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Today is Shrove Tuesday (AKA Pancake Day), and we couldn’t be more excited to eat a fluffy cloud of goodness for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
This year, it’s likely that more people than ever will be making vegan pancakes. Plant-based diets have soared in popularity, and it’s now easier than ever to get vegan substitutes in supermarkets all over the world.
You’re probably aware that most traditional pancake recipes use eggs as a staple ingredient, but fear not, it’s pretty easy to veganize pancakes with just a tiny tweak.
Why take eggs off the menu this pancake day?
It’s thought that the UK alone consumes around 52 million eggs every Pancake Day.
The production of eggs, like other intensive farming practices, is riddled with shocking practices that include culling, confinement, unnatural environments, and physical abuse.
Chickens used in the egg industry have been selectively bred to produce around 300 eggs a year. Naturally, it would be around 12. This understandably takes a huge toll on their bodies. As egg shells are made of calcium carbonate, hens have a high rate of calcium deficiency and osteoporosis.
There are over 40 million egg-laying hens being farmed at any given time in the UK. Around 42 percent are raised in caged systems, and the rest are “free-range.” While many people may think free-range hens spend all their time in fields, they are actually kept in large barns with thousands of other birds much of the time.
While they must have some daytime access to the outside, this is often just a small hole that they will never be able to reach.
Vegan swaps to make this Pancake Day
There are now a huge number of brands offering vegan egg replacers, many of which will make pancakes indistinguishable from the original version.
In the UK, brands including Crackd, OGGS, and Follow Your Heart are all on offer at a number of mainstream supermarkets.
In the USA, you can try Orgran No Egg, Bob’s Red Mill, or Zero Egg.
For all of the above, you can just follow a normal pancake recipe and substitute them in for the eggs.
If you haven’t had time to buy a vegan egg replacer, fear not – you may be able to make your own from ingredients found in your cupboard.
Aquafaba – also known as chickpea water – has been highlighted as a convincing substitution. All you need to do is drain a tin of chickpeas and keep the water they come in.
You can also use apple sauce and chia seeds. Find out the best ways to use vegan egg replacers here.
