the ingredients together instead of the egg you can use potato starch, rice flour or corn starch.

As a leavening agent

As I said, in some preparations the egg can also be omitted and replaced with a teaspoon of water.  This can be done especially when the egg in that recipe has neither binding nor leavening power.

If, on the other hand, it has to act as a leavening agent , it is possible to replace the eggs with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of instant yeast, or with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and  three quarters of baking soda or faster you can use self-raising flour directly.

To gild the surface

Whenever you find yourself making recipes for children where you need to brush the surface with egg, remember that you can do it simply by brushing with cow’s milk or soya if you want, and you can also add barley malt if you want to give the preparation a more amber color.

However, to learn more about the doses and procedures of the various egg substitutes, I recommend these readings:

• recipesdalmondo.it how-to-replace-eggs
• misya.info how-to-substitute-eggs
• vegolosi.it how-to-replace-the-eggs

You will find many tips to  replace the egg yolk and thus be able to prepare rich breakfasts, tasty snacks or lots of sweets for the holidays and birthdays of your children who cannot eat eggs.

Replace the egg white with aquafaba

Although I haven’t tried it and I don’t have direct experience with it, I’ve read very positive things about l’acquafaba (or aquafaba). Acquafaba is the cooking water from legumes (chickpeas and beans) which, when whipped with electric whisks, has a swollen and foamy consistency similar to that obtained by whipping egg whites until stiff.
Many chefs use it as an alternative to whipping egg white and it is perfect (as well as 100% vegetable) for cooking light and delicious cakes, creams, mousses and meringues without eggs. For your children, for example, try these recipes of:

• eggless-almond-biscuits
• egg-free-chocolate-mousse
• mayonnaise with chickpea water
• meringues without egg whites

How to replace eggs in savory dishes

We have seen what are the alternatives to eggs in the various sweet dishes, but how to prepare savory dishes that include eggs among the ingredients?

How to replace eggs in omelettes

For example, one of the dishes that mothers prepare their children from time to time is omelettes.
In this case, however, the egg is the main ingredient so we will never be able to prepare a real omelette without eggs, however there are valid alternatives such as replacing the egg with chickpea flour. Here is a valid recipe
for making one Alternative “omelet” with zucchini

What to use instead of eggs in meatballs

Another dish that children really like are meatballs and hamburgers. To prepare them, instead of eggs you can add mashed vegetables such as potatoes, courgettes and carrots or squash or even boiled rice or boiled chickpeas. By doing this, the meat mixture will be soft and the absence of the egg will not be felt.
Here is a recipe for making  eggless meatballs with gravy

What to use instead of eggs in breading

If you need to make crunchy breading without egg (children love breaded things) don’t worry because water and flour will be your allies.
All you have to do is create a batter thick enough to stick to what you will have to bread (cutlets, fish fillets, chopped vegetables) and then pass it in the breadcrumbs or if you want you can use cornmeal for polenta (I used it tried it and I can tell you that it is exceptional!).
Here you can find great tips and a recipe to get a perfect breading-without-egg.

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Here after these tips on how to replace the egg in your children’s recipes and how to make gluten-free cakes, bread and pizza , next time we will also talk about dairy-free recipes for children.