Anti-Inflammatory Egg Seasoning

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Hey babes!

Here’s a question for you: have you ever given up a food for dietary reasons? Ethical reasons? Was it hard?

I know everyone has two big ones when they talk about going fully plant-based or vegan. Usually it’s cheese and bacon. For me it was eggs. I loved the flavor of a good scrambled or a runny fried egg.

Of course, egg production is no less cruel an industry than any animal agriculture (just ask the male chicks), and on a selfish front, I can’t even think too long about eggs or my cholesterol shoots up ten points. It was the card I was dealt by a spiteful chicken deity.

And really, eggs are not something anyone should have in their diet, even if you are an extremely kind backyard chicken farmer. I’m sure your chickens are well-cared-for, but your insides…not so much. Egg consumption has been very firmly linked with heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Luckily for me (and you), the power of tofu means you can very easily mimic the texture of a good scrambled egg, provided you add a few essential ingredients. The most “eggy”? Kala namak, also known as black salt. Used frequently in traditional Indian cooking, black salt has a sulfur-y flavor that not only gives you everything you’d want in an egg dish, but leaves you craving it over and over again.

But kala namak is only one of the secrets this beautiful gold dust holds. By volume, this recipe would be puny without the vegan’s best friend:

Nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast, aka nooch, is the vegan’s answer to the cheesy, umami flavor so many people fear missing when they go vegan. You see it in recipes for cheese, savory seasonings, and countless sauces. I keep a shaker of it in the pantry to put over popcorn and roasted veggies.

It is actually an inactivated form of the same yeast used to brew beer, but rest assured it is a nutrient powerhouse (as the name implies). Most varieties these days are fortified, so it’s packed full of protein, fiber, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, potassium, calcium, and iron. It has also been shown to reduce inflammation, and boost the immune system, which can improve the long-term survival rate in cancer patients. On top of those, the beta-glucan fiber in nutritional yeast is the same heart-healthy, blood sugar lowering variety found in oats.

I’m fortunate enough to have access to a natural grocery store locally that sells huge bulk bags for cheap, but even the big chains sell it these days. If you’re opposed to those or can’t get to a store, Amazon sells it as well.

Next come the other added spices, including every cook’s staples garlic and onion, but especially the secret anti-inflammatory combo: turmeric and black pepper.

If you have a relative troubled by arthritis or ever watch daytime television, you have inevitably heard about the benefits of turmeric, or more specifically, curcumin, the active ingredient. Well, they are true, as long as you’re eating culinary doses from turmeric powder or root, NOT IN WORTHLESS SUPPLEMENTS.

Curcumin is a potent antioxidant and acts as an anti-inflammatory. Low-grade, long term inflammation has been linked with almost every chronic disease of the Western world. Heart disease, cancer, you name it. Fortunately, curcumin has been shown to be as effective as some anti-inflammatory drugs, among dozens of other studied benefits to the brain, heart, and immune system.

So what’s the catch?

Curcumin is not absorbed well by the body, and eating a megadose of turmeric every day or taking supplements can lead to some serious gastrointestinal upset.

Here’s where the black pepper comes in. Black pepper contains a bioactive compound called piperine. Even on its own, piperine can relieve nausea, heachaches, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory. Most importantly, adding it to turmeric boosts curcumin absorption by up to 2,000%!

What’s even more incredible is you don’t have to overload the recipe with pepper if you’re sensitive to spicy foods. Even as little as 1/20th teaspoon can significantly boost absorption.

So, mix this up and enjoy the culinary and health benefits. I love a tablespoon or two over a little tofu, sweet potatoes, and a heap of vegetables for breakfast, but the possibilities certainly aren’t limited to that. Try it and let me know. What do you put this delicious seasoning on?

Inspired by the wonderful Sam (from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken) and her recipe.