When I switched to a plant-based diet, I was under the impression that I’d have less options for meals – especially sandwiches. For years, I thought the only sandwich that remained was a PB&J, which happened to be my least favorite sandwich of them all. I loved sandwiches, but I stopped eating them entirely because I simply didn’t know that the varieties could be endless without meat!
I had too many options for this Eggless Salad Sandwich, actually! I wanted the chickpeas in here for flavor but tofu for the texture, so I ended up using both. It makes a large batch, but hey — it’s perfect if you’re feeding lots of people or just wanting sandwich makings prepped for a few days for your lunch!
What’s wrong with eggs?
For the majority of my life, I viewed eggs as a health food item. This couldn’t be further from the reality.
Body builders were chugging raw eggs. My active days were started with a plate full of fried eggs, a scramble, or omelet. Go to any breakfast restaurant and the majority of the menu items are egg-based. Eggs, it’s what’s for breakfast! Eggs are loaded with protein – so, what better way to fuel the body?
The problem lies within the yolk and the white. Yes, even the egg white has problems of its own. Egg white is essentially pure animal protein – which is not a good thing, even if you are a bodybuilder! Animal protein is hard on your kidneys; it creates more acid in the blood and puts pressure on the kidneys to filter and process all those substances. And the yolk? A powerhouse of cholesterol. A single egg has around 213 milligrams of cholesterol, which is more cholesterol than an 8-oz steak and double the amount of cholesterol in a Big Mac. In one single egg! Eggs have no fiber to blunt the effects from all that cholesterol.
About 1 in 8 of Americans are walking around with chronic kidney disease—and most don’t even know it. 75% of the millions of people affected with kidney disease are completely unaware that their kidneys are starting to fail.1 Could you be one of them?Well, how much is too much cholesterol? A study done in 2021 found that consuming half an egg per day was associated with more deaths from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and all causes. “For every 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol consumed per day, mortality risk increased by up to 24%.”2.
Half an egg per day increases disease and mortality risk. Scientists are measuring in increments of half of an egg, not even a whole one. Who is eating half of an egg? If someone is regularly having 3 eggs for breakfast, that’s over 600 milligrams of cholesterol from the eggs alone. That’s not even taking into account the bacon or sausage that’s lying alongside the eggs on the plate.
Eating just a single egg a week appeared to increase the odds of diabetes by 76%. Two eggs a week appeared to double the odds, and just a single egg a day tripled the odds.3 60% of the calories in eggs are from fat, and much of that is saturated fat. A diet too high in fat can increase your risk for diabetes, and eggs certainly fit that bill. Ready for some scary statistics? Eating just a single egg a week appeared to increase the odds of diabetes by 76%. Two eggs a week appeared to double the odds, and just a single egg a day tripled the odds.4
We need cholesterol to live! But, how much?
Cholesterol has gotten a bad reputation. People talk about it in such a negative connotation that it almost seems like a bad word. But cholesterol plays important roles in our bodies, we need it to live!
So, how much cholesterol should we be getting from the foods we eat every day? The answer is none!
Cholesterol is a non-essential nutrient, which doesn’t mean it’s not important – it actually means that our bodies are capable of producing it in sufficient amount. We don’t need to be getting any more cholesterol from outside sources, our bodies have it covered.
What does cholesterol do? It helps with many functions, including making vitamin D and hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Cholesterol is in every cell, acting as a kind of glue that holds the membranes of our cells together. “Without it, you’d collapse into a gelatinous heap,” as Dr. Neal Barnard describes the importance of cholesterol.
Without eggs, is this sandwich missing anything?
You could serve this to your family and not tell them it’s an egg salad sandwich sans the egg, and they probably won’t notice. It is missing one teeny tiny thing, though: sulfur.
For me, that’s a bonus. I’ve never particularly liked the sulfury aroma and flavor of eggs when I’ve eaten them in the past, and I’d drown my eggs in hot sauce in attempts to mask it. Where I live, the well water tastes and smells strongly of sulfur, so if I can avoid having it in my food as well then it’s all for the better.
But, if the sulfur was a high point in egg salad sandwiches for you, don’t despair! There is an Indian salt called kala namak, also known as Himalayan black salt, that you can use as the salt option. It will give your eggless salad sandwich makings the sulfur aroma that it’s missing. Add the salt in ¼ tsp at a time, mix, then taste. You don’t want to over-do the salt and ruin the whole batch!
Eggless Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
Eggless Salad
- 1 15.5 oz Can Chickpeas
- 1 14 oz Brick of Tofu extra firm
- ½ of a Red Onion finely chopped
- 2 large Carrots finely chopped
- 2 large Celery Stalks finely chopped
- ¾ cup Vegan Mayo more to taste
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 ½ tsp Salt Add 1 tsp, then add more to personal taste
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- Pepper to taste
- dash of Paprika optional
Sandwich Makings
- Whole Grain Bread
- Tomato Slices
- Lettuce
- Dijon Mustard
Instructions
- In a lightly oiled medium-sized skillet, break apart tofu with your fingers. Cook on medium heat until tofu begins to brown, about 10-12 minutes.
- Open and drain the chickpeas, then pour them in a large bowl. Mash chickpeas with a potato masher or fork until they’re mostly mashed, keeping a little texture.
- Chop the red onion, carrot, and celery as fine as you can. Add to large bowl, along with vegan mayo, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, turmeric, salt, and pepper to taste. Add cooked tofu. Mix thoroughly, taste, and add anything more you think it needs. Sprinkle paprika to taste.
- Assemble your sandwiches with tomato slices, lettuce, a little dijon mustard on the bread, and fill with eggless salad. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you love these sandwiches? Leave me a comment! 🙂
- https://nutritionfacts.org/2018/02/08/the-effect-of-animal-protein-on-the-kidneys/
- https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/nutrition-information/health-concerns-with-eggs?gclid=CjwKCAjw7vuUBhBUEiwAEdu2pHaDdEmF9fNII7HdOtNYyWHCf4xjwU30v2KefhFZPsBoBBoz0p1HBxoCJs4QAvD_BwE
- https://nutritionfacts.org/questions/why-are-eggs-bad-for-you/
- https://nutritionfacts.org/questions/why-are-eggs-bad-for-you/
