Mary Kate’s Take:
I’ll start off by telling you that, as a midwesterner, I grew up on Miracle Whip, not mayo. Throughout my pre-allergen life, I used both, pretty much inter-changeably, and never much thought about it. I was never a rabid lover of mayo, nor was I a hater — mayo/MW had its uses, and I always had it on hand (along with 1000 other condiment options). But WOW did I miss it when it was gone. Mayo was the final kicker in my food challenge for eggs, and knowing its effect on my body, I have zero desire to ever eat it again. But I do still want creamy, somewhat neutral spread on some things — a good chicken sandwich, as a basis for dips, occasionally in a tuna salad.
Earth Balance, the company that rescued vegans from the nightmare of bad and not really vegan margarines (most of them contain some dairy derivatives), not only makes a soy-free margarine for those of us who need it, but they have now come out with a mayonnaise. The new Earth Balance Mindful Mayo which is Vegan, Lactose-Free, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Casein-Free, and Soy-Free, comes in a few different varieties. Having tried two of them (original and olive oil), the original is the best for all uses (including a baked dip).
Unlike other vegan mayo replacements, most of which are soy-based anyway, this version is thick and creamy, not greasy. We have both used it for sandwiches (those of you who are gluten-free as well know how important condiments are on a GF sandwich), as well as cold and hot dips, which we’re posting for you this month.
Denise’s Take:
When I first found out that I needed to cut eggs from my diet, I was fairly annoyed. I don’t like to eat sandwiches dry, and if I have to eat it dry, I’m more likely to just skip lunch altogether, or get stuck picking up something hot and more expensive. (Yes, I know I should pack my own lunch.) I can’t eat most luncheon meat because of milk filler products. The one luncheon meat that I feel fairly confident about eating out for lunch at a deli or sub shop is roast beef. For me, mustard is seriously not an option for roast beef. I had tried both Vegenaise and Nayonaise, but honestly, I just didn’t like them. Mary Kate and I had tested six different homemade dairy, egg and soy free mayo recipes but they were all beyond awful. So I had resorted to buying my sandwich dry and dumping balsamic dressing on the sub. Which was okay, but balsamic dressing doesn’t really go that well with roast beef.
When I heard about the Earth Balance Mindful Mayo products, I was fairly hopeful because two of them didn’t contain soy. While I don’t have to avoid soy, I tend not not to like things with soy in it, with the notable exception of tofu and a few of the dairy free cream cheese products. Earth Balance has three varieties, and I bought one of the Original and Olive Oil so I could test them. (Please Note: Organic has soy in it.)
They are both vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, egg-free, casein-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and no preservatives. I was very pleased with both. After trying it at home, I literally went out the next day and bought another jar to keep in the mini-fridge at my office so if I get a sandwich I can add my own safe mayo now. I’ve used it on roast beef subs, to make turkey salad sandwiches, to make spinach dip, to make ranch dip/dressing, and I’ve had it in the dips that Mary Kate has made. They are awesome.
I preferred the Original as an all around all purpose mayo. The Olive Oil has a slightly greasier mouth feel and while it’s great on a sandwich, I’m not sure I’d use it in some of the recipes that it is the main ingredient, but it’s good if you’re looking for the health benefits of olive oil in your mayo. Me, I’m so happy I can have a decent mayo again, I don’t really care about the health benefits.
By the way, neither Mary Kate nor I received anything from Earth Balance for this review. We each bought our own products at retail, and we have not been in contact with the company.
Earth Balance has a free download with recipes that you might want to check out — Earth Balance Mindful Mayo cookbook.
You can check out our recipes for Earth Balance Mindful Mayo:
And coming in the nearest future, onion dip and artichoke dip.
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