36. Is Egg Substitute OK for Egg allergies?

No!

Most egg substitute products, whether fresh, frozen or powdered, contain mostly egg whites, so if you have an allergy to eggs, they are not suitable as egg alternatives.

But egg substitute is a good alternative to eggs if you want to cut down on fat and cholesterol, which are concentrated in the egg’s yolk.

Although whole eggs are not especially high in fat, just 5 grams of total fat and less than 2 grams of saturated fat per egg, they are very high in cholesterol, containing more than two-thirds the daily recommended total. So multi-egg dishes such as omelets and frittatas, which often contain cheese or other high-fat, high-cholesterol ingredients, are good candidate dishes for using egg substitute.

What else in is egg substitute?
Well, egg substitute products such as Egg Beaters brand, contain 99 percent egg whites. The other one percent is “natural flavor,” coloring, spices, onion powder, salt, guar gum and xanthan gum. Many nutrients are added to make up for the ones lost from the yolk, so egg substitute will usually contain varying amounts of iron, folate, zinc, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamins A, E, B6 and B12, and have the same amount of protein as whole eggs. While some brands, like Egg Beaters, contain no fat or cholesterol, others use vegetable oil as an ingredient, which adds to the fat content again, although the fat is usually unsaturated.

35. Food Diary - Days 17 and 18

Day 17

Porridge
Decaf Coffee
Orange juice

summer fruits smoothie

Apple
cottage cheese and flax oil
hard boiled egg
Camomile Tea

2 plums
chicken and vegetable soup

goats milk yoghurt with fruit smoothie

porridge


Day 18

Cornflakes and muesli (was in a rush)
Orange juice

Coffee

Banana

Prawn salad sandwich on wholemeal bread
licorice bar

Pistachio nuts

Blackcurrant tea

Apple
Chicken and vegetable soup

porridge

34. Gluten Free Pizza Base

I was supposed to put this together with the pizza sauce (that would’ve made sense), but better late than never – here is the pizza base recipe:

Ingredients
1/2 teasp of Dried Yeast Granules
240ml or8fl.oz. of warm water
1 teasp of Sugar
100g or 4oz of Rice Flour
75g or 3oz of Cornflour
1 tbsp of Potato Flour
1 1/2 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 teasp of Salt
Some extra oil for greasing

Instructions

1. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in half of the warm water. Add the sugar and mix well. Leave for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 220C, 425F, Gas Mark 7 then lightly oil a large pizza pan or tray. Prepare toppings for the pizza.

3. Place the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and add the yeast mixture and mix well, adding the remaining water a bit at a time until the consistency of a very thick batter.

4. Pour the dough into the centre of the prepared pizza pan or tray and spread around evenly. Bake at the top of the oven for 5 minutes until it is lightly set.

5. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 190C, 375F, or Gas Mark 5.

6. Add your toppings to the pizza. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes.

33. Food Diary Day 15 & 16

Day 15
Porridge

Coffee

Smoothie with apple juice, banana and summer berries

Went for an 8 mile walk with the ramblers, and ate:

apple

sandwiches made with the filling from the fish pie (yes, bread!)

banana

lots of water

Later at my friend’s house, 2 coffees (only had 3 hrs sleep last night, so you can imagine what an 8 mile walk did to me!)

Fish pie, same recipe as Day 1

porridge


Day 16
Apple

Porridge

Decaf Coffee

mixed nuts and dried apricots

banana

Fennel Tea

Lunch in a café with friends

Chicken tikka masala tortilla wrap, with lettuce and tomato

Cappucino (oops – it wasn’t even nice)

Fish pie

smoothie with plain goats milk yoghurt

green tea

apple juice

32. Dairy-Free Crème Anglaise (custard)

I haven’t tried this, but my step mother has, and she thinks its wonderful!

Ingredients
175g of 6oz Soft Silken Tofu
1 tbsp of Apple Juice
2 teasp of Barley Malt Powder
120ml or4fl.oz. Rice Milk
1 tbsp of Arrowroot
1 teasp of Vanilla Extract
1 teasp of Maple Syrup
Instructions
1. Place tofu, apple juice, barley malt powder, and half the rice milk in a blender until smooth.
2. In a small bowl mix the remaining rice milk and arrowroot and stir until smooth.
3. Transfer the tofu mixture to a pan and heat, stirring, over medium heat for about 1 minute.
4. Stir in the arrowroot mixture and heat until it thickens, constantly stirring.
5. Remove from the heat then add maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix well. Serve hot or cold.

31. Food Diary – Day 13 & 14

Apple

Porridge

Apple

1 Egg with mayonnaise

Cottage cheese and flax oil

Coffee

Chicken and Vegetable soup

Goats milk yoghurt with muesli and honey

Cornflakes with UHT cow’s milk

(Run out of goats’ milk and the corner shop doesn’t sell it)


Day 14
Really misbehaved today. I’ve got very little food in the house, and due for a delivery. Started to make a fish pie, but then realised I have no potatoes, but still carried on thinking I’ll find an alternative.

In the end (and probably due to the time of the month), I went out and bought chips (french fries) from the Fish and Chip shop. The worst type of potatoes you can eat, cooked in cheap vegetable oil that’s not hot enough, so they’re drenched in fat. Now my poor guts are suffering the consequences. I’m not ill – they just protest by way of pain, whenever I abuse them!

It doesn’t end there – I bought a a small chocolate bar too, after being bombarded with images of Easter eggs on TV. Well, I was watching the Saturday night movie, About Schmidt, and both the chocolate and the movie were a lovely treat.

Throughout the day though, I did eat my usual healthy stuff too; porridge, apple, banana, green tea, and the last of my delicious chicken and vegetable soup.

I’m now drinking Camomile tea in the wee hours to try and make my tummy go to sleep. I must do my online shopping order asap.

31. Food Diary – Day 13 & 14

Day 13

Apple

Porridge

Apple

1 Egg with mayonnaise

Cottage cheese and flax oil

Coffee

Chicken and Vegetable soup

Goats milk yoghurt with muesli and honey

Cornflakes with UHT cow’s milk

(Run out of goats’ milk and the corner shop doesn’t sell it)


Day 14

Really misbehaved today. I’ve got very little food in the house, and due for a delivery. Started to make a fish pie, but then realised I have no potatoes, but still carried on thinking I’ll find an alternative.

In the end (and probably due to the time of the month), I went out and bought chips (french fries) from the Fish and Chip shop. The worst type of potatoes you can eat, cooked in cheap vegetable oil that’s not hot enough, so they’re drenched in fat. Now my poor guts are suffering the consequences. I’m not ill – they just protest by way of pain, whenever I abuse them!

It doesn’t end there – I bought a a small chocolate bar too, after being bombarded with images of Easter eggs on TV. Well, I was watching the Saturday night movie, About Schmidt, and both the chocolate and the movie were a lovely treat.

Throughout the day though, I did eat my usual healthy stuff too; porridge, apple, banana, green tea, and the last of my delicious chicken and vegetable soup.

I’m now drinking Camomile tea in the wee hours to try and make my tummy go to sleep. I must do my online shopping order asap.

30. Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

I’ll be creating sections on different elimination diets. The first post in the Dairy Free section is this delicious recipe for Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Ingredients:
2 finely chopped Onions,
2 tbsp of Olive Oil
350g or12oz Mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp of Paprika
1 teasp of Cayenne Pepper
600ml or 1pt of Fresh Vegetable Stock
Salt
225g or 8oz Medium or Soft Tofu
1 tbsp of Vegetable Oil
2 tsp of Lemon Juice

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan then add the chopped onion and sauté for 4-5 mins.

2. Add the mushrooms, paprika and cayenne and stir. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for further 9-10 minutes.

3. Stir in the salt, pepper and stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for a further 3-4 minutes.

4. Then place the tofu, vegetable oil and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.

5. Stir this mixture into the saucepan and heat, without allowing it to boil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.

29. Food Diary – Day 12

Apple

Porridge

Apple juice

Coffee

Baked potato, with goats cheese and spring onion, and a bit of soya spread

Flax oil, Cottage cheese, onion, chives

Apple

Decaf Coffee

Homemade Chicken and Vetetable soup (for recipe see below)

1.5 litres of water throughout the day

28. Chicken and Vetetable Soup

It’s my own, so there are no quantities! Come to think of it, you can use whatever vegetables you like, but this is what I made today:

Soup base; dried pulses, beans, barley etc, soaked overnight
(if gluten allergy, leave barley out)
Cabbage
Leeks
Celery
Onion
Worcestershire sauce
Horseradish sauce
Yeast free vegetable stock
Chicken stock (homemade if gluten allergy)
Cooked chicken, no fat or skin

Simmer for 20 mins then add the diced chicken and stir for further 5 mins

27. Food Diary – Day 11

Apple juice

Porridge

apple

same as dinner last night - pancakes with mince and tomatoes

pistachio nuts

I boiled egg on its own

Goat’s milk strawberry and vanilla yoghurt

Decaf coffee

flax oil, cottage cheese, onion and chives with 3 Ryvita

Hot chocolate! made with water, and no added sugar (it’s STILL hot chocolate, dear!)

Cornflakes

26. Pizza Sauce

Quick Pizza Tomato Sauce (also suitable for pasta dishes) 35mins

Makes approx 240ml/8fl.oz.

Ingredients:

200g/7oz Tinned Chopped Tomatoes

120ml/4fl.oz. Tomato Juice

Salt and Black Pepper

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 small Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

1 small Celery Stick, finely chopped

60ml/2fl.oz. Fresh Strong Vegetable Stock


Instructions
1. Place the tomatoes, salt and pepper in a saucepan together with the tomato juice. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the onions, garlic and celery and sauté gently for 10 minutes until soft and transparent.
3. Add the vegetables to the tomatoes together with the stock. Bring to the boil then cook and a gentle boil for at least 15 minutes. At this stage, it can be cooled slightly and puréed in a blender for a smoother sauce.
4. Use as a base sauce for all types of pizzas.

25. Food Diary - Days 8, 9 and 10

Been away for a couple of days, and didn’t stray TOO far from my healthy unprocessed and wheat free diet!

And the times I did fall off the wagon, it was through no-one’s fault but my own, as my friends had lots of healthy food with them, but on the Sunday at about 4pm, we went out to hire a movie and I suddenly felt extremely hungry. I’d only had two hours sleep from 8.30 – 10.30am, so I had porridge for breakfast and went to meet them.

I forgot I’d not eaten lunch.

So I was climbing the walls in the video shop, and ended up buying a huge packet of Doritos and sour cream and chive dip (for all three of us), but I had to stuff my face in the car on the way home.

That’s what happens when I forget a meal. Very naughty.

Later we all had baked potato and cheese, with green beans, broccoli, mixed peas and sweetcorn.

And I had no willpower whatsoever when my friends got the chocolate out. I only had a few pieces, and considered it a treat for being so good up until now, and I don’t feel guilty for it!

On the Monday I had ‘Oats So Simple’ which wasn’t pure oats, but individual sachets of made up oats and maple syrup favoring. Although the instructions said to make it with milk, I made it with water as usual, and it tasted lovely, but it did have salt, sugar, and ‘flavoring’ in it.

Later we went for a walk and took cheese sandwiches with us. That was the first time I’d eaten bread in ages, and I’ve no idea what spread was on them, but they tasted good! Again – no guilt!

Drinks on both Sunday and Monday included lots of water, apple juice, coffee during the day, and fruit teas.

Today I thought of what I could put in my porridge to add more flavor, and I came up with natural ginger and cinnamon, as well as a bit of honey that I usually have.

Needed 2 bowls today, as I was very hungry, and too lazy to cook!

Did cook tonight: minced pork with tomaotes, peppers and spinach, and wrapped the whole lot up in pancakes made with rye four, goats milk and free range eggs.

24. Food Diary Day 7

Breakfast
Apple
Porridge

Smoothie (same as yesterday)

Coffee

Lunch
Apple juice
Spaghetti bolognaise with spinach

Fennel Tea

Dinner
Baked potato with bolognaise

Water throughout the day

(went jogging this morning for the 1st time in ages, and nearly collapsed!)

23. Three Ways To Ensure Proper Digestion

Most people in the western world eat their food far too quickly and fail to chew their food properly. What happens because of this, is that their food simply doesn’t break down effectively enough, and not only is this food wasted as a valid nutrition, but a lot of what cannot be absorbed properly, your body stores as fat.

Secondly, you are likely to feel hungry much sooner than you would do otherwise.

You owe it to yourself to take your time eating your food, and to chew it properly. I once tried doing this with a piece of toast with butter and jam on, and the rule was I couldn’t swallow the food until it was complete puree. This took a lot longer than I thought it would, for the normal bite size I was having, so I took tiny bites. It took about 10 minutes to eat the whole slice of toast.

But the good news is, not all food is as difficult to ‘puree’ as toast or bread. And you don’t have to puree food in order to chew it better than you have been doing.

Secondly, this may seem hard to get used to, but try the ‘one week’ rule for giving everything a chance, and you should be ok: Don’t drink with food, and for at least 15 minutes before and 45 afterwards.

This will allow your food to be broken down better. And it will force you to chew your food slower and better too.

Another trick that will not only optimise food adsorption, but will result in weight loss, is to eat fruit BEFORE your meal. Our stomachs are actually designed to break down fruit carbohydrates much quicker than protein, so it may take 20 minutes or so before your fruit is absorbed, but it can take up to 90 minutes for a large steak for example, to be broken down.

The fruit prepares the stomach for the intake of protein, and it will break it down more effectively. If you wait until later to have your fruit or a sweet, your body is working much harder to break down the protein. Anything that makes your body work harder than it should is jeopardising your overall health.

Eating an apple before every meal is talked about in the book ‘The 3 Apple a Day Plan’ by Tammi Flynn
http://www.amazon.com/3-Apple-Day-Plan-Foundation-Permanent/dp/0767920414/ref=sr_1_1/104-8754403-6622308?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174327960&sr=8-1

which goes into more scientific detail of how this works.

22. Food Diary Day 6

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Breakfast
Smoothie made with banana, plums and apple juice

Porridge, made with water, and a few raisins

Lunch
Beetroot

Prawns, cottage cheese, flax oil, onion, red pepper, chives, tiny bit of mayonniase and ketchup – in other words; very rich prawn cocktail! - with celery, and 1 slice of Ryvita.

Smoothie made with three very ripe bananas that had to be eaten quick, summer fruits, goat’s milk-pro biotic yoghurt, and a dash of vanilla essence (NOT flavoring).

This was very rich, but enormously scrumptious, so I had two glasses; a pint of the stuff!

Dinner
Half apple

Had friends round later and made Spaghetti bolognaise but with pork mince instead of beef! And I microwaved the meat first to get all the fat off it, then blended it into a powder.

Had wholewheat spaghetti too, and my friends liked it. I’m allowed wheat occasionally, although when I’ve been good and done without it for a while, the symptoms such as an itchy nose(!) and itchy arms tend to be much worse after I do fall off the wagon, than if I ate wheat all the time.

Goat’s milk - strawberry pro biotic yoghurt

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

21. Aspartame

Not to be mixed up with ‘aspartamine’ which is naturally found in artichokes and is innocent and something else entirely.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener. It is also a poison. What your body cannot break down and use, aspartame will store it as FAT in your body. It is in Diet Cola and just about every diet drink you can think of. It is even in toothpaste, chewing gum and some MEDICINES! So instead of helping you lose weight, aspartame is keeping you fat!

“Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a 'safe' food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public.”

Go here to read more: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

It is interesting to learn that the diet version of the world’s biggest selling product is killing the very people that choose to buy it (it’s a soda drink by the way).

Just remember that you live in a world where money is more important than people’s lives and more important than the truth.

20. Food Diary Day 6

Breakfast
Bowl of home made muesli with oats, raisins sultanas, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, fresh banana, sliced pear, and cornflake crumbs! + goat’s milk

They were out of my soya milk this week, so I’m using goat’s milk on my cereals. In theory, this should force me to eat fewer bowls of cornflakes, and more porridge as I don’t make that with milk.

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Apple juice

Lunch
beetroot, not pickled
1 cold boiled egg
Cottage cheese, flax oil, onions, peppers and 2 slices of Ryvita multigrain

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

small amount of dried fruit and nuts

Dinner
Very small baked potato, pork with plum and apple sauce, mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, sweet corn and green beans)

Plum and apple sauce recipe:
three large plums with skins on, blended with a small cup of apple juice
1 tsp of tomato ketchup, and finely chopped onion

I never made this before. I just make meals out of what I’ve got in. And this took about 10 minutes to make.

Maybe I should put a disclaimer on this blog. After all this is a diary of what I eat, not necessarily what you should eat. As I make recipes up out of my head, I do occasionally poison myself, but since switching to non processed food (ketchup aside) I haven’t done so far!

Again, approx 1 litre of water

19. The Effects of Red Bull

Red Bull and other cheaper brands of the same thing have lots of caffeine and taurine in them. Taurine is banned in some countries because it has never been proven to be safe.

But even if it were officially safe in all countries, I know for certain it is not safe for someone like me to consume it. I am prone to anxiety, panic attacks and irritability.

However, most normal people will become irritable or have headaches and immense lethargy when ‘coming down’ from this drink.

What Red Bull does is keep you awake. Whenever I was unable to sleep during the night, and I needed to be awake in the day, I would drink it. Within 30 minutes, I would forget about my bad night’s sleep and I’d be ok for several hours. As soon as I found myself flagging, I’d have another Red Bull, and I’d ‘wake up’ again.

But when the effects wore off, I would find myself feeling unable to cope with the simplest of things.

This drink is allowed to be sold in bars, meaning that vast quantities are consumed. Just one is bad for you. So much caffeine should be seriously avoided in the evening.

I once knew a man who had not slept for two nights before his wedding day. So he drank Red Bull all day, and the wedding went well.

That night he crashed out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and had a migraine for the next two days. Suffice to say, his bride was not too pleased.

A lot of clubbers drink it to dance the night away til dawn. One friend of mine who used to take speed (amphetamines) to stay awake, says his Monday mornings were a whole lot worse coming down off Red Bull thatn Speed. No I am NOT condoning speed!

But if that’s illegal, and the effects of Red Bull are worse…? Well, you work it out.

If you absolutely meed caffeine to keep you awake in an emergency, then at least a normal coffee has measurable amounts of caffeine it.

Actually, the thought of throwing up has always put me off drinking in excess, but it doesn’t put a lot of people off. Many millions go out with the sole intention of getting steaming drunk, so those people are probably not going to be too receptive of my Red Bull advice!

Don’t get me started on alcohol. And Diet drinks? – with Aspartame in them? That’s another post!

18. Food Diary Day 5

Cornflakes in the middle of the night again – Terrible insomnia. I need more exercise to tire me out.

Breakfast
Half apple juice/ half mineral water

Porridge with raisins

Small raw carrot

Lunch
Cottage cheese, beetroot, flax oil, onion and chives, with 3 Ryvita

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Several pieces of dried fruit, and a few mixed nuts

Dinner
5 thin slices of ham and soft goat’s cheese, rolled up - honestly, that was enough!

Half apple juice

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar