Day 14

I realized today that I haven't had any anxiety for over a week. Today was constipated, finally passed, but had a mother of a time, I have to remember to eat flax seed meal or psyllium husks. I guess my only real carbs today were at breakfast, but I feel okay, have lots of energy given that I only slept 6 hours (damn Weeds!). I did have a bad headache today, but I think it was a result of my great efforts in the bathroom and the 2 1/2 hours of therapy. I used coconut oil in the stir fry, probably about a tbsp. and I couldn't taste it, so I guess it's not that gross.
I made my own sauerkraut today, we'll see how it turns out, the kids are already fighting over who gets to shake it. I also looked on the kefir sharing site and hope to get a hold of some kefir grains soon so I can make my own kefir.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: Brown coconut rice porridge with flax seeds and rice milk and a bit of xylitol, topped with toasted coconut (very good)
Lunch: Leftover thai curry chicken breast, leftover slaw, plain yogurt
Supper: Chicken and vegetable stir-fry with pumpkin seeds, cauliflower (I tried to eat the rest of that mokhiana sp? soup, but just couldn't get it down).

Chicken and vegetable stir-fry

Carrots (for kids, I picked them out)
Peppers
Onion
Celery
Chicken breast
Garlic
Ginger
Zucchini
Broccoli
Broccoli slaw from store
Pumpkin seeds

Sauce:
Homemade chicken broth
about 1/4 cup coconut aminos
1 tsp. corn starch (I figure that's ok, lots of candida diets accept corn and there was so little...)
small amount of dried chili pepper
ground ginger

Days 11-13

Feeling good. My period's late, hopefully it'll come tomorrow, don't want this diet to get me all out of whack. Skin is still kind of itchy. No change in psoriasis. Yeast infection hasn't come back. A tiny bit of gas, but nothing compared to what I used to get.
Here's what I at over the weekend:

Friday
Breakfast: millet and rice milk
Snack: Walnuts and celery
Lunch: Green beans in lemon dressing, 2 hard boiled eggs with yogurt coriander dip (really good), veggies, plain yogurt
Supper: Steak, roasted broccoli and red peppers, chicorée salad, plain yogurt

Saturday
Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs
Lunch: Molokhiyya greens, chicken soup (GROSS, supposed to be great for the intestines), plain yogurt
Supper: Rice pasta with sautéed spinach, onions, garlic, chicken and almonds, plain yogurt

Sunday
Breakfast: millet and rice milk
Lunch: Leftover rice pasta with sautéed spinach, onions, garlic, chicken and almonds, plain yogurt
Supper: Chicken in red thai curry yogurt marinade, brown coconut rice, Asian slaw (carrot, cabbage, red cabbage, broccoli slaw, green onion, cilantro, mint, toasted sesame with ginger lime hot pepper dressing)

Days 6-10

I haven't written in a few days, things have been pretty busy. I had my little foot surgery on Tuesday night and I'm in quite a bit of pain. I'm still feeling very clear-headed, work has been easier, my yeast infection is still gone, I have a little bit of gas and bloating, but nothing like before the diet, no change in my psoriasis. I've been weighing myself and don't seem to really be losing, maybe a pound or two, but I haven't been going number 2 very much so that might be why, it would also explain the bloating and gas. I'm going to have to try to remember to add flax seeds and psyllium husks to my food.
I'll do my best to list what I ate, but I probably won't be able to list it all.
Monday
Breakfast: Buckwheat porridge
Lunch: Turkey sukiaki, green salad and yogurt
Supper: Turkey soup, buckwheat biscuits

Tuesday
Breakfast: Eggs and biscuit
Snack: Walnuts
Lunch: ?
Supper: Chicken Tikka, stir-fried Indian rice, cauliflower

Wednesday
Breakfast: Eggs and buckwheat biscuit
Snack: Celery, carrots and walnuts
Lunch: Leftover stir-fried Indian rice with chicken, yogurt, veggies
Supper: Big salad with chicken and avocado and cucumber mint yogurt dip

Thursday
Breakfast: Leftover sautéed quinoa and vegetables with and egg on top
Snack: Almonds, veggies
Lunch: Leftover stir-fried Indian rice and chicken, veggies with cucumber mint yogurt dip, yogurt
Supper: Big salad with chicoree, salmon, flax seeds, red pepper, green onion, sunflower seeds with cucumber mint yogurt dip

Meal Ideas for the Candida Diet

I think you're more likely to succeed at something if you try to put a positive spin on it. So instead of focusing on what I can't eat, I am trying to make up a long list of what I can eat. Here's my list, I'll add to it as I think of things and put them in bold once I've tried them.

Breakfast
Vegetable fritatta
Eggs
Buckwheat porridge
Quinoa porridge
Millet puffs and rice milk*
Using coconut milk on porridge (gross)
Buckwheat biscuits

Sides
Indian spiced cauliflower
Greek spinach rice
Almond rice
Roasted brocoli and red peppers
Roasted rutabaga
Roasted brusselsprouts
Brown coconut rice (Lucas doesn't like)
Quinoa bites
Black rice
Roasted cauliflower (I seasoned with cajun spices, Lucas liked better than steamed cauliflower)

Salads
Quinoa avocado salad with lime dressing

Soups
Turkey soup
Cauliflower leek soup
Vegetable soup
Homemade chicken stock
Vegetable soup with leftover roast beef

Mains
Meatloaf
Sardines and salad
Thai coconut curry chicken
Roast chicken
Greek chicken
Chicken in yogurt curry marinade
Fried rice
Tumeric fried rice with chicken and vegetables
Steak
Spaghetti with rice pasta
Green curry salmon/chicken/beef
Roast beef
Rogan Josh (PLC, p. 90)
Minty lamb kabobs (PLC, p. 117)
Yogurt-crusted chicken (PLC, p. 126)
Chicken in spicy yogurt (PLC, p. 127)
Karahi chicken (PLC, p. 129)
Chicken tikka (PLC, p. 130)
Thai-style chicken skewers (PLC, p. 134)
Chicken and ginger stir fry (PLC, p. 140)
Ethiopian cuisine
Turkey or chicken meatloaf or meatballs
Turkey sukiaki
Mint lamb balls with mint and cucumber sauce
Brown rice pasta with spinach and chicken sautéed in garlic
Slow lemon chicken
Jamaican chicken with brown gravy (sooooooo good)
Moroccan chicken with roasted eggplant and almonds

Dressings/Dips
Lime ginger jalapeno dressing
Grapefruit mint dressing*
Orange basil dressing*
Yogurt herb dressing
Tahini (Gross, threw it out)
Tahini-based dressing (Gross)

Breads
Buckwheat biscuits
Injera
Coconut bread (bad!!!)
Yeast-free, gluten-free bread (see evernote)

Snacks
Almonds
Walnuts
Raw veggies
Rice cakes
Guacamole
Flax crackers
Sunflower seeds

Day 5 - Turkey sukiaki

Today was hard, as far as craving go. Adonis just opened up somewhat near us so I went there for groceries and there was so much beautiful food and new things I wanted to taste. They even had lost of taste-testing, but I had to decline it all. Luckily, their produce and meat is beautiful and there were many ingredients that I could have, ingredients I wouldn't necessarily find elsewhere. I bought 2 big bags of quinoa for dirt cheap and realized I can have tahini (100% sesame seeds). There was even algave sugar for if I ever get to eat some form of sugar again. I also made the kids chocolate chip cookies, which was not helpful.

Otherwise today was good, I felt clear-minded still and had no stomach issues. I've had a really itchy forehead the past few days, no idea if it's related, actually my entire face is a little itchy. I have to try not to touch it so much or I'll break out.

I tried making coconut bread today, it was a disaster, so disgusting! It had coconut oil in it, which I have now decided I definitely hate. The rest will be used to moisturize by body. It was so dry, I could feel it stuck in my throat an hour later, it was like eating cooked flour with coconut oil in it.

I also made my own chicken stock today. So I can finally make soup this week. This diet is so time consuming!

Tonight, I made Turkey sukiaki with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. I don't love the coconut aminos, but it was passable. The kids really enjoyed it, especially after they had added some soy sauce to it, T had a little plum sauce on it. I forgot to take a picture again.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Millet puff cereal and rice milk (another bad breakfast), soothing tea
Lunch: Leftover thai curry chicken and brown rice
Snack: Almonds and a piece of coconut bread :(
Supper: Turkey sukiaki

Turkey Sukiaki (adapted for the candida diet)
2 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup homemade chicken stock
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 cups (about) leftover cut up turkey or chicken
Juice of one lemon
Salt & pepper
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 cup green pepper, chopped (I used red)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped
2-3 cups iceberg lettuce or spinach (it sounds weird, but the iceberg really is good in it)

Mix together the stock and amino, set aside. Mix together the turkey, lemon juice, salt and pepper, set aside. Stir-fry celery, onion, pepper and garlic a few minutes. Add sprouts and green onions, sauté a few more minutes. Add turkey and stock mixture. When mixture boils add rice and lettuce. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Day 4

Today I felt incredibly clear-minded, I've felt like I've been in a fog for quite some time and the months before Christmas, I sometimes even felt drunk. I was able to focus on my work and I didn't feel like I was half asleep all day. I really felt alive. I hope this is not just a fluke.

No foot surgery today, so I'm still in pain, am going Tuesday night.

I forgot to mention that I haven't had any sleep troubles since the first night. I started taking my candigone around 6 and haven't had any insomnia. My dreams are very vivid though and I feel like I would feel more rested if I didn't dream so much.

The hard part of this diet isn't the eating or not eating, it's all the work. The shopping and cooking. And I love to cook, I can't imagine how challenging this must be for people who don't cook or who have little food knowledge. I did find it hard not having a drink tonight though, but I had some perrier and lime and it passed.

A friend gave me some rutabaga, so I roasted some. It was ok, nothing fabulous, I had expected to taste some sweetness, but there was none, it was very filling though and apparently rutabaga is a great anti-fungal.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Millet puff cereal and rice milk (my emergency, lazy breakfast)
Snack: Almonds
Lunch: Leftover thai curry chicken
Snack: Handful of snap peas
Supper: Salmon with coriander yogurt dressing, roasted rutabaga and green salad with yogurt dressing

Day 3 - Chicken in red thai curry coconut sauce

Today was similar to yesterday, no upset stomach in the morning though. I was gassy again after lunch, but then again I ate the same thing I ate yesterday. We'll see how I am after lunch tomorrow. Still don't feel like I have a yeast infection. Tomorrow night I think I'll start the chromium. So far, so good though, no cheating. I even went out for a "drink" and only had Perrier. There was a big snow storm today so I'm a little wiped today. Tomorrow, I go to the podiatrist, hopefully she can do something with my foot because I was in alot of pain tonight.
Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Buckwheat porridge with flax, seeds, almonds, cinnamon and plain yogurt, soothing tea
Snack: Walnuts
Lunch: Quinoa salad, a bunch of raw veggies, yogurt dressing from yesterday, plain yogurt with stevia
Supper: Chicken and vegetables in red thai curry coconut sauce, brown rice, broccoli

I was so happy to read the ingredients on this red thai curry paste, they are all acceptable ingredients and my family likes it. If you look on the Thai Kitchen Web site they have plenty of recipes that work with the candida diet. It also makes for a very quick meal.

Chicken and vegetables in red thai curry coconut sauce

2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
2 small zucchini
1 carrot, sliced (don't add/eat carrot if on candida diet)
1 cup of cauliflower florets
1 Tbsp. red thai curry paste
1 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté chicken in olive oil, add onion, garlic, pepper, carrot and zucchini. Add thai curry paste and coconut milk. Add cauliflower. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve over brown rice. I like to top it with fresh cilantro.

You can add as many or as little vegetables as you like to this, be creative. I think eggplant would taste great in this. You could also make it with shrimp or fish, just add the shrimp or fish with the cauliflower. I would also like to try the coconut curry sauce on mussels.

Day 2 - Spicy coriander yogurt dressing

I started the Candigone last night before bed, some people say the drops are awful, but I don't find it bad at all. I did have a very restless sleep though, felt like I was semi-conscious. When I woke I didn't feel rested at all. I also went to the bathroom about 5 times during the night.

When I woke up, I had stomach cramps and went number 2 three times. My stomach settled later in the morning, but I went pee 5 times before 10:30. After lunch, I had bad gas, which is unusual given what I've been eating, I don't know if it was the adzuki beans or the quinoa.

I know I sound crazy, but around noon, I felt like my vaginal yeast infection was going away, and tonight it feels completely gone. I get a yeast infection every month and I usually just don't bother doing anything about it and let my period clean me out. I've never had one go away on its own. It might all be in my head, we'll see tomorrow.

I felt like my sweat smelled weird today, maybe a little yeasty and I was very tired. Tonight, I took the Candigone before supper so maybe I'll sleep better. It might be totally unrelated though, everybody has a bad night's sleep once in awhile.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 buckwheat biscuit, peppermint, fennel, ginger tea
Snack: Walnuts, celery
Lunch: Raw carrots, snap peas, quinoa salad, plain yogurt with stevia
Supper: 1/2 cold chicken breast, a bit of quinoa salad, green salad with spicy coriander yogurt dressing

So I mixed up a new dressing for my salad, it was really good and could also be used as a dip for veggies or meat. My son actually at it on his burrito. The buckwheat biscuits I made just as I would any normal baking soda biscuit, but I used nothing but buckwheat flour instead of all-purpose and I used real butter. They don't rise very well and they're a little heavy, but I'm happy to have any "bread" I can. I made a batch and threw them in the freezer to eat with eggs or soup. This weekend I'm going to try to make coconut bread.

Spicy coriander yogurt dressing

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. jalapino, minced
3/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3/4 cup plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste

Day 1 - Quinoa Salad with lime ginger jalapeno dressing

Day 1 went well except I forgot to bring my avocado for my salad to work so my lunch wasn't very satisfying. I find I'm peeing alot, but I always do when I don't eat very many carbs. I haven't started my candigone today, I'm waiting to take them right before bed. This afternoon at work I felt hungry, but I think it was more out of boredom cause when I sat down for supper I had trouble finishing my bowl of salad and now I feel stuffed. The salad was alot of work, but it will be good for two or three more meals. I wanted to try to exercise tonight or at least lift some weights, but I am way too tired. My thing on my foot is really hurting and it makes everything a struggle. Tomorrow, pilates starts up again. This morning I weighed 173 lbs.

Today, I also learned that I can have injera (Ethiopian crèpes) and pretty much everything Ethiopian. I can't wait to try it.

I have to make another salad dressing/marinade to have on hand and boil some eggs to keep handy. I've made a list of meal ideas that I can have and will post them here soon.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: Buckwheat porridge with flax seeds, almonds, stevia and brown rice milk

Snack: Celery and almonds

Lunch: Green salad with salmon, pumpkin seeds and lime ginger jalapeno dressing, snap peas, plain yogurt with stevia

Supper: Quinoa salad, plain yogurt with stevia

Quinoa Salad

Cooked quinoa

Adzuki beans, cooked from dry (soak overnight, cook 35 minutes)

Chicken breast

Cucumber

Green onion

Red pepper

Cilantro (at least 1/2 a cup)

Tomatoes

Avocado

Lime, ginger, jalapeno dressing

If I weren't following the candida diet, I would totally put mangoes in this salad.

Lime Ginger Jalapeno Dressing

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbsp. grated ginger

1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno

2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

This dressing could also be used to marinate chicken or fish.

Pre-game day - Cauliflower leek soup

I'm ready to start my candida diet. Today I went to the health food store and got my supplements and the rest of my food supplies. For my antifungals, I decided to go with a blend called Candigone, I also bought probiotics and will be taking chromium to help control my cravings. Chromium gives me a really dry mouth so I'm going just start with the Candigone for the first few days to see how I react to it. I also bought coconut oil, coconut aminos, braggs, red and green thai curry paste, tomatoes with no citric acid, hemp seeds, buckwheat porridge, millet cereal, buckwheat flour, coconut flour, brown basmati rice, adzuki beans and psyllium husks. Tomorrow is the big day. I'll weigh myself in the morning and hopefully post what I eat and how I feel each day.

Tonight, I tried cauliflower and leek soup. I didn't have my own stock made but otherwise it would be totally candida friendly. The kids liked it too. I also tried cooking with coconut oil for the first time. I cooked smelts coated in buckwheat flour. The whole house is really smoky and we're having trouble breathing. It probably wasn't the best thing to try for my first time using coconut oil. I'm going to have to research coconut oil a bit, I found it really heavy, but it doesn't have coconut flavour at all. I feel really nauseous from the coconut oil.

Cauliflower leek soup

2 cloves garlic

1 or 2 leeks, sliced and cleaned

1 Tbsp. butter

1 medium head of cauliflower

chicken broth, enough to cover

Sauté garlic and leeks in butter. Add cauliflower and enough broth to cover. Simmer until the cauliflower is soft. Purée with handmixer and season with salt and pepper.