JUST Egg Review

When I first heard about JUST Egg, an egg replacement product, I was skeptical because it’s processed. But, many people on my Facebook page and blog asked what I thought, but I hadn’t tried it to be honest. Although I love my chickpea omelet and tofu-based recipes like my vegan breakfast casserole or vegan quiche recipes, I decided to give JUST Egg a try. Check my Blog on Just Egg Review.

Even though I saw JUST Egg in my local grocery store's refrigerator section, I was taken aback by its $8.99 price tag. Since then, the price has dropped to a mere $4.99 a bottle, so I decided to try JUST Egg and review it.

SO, WHAT'S IN JUST EGG AND THE JUST EGG REVIEW?

First, the two main ingredients in JUST Egg are mung beans and Tumeric. 

According to Medical News Today, Mung beans are a type of pulse, which means they are an edible seed of the legume plant family.

Similar to all pulses, mung beans are nutritionally balanced. They contain vitamins, minerals, and beneficial enzymes, making them an excellent part of a healthful diet.

According to a 2014 review, evidence suggests that mung beans may have several potential health benefits, including:

• Antioxidant effects. Research shows that several compounds in mung beans demonstrate antioxidant activity.

• Antifungal and antimicrobial activity. These include some against the Helicobacter pylori bacteria that causes stomach ulcers.

• Anti-inflammatory activity. Test tube studies suggest that mung bean extracts may potentially improve symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as allergies.

• Diabetes. Studies in rats suggest mung bean extracts may help lower blood glucose levels.

• Hypertension. Studies in rats suggest sprout extracts may help lower blood pressure.

• Cancer. Test tube studies suggest that compounds in mung beans may have antitumor properties.

However, further studies in humans are needed for scientists to confirm and better understand these properties.

WHAT DO MUNG BEANS TASTE LIKE? 

For instance, mung beans can be eaten as a sprout or eaten raw or sold dried as well.  When eaten naturally, mung beans have a crisp and clean taste, similar to edamame. However, when cooked, mung beans taste hearty like lima beans. Because they absorb flavors well, mung beans can be savory or sweet, depending on how prepared. 

THE BENEFITS OF TUMERIC

Another healthy ingredient in JUST Egg is Tumeric. According to Healthline, Tumeric has several potential health benefits:

• Bioactive compounds with powerful medicinal properties

• Natural anti-inflammatory compound

• Increases antioxidant capacity of the body

• Boosts brain function and lowers the risk of damage to the brain

• Lowers risk of heart disease

• Prevent and possibly treat cancer

• It helps to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s Disease.

• Decreases inflammation in arthritis patients

• Healthful benefits against depression

• May delay aging 

COST PER SERVING: 12 FLUID OUNCE JUST EGG BOTTLE

JUST Egg's serving is 3 Tablespoons, so it isn't costly as an egg replacer for baking. For instance, 1 fluid ounce is equivalent to 2 Tablespoons. If you plan to make a vegan omelet, though. which requires ½ cup, or ⅓ of the container, it’s a pretty pricy omelet. 

JUST Egg’s  motto is “Our ingredients are JUST.”  Even though I eat some processed foods, I am apprehensive about ingredients I can’t pronounce or don’t know what they are. So, let’s look at the ingredients a little closer.

Ingredients: Water, Mung Bean Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Contains less than 2% of Dehydrated Onion, Gellan Gum, Natural Carrot Extractives (color), Natural Flavors, Natural Turmeric Extractives (color), Potassium Citrate, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Tapioca Syrup, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Transglutaminase, Nisin (preservative). (Contains soy.)

UNKNOWN INGREDIENTS DEFINED:

• Mung Bean Protein Isolate: This means the mung bean protein was removed by using water
• Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil: the canola plant seed is expressed with a machine to remove its oil
• Gellan Gum: a  vegan gelatin type  substance like agar-agar  used for thickening and binging
• Potassium Citrate: used to regulate acidity in foods but is also used medicinally as a kidney and urinary supplement
• Soy Lecithin: It is used as an emulsifier to make oil and water mix well together; it is extracted from soybeans. 
• Tapioca Syrup: commonly used as an alternative sweetener to sugar, molasses, honey, and especially corn syrup and other glucose syrups
• Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate: This one is a red flag food additive with no nutritional benefit. Actually, it's cut into pet food, used in processed foods like chicken nuggets, and it is also used to remove metal. It is vegan, though. 
• Transglutaminase: Vegan and a food additive, which is used as a binding agent in tofu, eggs, and cheese when cooking. 
• Nisin: an antibacterial preservative, which basically means it keeps it from going wrong in the refrigerator. 

Again, I’m not judging, but I think it’s important to know what we are eating. With that being said, you decide. I know many people eat whole foods only. Is this real food? Nope, but it depends on your dietary goals and the type of plant-based diet you choose to follow. 

Here’s the JUST Egg food label:

* The percent daily values tell you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

FROZEN JUST EGG...FOUND IN THE FREEZER SECTION

If you don't like the bottled version of Just Egg and prefer it already cooked for you, this frozen version is readily available in the freezer section. Instead of making an omelet or using Just Egg for baking, this version is perfect for a vegan breakfast sandwich. 

With a slightly different food label, this folded cooked Just Egg product has 100 calories, which is a little more than the liquid recommended serving size with 70 calories. 

As indicated on the package, each box contains 4 individually packaged cooked, folded egg products. 

HOW TO COOK FROZEN JUST EGG 

Since this was my first time trying the frozen product, I chose the chef's choice for cooking in a toaster. 

Toaster:

• Place Just Egg in a standard toaster (like the kind you use for sliced toast) and heat on high for 6 ½ minutes. I assumed this meant on the highest setting. My toasted popped up twice during that time, so I just kept pushing it down until 6 ½ minutes elapsed. 

Skillet:

• Warm a bit of oil (I'd skip that part) in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook Just Egg for 5 minutes, and flip halfway through. In my experience, it was more like 5 minutes on each side on a medium-lo, or it was still cold on the inside. 

Oven:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap Just Egg in foil and bake for 15 minutes. This worked, but I think the toasted was way quicker with fewer steps. 

Microwave:

• Wrap Just Egg in a paper towel, place on a microwave-safe plate, and heat on high for 1 ½ minutes. My microwave took 2 ½ minutes to heat all the way through on high. 

On a side note, I tried allowing it to thaw first, just to see what would happen. The product became soggy and spongy and did not cook the same way as directly from eh frozen box. 

Frozen Just Egg Sandwich Recipe

• Toast a vegan English muffin
• Toast folded, frozen Just Egg for 6 ½ minutes on high in the toaster.
• Sprinkle  cooked Just Egg with Trader Joe's Everything Seasoning 
• Add vegan cheese, sliced tomato, onion, avocado. 
• Served with Vegan Breakfast Potatoes. 

WHAT RECIPES CAN I USE JUST EGG (LIQUID VERSION) FOR? 

Based on how expensive it is, I personally think Just Egg is best used when you need an egg replacement for baking. But, if you want it for eating breakfast or making something that tastes and looks like an egg, you could make:

• Vegan omelet

• Vegan crepes

• Breakfast scrambles

• French toast

• Pancakes

• Breakfast Tacos

• Latkas (Potato pancakes)

CONVERSELY, YOU COULD ALSO USE A VARIETY OF OTHER VEGAN EGG REPLACEMENT PRODUCTS FOR BAKING

• Ener-G Egg Replacer: This egg replacer is made from a combination of tapioca starch and potatoes. Ener-G is a dried substance that is mixed with water. Although  Ener-G Egg Replacer is $12 for a 16-ounce box for 113 servings

• Bob Mill’s Egg Replacer is also in powder form for $3.57 for a 12-ounce bag with 34 servings per bag. 

• Flaxseed is also a great egg replacement binder, but it does have a nutty flavor, so I only use this for baked goods or pancakes. 

• Unsweetened applesauce: ¼ cup equals 1 egg. Again, I use this in baked goods.

• Silken tofu: ¼ cup silken tofu is equivalent to 1 egg.  You can also make an omelet from silken tofu.

• Ripe banana: ½ mashed banana is equivalent to 1 egg. Since bananas are sweet, I also suggest using them in baked goods rather than savory foods. 

• Mashed avocado: 2 Tablespoons mashed avocado is equivalent to 1 egg or 1 Tablespoon of butter in recipes. 

WHAT DOES JUST EGG TASTE LIKE?

Since I paid $ 4.99 for my JUST egg bottle, and I decided to be the guinea pig, let me show you what I made and tell you what I think. 

First, JUST Egg looks like a scrambled egg, its texture and consistency, and it even looks like a scrambled egg. What does it smell like? Nothing much! In fact, it smells like nothing, but when it cooks, it smells just like an egg, no pun intended. Even though JUST Egg contains oil, I used my non-stick pan, so I don’t know if it needs any additional oil if cooking in a regular skillet. 

Of course, the most important part is the taste. Before going plant-based, l didn’t like eggs, but I do know what they taste like. So, my husband became my test kitchen guinea pig. According to my husband, it tastes just like an egg. Even though I am not an egg fan, I took a bite, and he was right; the taste, smell, and texture are very similar to an egg. Personally, I’m not too fond of it, but he LOVED it. 

RECIPE IDEAS FOR USING JUST EGG AS AN EGG REPLACER

Next, I chose to make a few different recipes to gauge its cooks under other circumstances since I bought a bottle.

Breakfast sandwich: (1 serving)

• 6 Tablespoons Just Egg

• 1 Vegan everything bagel

• 2 slices tomato

• 1 piece American Follow Your Heart Cheese

• ½ white onion, sauteed in a skillet

1. Use a quality nonstick pan ( I used a small Green Omelte pan)  and heat it to medium-low

2. Pour 6 Tablespoons into the pan.

3. Cook on medium-low until one side is browned

4. Flip the Just Egg over and brown on the other side

5. Toast bagel

6. I had leftover sauteed onions I heated in the microwave.

7. Add the Just Egg to the bottom of the bagel.

8. Add sauteed onions, tomato slices, and top with vegan cheese (option)

9. Place in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the Follow Your Heart Cheese. 

10. Top with the other side of the toasted bagel. 

Omelet (1 serving)

• ½ cup Just Egg (per omelet)

• ¼ cup mushrooms

• ¼ white onion

• 5 grape tomatoes, sliced

• (any vegetables you like in your omelet) 

• Vegan cheese (optional)

1. Saute onions and mushrooms until translucent and browned

2. Add vegetables to ½ cup Just Egg

3. Use a quality nonstick pan ( I used a small Green Omelte pan)  and heat it to medium-low

4. Pour Just Egg with sauteed vegetables into the heated pan

5. Cook on medium-low until brown on one side. 

6. Flip omelet over.

7. Add sliced tomatoes and add vegan cheese if using. 

8. Fold one side of the omelet over to melt the cheese.

9. Serve with breakfast potatoes, toast, and fruit

Blueberry muffins (12 muffins)

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ to 2 Tablespoons vegan sugar

• ¼ cup Just Egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 2 cups blueberry (frozen) 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Add almond milk and apple cider vinegar; allow to sit while you prepare the other ingredients. 

3. Combine the dry ingredients; stir.

4. Add Just Egg, almond milk (with apple cider vinegar), and lemon zest.

5. Stir together to mix well, but do not overmix. 

6. Fold in frozen blueberries. I used frozen blueberries because they don’t bleed into the batter that way. 

7. I use paper muffin liners or a silicone muffin pan.

8. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, fill the muffin cups ¾ full.

9. Bake for 30 minutes.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON JUST EGG VEGAN EGG REPLACEMENT

Since I am not a real egg fan, I don’t really care for JUST EGG, but with that being said, everyone in my house LOVED it. Personally, I think it is a lot like any alternative meat products that taste like meat. Although I may not love fake meat, I understand why people do. 

Needless to say, the frozen folded plant eggs were much easier to cook and tasted much better in comparison to the liquid version.

One of the downfalls to Just egg liquid is it has a very limited refrigerator life once opened. Be sure to check the expiration BEFORE you buy it, so you know when you have to use it by, 

The frozen pre-cooked version, on the other hand, lasts 6 months frozen. 

With that being said, if you plan to use Just Egg as a quick breakfast, the frozen version is the way to go. Literally, in under 10 minutes, the breakfast sandwich with the folded plant egg product was plated and ready to eat. 

Husband Approved! But......

For people who want a product that is healthier than eating eggs, JUST  Egg is for you! People who are trying to eat better and transition to a vegan diet will love this product. I also think people who follow a plant-based diet for environmental reasons or animals instead of health reasons are a great product for a quick breakfast or bake. 

If you are following a Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet, JUST Egg is not a whole food.  Not only does it contain oil, but it also has a few ‘red flag’ ingredients I personally choose not to eat. 

If it looks like an egg and tastes like an egg, I'd say it's JUST egg. I hope you enjoyed the Just Egg review: share it with your friends. 

Buy Just egg at Thrive Market and have it delivered to you!

If you want to buy JUST Egg, Thrive Market has a great price. 

If you love healthy vegan breakfast, check out these recipes:

• Vegan Breakfast Burrito
• Chickpea Omelette
• Potato Hash
• Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Lemon Blueberry Bread
• Breakfast Tacos
• Vegan Breakfast Casserole
• Breakfast Potatoes
• Vegan Latkes