Ask Aunt Nettie

We're delighted to share our Aunt Nettie with you. She's agreed to answer any questions you might ask about vegetarian food, its preparation, and even clean-up tips. But we have to prepare you. She just might want to come right over to your house and help you fix dinner.

To send any questions to Ask Aunt Nettie, .


Hi Aunt Nettie,

I need some help. I became a vegetarian recently and am leaning towards a more strict Vegan diet.

My husband and I disagree on whether or not egg whites have any negative attributes. We understand that fat and cholesterol come from the yolk. What are the health concerns, if any, on egg whites? Currently I use an egg substitute; "Ener G".

Thanks for clearing this up! We just want to eat as healthy as possible.

Kim from sunny Florida


Howdy there Kim from sunny Florida,

Well, darlin', good fer you. Yer on a mighty fine path with yer vegan diet direction.

Yer right 'bout them egg whites. They don't have none of the fat an' cholesterol that's in them yolks, but y'all jes might have a good dose o' salmonella or campylobacter. Now, ya don't want none o' that in yer body.

The Ener-G Egg Replacer is a good substitute fer eggs in a heap o' recipes, but it don't work fer everything. I like usin' 1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds an' 2 tablespoons water fer each egg. Now, I put them inter the blender an' blend fer a good minute or until the mixture gits kinda thick an' gooey like real thick oatmeal. I add that into a batter last thing when I'm bakin' cakes, cookies, an' muffins an' they comes out mighty fine. It don't work fer everthing, but most times it's purty good.

Don't know who gits the "I tole you so" but you jes keep on smilin' darlin'.

Yer ever lovin' Aunt Nettie


If You Haven't Met Aunt Nettie. . .


Our Aunt Nettie has a head like a hard disk. It's filled with gigabytes of information about food and cooking. And she's just itchin' to share her learnin' with city folk who live in mortal fear of the stovetop.

Aunt Nettie grew up on the farm. She did not eat out of a can or reach into the freezer. There was no microwave to pop her food into. Everything she made was from scratch. All the food she ate was natural, without pesticides. It was grown right there on the family farm, and she had to cook to survive. At eighty-three years young she still leaps and bounds around the kitchen and can shake, rattle, and roll those pots and pans with the best of them.

Nowadays, Aunt Nettie just shakes her head and complains, "Nobody cooks anymore. They have no idea about puttin' a meal together." She's on a mission. She wants to help those younguns eat better so they can grow up healthy like her own eight kids.



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