Dessert-less December*

*Alright, you caught me. It is not an entirely dessert-less December. But, certainly a minimal dessert December.

If you're like me, December is the hardest month to avoid sugar. Sugar is everywhere in December: in Christmas cookies, hot cocoa, warm spiced apple cider, pies, cakes, fudge, divinity, and candy canes. December is a month of celebrations and feast days. So, how do you even begin to avoid sugar?

For the past few months, I haven't been able to cut sugar out of my life as much as I would have liked (And thus haven't been great about posting here). I slid down the slippery slope of one small cookie here, one cup of hot cocoa there. I wasn't able to follow my once a week sugar rule of last spring. So, as the months creeped closer and closer to the HOLIDAY SEASON, I felt worried that I'd never get back on track with my reduction of sugar (and thus inflammation). 

Two books have really helped get me back on track: I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson and Year of No Sugar: A Memoir by Eve O. Schaub. In these two books, Wilson and Schaub share their process of detoxing from sugar and minimizing sugar intake. Additionally, I recommend watching this lecture by Dr. Lustig entitled Sugar: The Bitter Truth.

Through reading these books and watching Dr. Lustig's 90 minute lecture, I found a renewed sense of urgency in cutting out sugar but didn't know how to hold myself accountable through the holiday season. 

Because I have been overly excited for it to be Christmas this year, I started looking up holiday decoration inspirations early. One decoration that kept popping up was the Christmas Advent calendar. If you are not familiar with an Advent calendar, it is a 25 day calendar leading up to Christmas day. For each of those 25 days before christmas, the owner of the advent calendar is to open a window or package to receive a small treat (usually sugar). This gave me an idea. What if I made an opposite advent calendar? What if I gave myself a treat for every day that I didn't have sugar in the month of December? Instead of a small piece of candy each day, I'd get one small purple strip of paper for each day that I didn't eat sugar. At the end of the month, I'd get to count up how many purple strips were in the calendar and each strip would be valued at $1. At the end of the month I could buy myself a guilt free Holiday gift (but not a sweet one) with my advent money! 

I do not want to deprive myself of feast days and celebrations though, because that would not be sustainable. So, I am making an alteration to my spring time sugar reduction plan: instead of sugar being allowed once a week, I will allow a maximum of 7 (one week out of the month) days of sugar eating in December. (In future months if I follow this plan, this will be limited to 4-5 sugar days in a month. But, because it is the holiday season, I made an additional 2-3 day add on exception.) I have looked ahead at my month to see what days I know I'll be very tempted to consume sugar. For each of those days I have slipped one of  7 green celebration slips in to that day. A green slip does not mean I HAVE TO EAT SUGAR that day, but instead means that I'm prepared ahead of time to know that I have to avoid sugar on other days so as to be able to celebration that day if I want to. I am hoping that this calendar will hold me accountable because I put it in a very visible place in my studio apartment, where I can see it from my bed at night and where others would be able to see it if they were in my living room area during holiday festivities. I believe that this public and ongoing display will keep me honest with myself. 

In this whole process, it is very important for me that:

1. I call my sugar eating days "Celebration Days" rather than "Cheat Days." The point is not to feel like I am cheating myself, but rather to feel like I am being reflective and thoughtful about when to celebrate and allow sugar in to my life.
2. That I create 1-2 small exceptions. In Year of No Sugar: A Memoir, Schaub and her whole family follow a simple set of rules. One of those rules is that each member of their family is allowed 1 exception sweet that they can have regularly with the caveat that though it has sugar in it, the amount of sugar in that item is low. So, I am choosing chocolate that is 85% or more cocoa. I am also allowing a minimal amount of trace local honey because I add a small amount of it to my homemade almond butter.  Here are my exceptions: 

For the sake of avoiding community defensiveness, I'd like to state that I am trying to minimize my Sucrose and Fructose intake, not my Glucose or Dextrose intake. Glucose is pretty much our life force and extremely essential to everything we do. Dextrose is essentially Glucose so it is fine as well. Many people may think it sounds crazy to remove Fructose because we all think of fruit as Fructose and we think of fruit as being healthy. Fruit is fine. It is when Fructose is removed from it's fibrous encasings when it becomes more dangerous. Schaub explains:

"How Fructose Makes You Fat and Sick:

1. All sugar contains fructose.
2. Fructose does not satisfy hunger, so you eat more food than your body needs.
3. Fructose may not be used by any of the cells in your body, except the liver.
4. In processing fructose, the liver produces bad things: uric acid and fatty acids.
5. Too much uric acid causes:
1. Gout
2. Hypertension
6. Too many fatty acids cause:
1. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
2. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
3. Insulin Resistance & Type 2 Diabetes
4. Obesity
7. The clustering of two or more of the four conditions above is called Metabolic Syndrome. Virtually unheard of only a few decades ago, one in five Americans suffers from it today.
8. Additionally, circulating fatty acids have been proven to speed the growth of cancer cells.
9. Consumption of fructose has risen 341% in the last century and continues to climb.
10. So what do you call something that your body has no need for and that, when we take it in, creates toxic by-products in our bodies resulting in debilitation, disease, and untimely death? Well, doctors call that a poison."

So, as you can see, I'm starting to realize that my sugar intake is a bit of a problem. Now I am doing something about it. My plan is to make this my New Years resolution (one month early). One. Month. At. A. Time. I'll be sharing my progress here with all of you and would love to hear about others who are creating their own Sugar-Free Advent calendars! Please send me photos of your Sugar-Free advent calendars and we can work to make sure that our Holiday is still filled with joy  and celebration... without much sugar!

5 Quick Ways to Fight Inflammation & Reduce Stress

Being your best, most happy, self takes work. Fighting inflammation takes work. Reducing stress (to fight inflammation) takes work. But, that work can be fun. Here are 5 ways to quickly fight inflammation in your life and reduce your stress:

1. Make yourself a healthy breakfast!

It has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I totally agree. If possible with your work schedule, make sure to make a couple of healthy breakfast options on the weekend that will help set you up for success throughout the work week. Some awesome breakfast ideas include: single serving chia pudding, making a frittata to reheat (though I'd highly recommend removing the cheese from the recipe to fight inflammation), having fruit available, or cooking yourself an egg (or two) with veggies! All of these options are quick and easy ways to have a healthy breakfast that doesn't take you too long in the morning.

2. Making yourself a relaxing cup of tea!

Tea is not only good for your body, but good for your soul as well. There is nothing better than drinking a cup of tea (unless maybe you're also having some dark chocolate too). Tea has many health benefits, including the ability to help healthy skin growth and bone strength. For the added anti-inflammatory benefit, make yourself a cup of ginger tea or turmeric tea.

3. Drink some coffee!

Though I'm more of a tea drinker, I know that coffee has its time and place. When you need an extra push to get out the door, to get excited about your work week, or to even begin a new adventure: coffee is the correct answer. Though the Arthritis Foundation has found that coffee is not a likely cause of autoimmune arthritis like RA, it does suggest that you keep your coffee intake to 1-2 cups a day.

4. Make your home a place that you like to be!

This might not actually be a quick fix... however, if you make a little effort to make your home a place that you like to be, you'll feel more relaxed and better when you are home. Since those of us who fight inflammation often tend to be stuck home more than others, it is important to take the effort to make your home a place that you love to be. Famous wallpaper and fabric designer William Morris once said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." Following this simple statement, will make your home a much happier place to be.

5. Spend time with people who make you happy!

This one seems like a no brainer, but sometimes we forget to follow it. When you are fighting inflammation, when you are sick, when you are having a hard time, those are the times that you need to get out of your own head. Go talk to a friend about the things that are happening in their life. Ask them questions. Be a listener. Laugh. When we are able to separate ourselves from our own stresses and be a comfort to others, we open ourselves up to living our best and least stressful life. 

Recipe: Ginger Sesame Turkey Burger // The Anti-inflammatory Turkey Burger

Sometimes living an anti-inflammatory life is hard. You fall of the wagon. You eat things that you wish you hadn't because your body reacts badly to them. When those times happen, you have to start with little steps. Little steps will get you back to fighting inflammation.

So, in an attempt to get back on that anti-inflammatory wagon, I've used some of the items from the Delicious Arthritis pantry to get me going. 

Ingredients:

Ground turkey

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:
1. To begin, get out all ingredients. Place ground turkey in a mixing bowl.

2. Add in ground ginger, garlic powder, and onion powder.

3. Mix ingredients.

4. Add in the toasted sesame oil.

4. Form in to patties.

5. Cook with olive oil or coconut oil on low in a skillet for 7 minutes on each side.

6. Serve with or without a bun and enjoy!

These turkey burgers are anti-inflammatory because they includes seeds (sesame oil), garlic, onion, and ginger.

***Tip: for extra flavor, add in green onions and/or BBQ. Enjoy!

Food Is NOT A Moral Issue

Food is not a moral issue. There is no food that is good or bad. Food just is. Food is neutral. 

When we think of food as something other than neutral we give it power. Food doesn't want power and it doesn't need power. Sometimes you'll eat a nightshade plant. Sometimes you'll drink more alcohol than your prescriptions recommend. Sometimes you'll really be craving a huge slice of chocolate cake with extra frosting. That does not mean that you're a bad person. That doesn't mean that you're going to do it over and over again and that all your work to be healthy was for nothing. It only means that you made a decision. Your body wanted something and instead of denying your body, you gave it that thing. That food is not good or bad and you are not good or bad for eating it. You are human. On that same note: you are not superior or noble or a good person just because you follow all of your food rules. That isn't how food works. Food is just food; it is delicious, healthy, nourishing, and sometimes even decadent, but at the end of the day it is just the fuel that makes you run. We want the best fuel for our body but sometimes we don't give ourselves premium fuel, sometimes we just give ourselves the fuel that is available. That is okay.

Sometimes you just have to say to yourself: "Cultivating a culture of food enjoyment is really important to me. I would love to enjoy this delicious food instead of assigning value to it!" Instead of assigning moral value to the food that we eat, we should instead think about the situation that we are in. If the situation merits stepping away from your food rules, then do. It is neither good nor bad to step outside of your food rules. You have those rules for a reason. Your reason might relate to living your best anti-inflammatory life, you might have food allergies, or you may just simply feel better when you don't eat that type of food. Whatever your reason for not eating a food, it is not the food's fault. You are the one that assigned it the "DO NOT EAT" bad food status. 

If there are times when you feel like you'll be missing out on an experience because of your food restrictions, try to avoid thinking: "I'm being so bad by eating this sugary, fattening, carb filled wedding cake!" Instead, re-frame your thinking. Say to yourself: "I'm making a choice about participating in the food-centered nature of this celebration and accept the physical consequences that will surely develop tomorrow."

Food doesn't follow you. It doesn't stick with you and tell you how bad you were being for eating it. Those thoughts that you're having about your food have nothing to do with the food itself. When you assign moral value to your food, you are assigning moral value to your own behaviors. It is you telling yourself that you are not good enough. You made a mistake. You did the wrong thing. You were being bad. I am here to tell you right now: you were not doing something wrong. You were not being bad. You were just living your life. You were making a decision. You will make many decisions in your life. 

You will make many decisions in your life. The decision to assign moral value to food hopefully won't be one of them.

Just Say No to Aspartame

Step away from the aspartame and say no to all artificial sweeteners! 

If you thought added sugar was the only added sweetener that was bad for your body, you'd unfortunately be wrong. Despite some claims that aspartame is anti-inflammatory, the Arthritis Foundation states that aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are not good for autoimmune arthritis. Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are neurotoxins. This means that they affect your brain. Your immune system will see this in your body and react to the artificial sweetener as a "foreign substance." Because of this, your body's immune system will attack the chemical and this will cause inflammation. 

Not only does aspartame cause inflammation, but it adds to a load of other problems that will make your autoimmune arthritis worse. Because aspartame is known by your body as a "foreign substance," you body does not know how to react to it and thus stores these "sugars" as fat. As we know, weight is a huge factor when it comes to arthritis pain. Minimizing your weight can reduce pain. A study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that those who regularly drank diet sodas with aspartame in them were 70% more likely to have a wider waist than those who did not regularly include artificial sweeteners in their diet. 

So, stop ordering diet sodas. Drink water instead. Your body will thank you later!

10 Illustrations That Will Inspire You To Fight Inflammation

1. Healthy Eating by Emily Balsley

2. Summer Roots by Helen Dardik

3. Greenhouse Greens by Shari Blaukopf

4. Vegetables by Ryo Takemasa

5. By Carine Brancowitz 

6. Pickles Print by Brooke Weeber

7. The Guardian, The Lunch Box by Hennie Haworth

8. Nectarine in Tissue I, 2013 by Jay Mercado 

9. By Karen O'Neil

10. Mind Map #56: [Why Kale is so awesome:] by Yours, truly: Laura Beam McKinney

Inflammatory Foods To Avoid // Part I: Nightshades

Quite often, I come across claims reporting that I should not eat this food or that food because of my autoimmune arthritis. This is extremely frustrating because these claims are rarely substantiated. Why should I cut out a completely delicious food, if you're not even going to tell me why? So, dear readers, I am going to tell you why certain foods are not great for autoimmune arthritis or for living an anti-inflammatory life. Because I want to research and get you the best info about each category of food that should be avoided to live your best anti-inflammatory life, I will be writing a few introductory lists of foods to avoid. 

To begin with, many of our food problems are going to fall in to one food family in particular: Solanaceae. This food family is more commonly known as "nightshade." 

General nightshade to avoid:

1. Tobacco (Seriously folks, it isn't just bad because of lung cancer!)
2. Modified Food Starch
3. Starch
4. Yeast

Nightshade fruits to avoid:

1. Tomatoes
2. Goji Berries
3. Jerusalem Cherries
4. Tamarillo
5. Gooseberries

Nightshade vegetables include:

1. Potatoes (Though, sweet potatoes are okay.)
2. Eggplant
3. Sweet Peppers
4. Chili Peppers
5. Banana Peppers
6. Cayenne
7. Habanero
8. Paprika
9. Pimentos
10. Tomatillos
11. Wax Peppers

Alkaloids are the big problem in nightshade plants. Alkaloids are thought to be the cause of many health problems including morning stiffness, acid reflux, insomnia, muscle pain, gallbladder problems, arthritis, and other inflammatory problems.  There are 4 primary types of alkaloids: steroid alkaloids, tropane alkaloids, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and indole alkaloids. Basically, the biggest issue alkaloids cause is that they interfere with calcium metabolism. One theory suggests that nightshades remove calcium from bones and deposit that calcium in to soft tissue. Another theory is that nightshades are pro-inflammatory substances, provoking immune and inflammatory reactions in the body.

Just like with sugar, you don't have to fully cut nightshades out of your diet, but it is good to limit them. I'll tell you though, cutting out nightshades (just like cutting out sugar) is hard. Everyone loves french fries and potato chips. Many of us enjoy peppers. Tomatoes seem to be in everything. But, you can do this. You can lower how many of these you eat. I still have some of these from time to time. You won't notice how much they are affecting your inflammation until you cut them out for a little while. One day after cutting them out, you'll let yourself have a tomato or potato or pepper and you'll realize how much eating that nightshade plant has affected your inflammation and pain.

Recipe: Baked Collard Green Chips // Collard Greens Are The New Kale

As discussed in 10 Essential Items For Your Delicious Arthritis Grocery List, dark leafy greens are REALLY good at fighting inflammation. Loads of studies have suggested that the Vitamin E in these dark beauties plays a key role in fighting cytokines. 

As a reminder, cytokines are inflammatory molecules. We don't like them. 

In addition to the amazing superhero, Vitamin E, dark greens and cruciferous vegetables are packed with higher concentrations of other vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron. Dark leafy greens also contain alpha-linolenic acid, and omega-3 that has similar anti-inflammatory benefits as the omega-3s that are found in fish. For all of these reasons, adding more dark leafy greens in to our lives is a good idea. 

Often times, when people think of dark leafy greens, they automatically think of kale, broccoli, and spinach. Collard greens rarely make the list. The reason for this, is that many people do not know how to use collard greens or have never been exposed to them. Kale has become a cultural identifier. Kale's popularity has gotten to the point where many celebrities even wear shirts with KALE written on them. 

Today we are going to talk about COLLARD GREENS. They are dark, dense, and delicious. I am going to show you how to make them in to Collard Green Chips.

Ingredients:

6-8 large collard green leaves

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. First wash and dry your collard greens.

3. Chop your collard greens in to strips. Once you've chopped them in to strips, cut out the spine of the leaf. Cut strips in to smaller squares.

4. In a bowl, toss the collard green squares with the olive oil.

5. Place the collard greens on a cooking sheet. Make sure that no greens overlap. You may have to divide your leaves between three batches.

6. Bake each batch for 12 minutes, stopping half way through to rotate the pan so that the leaves get baked evenly.

7. Once they are cooled, place them in a bowl and toss with sea salt flakes.

8. Enjoy!

10 Essential Items For Your Delicious Arthritis Grocery List

In my Delicious Arthritis journey, I've settled on 10 Essential Items I need on my anti-inflammatory grocery shopping lists (even if not all of them get in to every meal that I make). Just like with the 10 Essential Items For Your Delicious Arthritis Pantry, having these items on my grocery list (even if not all at once) really helps me to make sure I keep my inflammation in check and my food delicious. 

1. Beets!

They have so many antioxidants! They are also packed with fiber and vitamin C, and have been shown to reduce inflammation. Beets can be pickled, roasted, added to your smoothies, flavor your hummus, and generally brighten up your plate with their vibrant color.

2. Fatty Fish! 

Salmon, Mackerel, Tuna, Cod, and Sardines are super high in omega-3 fatty acids and have been shown to help reduce inflammation. Plus, they are super yummy! To get the full benefit though, you’re really would need to eat fish several times a week. If this isn’t possible for you, maybe try taking a fish-oil supplement. I’ve been taking them for years and definitely think they make a small difference. (If you’re going to take fish-oil supplements though, make sure to get the “burp free” options. I’m not kidding, there really are “burp free” options, and they are so worth it. No one wants fish aftertaste in their mouth. Gross!)

3. Dark Leafy Greens!

These include things like Kale, Spinach, Broccoli, and Collard Greens. There have been loads of studies that have suggested that vitamin E may play a key role in protecting the body from cytokines (aka a molecule that causes inflammation). Plus you have the added benefit of getting to absorb minerals like calcium and iron which are found in high doses of these magical leafy greens.

4. Carrots!

Golden orange and full of vitamin A and beta-carotene which many people believe to be a warrior in the battle against inflammation! Cooked carrots are even better for you because it makes the vitamin A and beta-carotene even more accessible for your body. 

5. Squash!

This veggie (just like carrots) is full of vitamin A and beta-carotene which (as I just stated above) many people believe to be a warrior in the battle against inflammation! Squash are super delicious to eat too and offer a huge variety when it comes to textures, flavors, and colors! The squash family includes such wonderful treats as: zucchini, spaghetti squash, crookneck squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, gold rush squash, sunburst squash, cuarzo squash, and papaya pear squash. You can bake them, sauté them, or even spiralize them!

6. Berries!

These tasty little bites of goodness are not only low in fat and calories, but they are also high in antioxidants and help fight inflammation. Most of their anti-inflammatory properties are caused by the chemical anthocyanin, which gives berries their beautiful colors. Blueberries are anti-inflammatory superstars. (Just remember, the darker the fruit or veggie is, the higher the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are!)

7. Tart Cherries!

Specifically tart flavored cherries have been found (2012 Oregon Health & Science University) to have the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food.” Experts recommend eating 1.5 cups of tart cherries or drinking 1 cup of tart cherry juice. Unfortunately the benefits aren’t quite as high with sweet cherries. 

8. Plain Dark Chocolate!

Sometimes you just need to add a little joy to your life. They best way to do that is with chocolate. Don’t skimp on the quality. Aim for Chocolate that is 80% or higher. The sugar levels in 80%+ chocolate is much lower and the flavor is much richer.

9. Tea!

Tea is not only good for your body, but good for your soul as well. There is nothing better than drinking a cup of tea (unless maybe you're also having some dark chocolate too). Tea has many health benefits, including the ability to help healthy skin growth and bone strength.  

10. Porcini Mushrooms!
This mushroom has a meaty flavor, similar to Portabello mushrooms and has been used as a successful anti-inflammatory. It contains the compound ergosterol which is capable of attacking enemy cells through the process of cytotoxicity.

Making Mistakes & Living Our Best Anti-Inflammatory Life

Here at Delicious Arthritis, I try to help myself and others live our best anti-inflammatory life. Arthritis is hard. Autoimmune illnesses are hard. Cutting things out of our diet is also really hard. Even when I know that I might be better off fully cutting out sugar 7 our of 7 days of the week or fully cutting out inflammatory food all the time, that doesn't mean it always happens. Life happens sometimes too. Sometimes I eat more sugar than I intended and I have a flare up. Sometimes I don't get enough sleep and my joints feel worse. When those times happen though, it is important that I (and you) find a way to forgive myself  (ourselves). I didn't mean to eat something that made me have a flare up. I didn't intend to "fall off the wagon." Life happens sometimes and we just have to do the best we can.

I have a mentor, Mel, who often says: "Food is NEVER a moral issue." I am here right now to tell you that sometimes you'll slip up. Sometimes you'll eat that added sugar. Sometimes you'll eat a nightshade plant. Sometimes you'll drink more alcohol than your prescriptions recommend. That does not mean that you're a bad person. That doesn't mean that you're going to do it over and over again and that all your hard work was for nothing. It only means that you slipped up. You are human. On that same note: you are not superior or noble or a good person just because you follow all of your food rules. That isn't how food works. Food is just food; it is delicious, healthy, nourishing, and sometimes even decadent, but at the end of the day it is just the fuel that makes you run. We want the best fuel for our body but sometimes we don't give ourselves premium fuel, sometimes we just give ourselves the fuel that is available. That is okay.

Mr. Rogers once said:

"Some days, doing 'the best we can' may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect (on any front) and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else." 

So, when you're having a hard time living your most anti-inflammatory life, forgive yourself. You're doing the best you can. Your do over starts now: Not later today, not tomorrow, your do over starts now. 

Here are five fabulous anti-inflammatory things to give yourself a fresh start today:

1. Make this Anti-inflammatory Chai Latte to drink with your breakfast!
2. Or this Anti-inflammatory Smoothie!
3. Or bring along one of my Delicious Arthritis: Hazelnut Chocolate Date Bars for a midday snack!
4. Or make Ginger Garlic Baked Salmon for dinner!
5. Or simply drink more water throughout your day!

You can do this. I believe in you.