Eggless Egg Salad

Many people choose not to use eggs in their diet. About 70 percent of the calories in eggs are from fat, and a large portion of that fat is saturated. Eggs are also loaded with cholesterol—about 213 milligrams for an average-sized egg. Because eggshells are fragile and porous, and conditions on egg farms are crowded, eggs are the perfect host to salmonella—the bacteria that is the leading cause of food poisoning in the United States.

We not only improve our own health when we kick the egg habit; we also spare many, many hens from unspeakable suffering. Over 95% of the layer hens in this country are packed in cages with floor-space the size of a record cover, 5 hens to a cage. The intense confinement for these debeaked birds is so bad that they can’t even stretch one wing for the entirety of the twelve months that they are kept this way before being sent to slaughter. Since each factory-farmed hen produces an average of 250 eggs over her year of laying, each egg represents 35 hours of a miserable existence.

This recipe for eggless egg salad has all the flavor of the lunchtime and picnic-basket staple, but leaves the cruelty and cholesterol behind!

1 ½ pounds tofu, firm

½ cup eggless mayonnaise (Wildwood's Garlic Aioli and Nasoya's Nayonnaise are delish!)

2 red bell peppers, chopped finely

4 scallions (white and green parts), chopped finely

1 small carrot, finely shredded

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 tsp. onion granules

¼ tsp. turmeric

4 tsp. pickle relish

1 ½ Tbsp. prepared mustard

1 ½ tsp. sea salt

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

Black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, mash tofu with a fork or potato masher (alternatively, you may wish to finely cube the tofu). Add remaining ingredients and mix well. The resulting savory treat is wonderful as a sandwich spread, served on crackers, or as a side salad.

Variation:

Creamy Potato Salad:

In place of the mashed tofu, use:

4 large yukon potatoes

2 small red potatoes

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Boil for 25 minutes. Cool potatoes, peel, and cube. (Alternatively, you may simply steam the potatoes, peel, and cube - or leave the peels on for a more rustic potato salad)

Make the dressing as in the eggless egg salad (combining all the ingredients together, minus the mashed tofu). Combine the cubed potatoes with the dressing. You may serve the potato salad as is, or chill for two hours.