Rhonda's Cooking

Health

Baking Egg Free

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One of the most difficult things to living egg free is baking egg free! As a southern girl baking is huge and there are a plethora of desserts that require eggs. So when I learned that I had to live egg free, I set out on a journey to reverse engineer all of my favorite recipes and figure out which ones I could recreate egg free! The first step in this process was to identify an egg substitute. However, I didn’t want to just go buy a manufactured “egg replacement”, I wanted something healthy! My research led me to ground flaxseeds.

How to make this egg substitute?

  1. Finely grind whole golden flaxseeds and set aside one tablespoon in a small mixing bowl. (You can grind them using a coffee grinder or high powered blender.(
  2. Add three tablespoons of water to the mixing bowl with the ground flaxseeds.
  3. Whisk until well mixed. Set aside for two to three minutes. The mixture will start to thicken to a similar consistency as a beaten egg.
  4. Add the flaxseed mixture to the rest of your ingredients per the rest of the recipe.

Can Food Really Help Arthritis?

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Rheumatoid Arthritis is an inflammatory, autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy tissues.[1] Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is something that I have been challenged with since 1995.I spent many years in excruciating pain in my hands; so much pain that I couldn’t even hold my toothbrush or button my pants/shirts. The pain would last for an entire day before calming down and then it would take 3 days before the swelling and soreness would go away. When these situations occurred, this was called a “flare-up” (inflammation). Initially, I would get these about 3 to 4 times per year. I tried every home remedy and drug, (Celebrex, Vioxx, Arava, cortisone drugs/steroids (such as prednisone), hydroxychloroquine, and methotrexate injections, but nothing worked permanently; these were all short term fixes and the pain would always return.

My hand during a flare-up

Rhonda’s hand during a flare-up

After many years of dealing with yearly flare-ups, in 2005 after meeting Dr. Don Colbert, I learned that there were many different foods that could trigger one to have inflammation when diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. After reading his books as well as other studies on arthritis, I decided to put all of that information to the test. I decided to stop eating foods that would make me have a flare-up. The following is a list of foods that could trigger rheumatoid arthritic reactions:

Foods that Trigger Inflammation (“flare-ups”)
Corn Wheat
Pork Oats
Rye Eggs
Beef Coffee
Chicken Oranges
Turkey Grapefruit
Shellfish Milk & dairy products
Night shade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants & bell peppers)

By now, I know that you are in shock! You are asking yourself what are going to eat if you take away these foods. Don’t be alarmed, you can make changes over time.

Here are some of the foods that I typically eat: 

Foods that Won’t Cause Inflammation
Cold Water Fish Dark Leafy Greens
Ground Flaxseeds Pineapples
Turmeric Sardines
Garlic Whole Grains (no wheat)
Ginger Fresh fruits (no oranges)
Natural Nuts/seeds Olive oil
Flax oil Fresh/Frozen Vegetables

It took time for me to make the transition, but I did it and now I finally feel better than ever since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis! I can now wake up EVERY morning able to hold my toothbrush and get dressed without a problem! So for me, not eating a piece of chicken or having my favorite coffee was okay.

So how do you get started? Start slow and remember that not all of these foods listed will impact everyone the same. In order to find out if a particular food causes inflammation in your body, you must remove all of the items from your diet for 2 weeks and then slowly re-introduce them back–one per week. If you still having the pain and can’t identify the cause, send me an email because there are a few other things/strategies that you can do to help you live pain free! I am telling you the truth, it really does work!!! I no longer take any medications for rheumatoid arthritis!

[1]Kamhi, Ellen, and Zampieron, Eugene. Arthritis. California: Celelestial Arts, 2006.