Anti-Candida Diets...Daily Log for Encouragement

[Mamatoto]

Day 39: I weighed myself at the chiropractor again today and I've lost more weight for a total of 6 pounds.  This is the lightest I've been since probably 6th or 7th grade If our pediatrician hadn't commented on Monday that I'll probably lose weight and it's normal when on this kind of diet, I'd be alarmed and think maybe I have parasites.  I admit that this week I haven't eaten as much as in past weeks, but still...??  I have no problem with regular meals, but snacks are killing me.  I seem to keep going back to the same ole snacks, which don't seem to really fill me up much.  I think what I'm going to try and do next week is plan 4 meals + 2 snacks a day, instead of 3 meals + 3 snacks.  Today's main news is that our gas is getting STINKIER (even worse than when I was pregnant).

[sassy]

I am so excited to come across this thread.  I just recently found out about candida, suspect that I have it, and have been trying to figure out a plan of attack.

I bought Threelac, but then read some things that made me scared to try it...

I think that I am going to start this week with removing sugar from my diet, then follow the rest of the recommendations.

I wanted to ask if any of you have had hair loss, as a result of candida?

Also, I read a post mentioning rubbing oils on feet?  What would that be for?

Thanks so much!  Any help is very appreciated!
:)Katherine

[linemansgirl]

Today is day eleven for me!  I am not having very many die off symptoms like I thought that I would, maybe my yeast isn't as bad as I thought that it was, OR maybe the die off symptoms haven't hit in full force yet!  Only time will tell.  Whatever the case may be, I am sure that this is doing me good.  I have lost 13.5 lb so far.  I will have to start adding things in if I get down too far.  I made up a bunch of hamburgers yesterday and I think that will really help me with breakfast.  I also had an easier time getting my fats in yesterday.  Last night I made chicken breast with butter and garlic and the roasted eggplant with cilantro marinade from Nourishing Traditions and it was very yummy.  Next time that I make it I will probably exchange the lemon for lime. 

Today is day 40 for you Mamatoto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Way to go!!!!!  Even though you do have to keep going, you get to add more foods in!

Welcome Sassy! 

Anyone else still here??

[rebeccahuff]

This is day 11 for me too, I think...

I have been doing a lot more vegetables and no meat.  I feel MUCH better. I actually think that eating all the meat was really slowing down my transit time and making me sluggish.  I am still taking the coconut oil like Bea says on her website.  I purchased some of the Yeast Assassin Lite (for nursing moms) from Beeyoutiful and also have some of the Ultimate Defense so I don't even know when I will be taking that, cause I sure don't want to start feeing as bad as I did last week. I feel soooo much better this week, that is why I am catching up on everything I didn't get to do last week!

I added some nuts and oats to my children's diet though.  Everyone seems to be doing quite well.  I have been letting my older daughters use some almond flour that I made to make my toddler some special treats like pancakes, cakes and muffins. I found the recipes on a neat website ( www.pecanbread.com  Specific Carbohydrate Diet) there are a lot of good recipes on there using nut flours, etc.

I admit I am not drinking as much water as I should. I am going to do better next week.  I have been doing some epsom salt baths and trying to remember to dry skin brush.

Those burgers you were talking about sound great though, linemansgirl!!!!! YUMMY!!!   That's great that you have lost 13.5 pounds!!! Awesome. I wish I had a scale, I don't know how much, but I am sure I have lost some too.

DH has a 3 day weekend, so I'll talk to ya'll on Monday!

[Mamatoto]

I accidentally fell asleep with DS last night, so didn't get a chance to post yesterday Yesterday completed Day 40 and thus "Phase 1" We seem to have gotten all of our really icky detoxing out of the way in the first 3 weeks (crossing my fingers), and things have gotten progressively better since then.  So it's kind of weird that we both still have yeast infections.  Odd thing is that DS always wakes up looking ALMOST cleared up, but by the end of the day it looks horrid.  And the same things happens the next day... and the next day... and the next day... Not quite sure I understand how/why it cycles like that DS and I both have runny noses again - GOOD GRIEF!!!  Seems like we've both had colds or detox cold-like symptoms since the week after Christmas And yesterday and today I had more stomach cramping, but this time it's after I eat, not after I take the anti-fungal supplements.  So I'm thinking about adding in some digestive enzymes.  I'm sure my GI tract is totally out of whack right now, so it certainly can't hurt, and maybe it will help speed things along.  I was sooooo excited last night to put some oats to soak for breakfast, but they were a little disappointing this morning I guess I won't really love breakfast again until I can add some maple syrup or honey, shredded coconut, and berries.  Oh, well.  In the grand scheme of things, this is really a pretty short period of time to do without favorite foods.  I am finding that (other than snacks) I am having much less trouble coming up with meals than I was at the beginning.  I guess I never realized how much I rely on certain foods as staples - maybe my diet wasn't as balanced as I thought it was!

Rebecca- I'm so happy that you're feeling better.  How is the nursing baby doing?  And thanks for the nut four recipe link - I haven't had a chance to look at it, yet, but it sounds very promising!!

Linemansgirl- I am totally amazed that you have lost so much weight in such a short period of time!  Hopefully you're losing candida at the same rate

Sassy- Welcome!!  Have you started yet?  I haven't had any problems with hair loss.  Actually when I think about it, I think I'm losing LESS hair than normal.  Maybe because my GI tract is getting healthier and so I'm absorbing more nutrients from my food Also, to answer your question about the essential oils (and correct me if I'm wrong, linemansgirl), clove and oregano are anti-fungals.  One way to benefit from herbs is to apply them topically and let them absorb through the skin and directly into the bloodstream (think garlic poultice).  But you wouldn't want to apply them undiluted (I've read that the only two that are ok undiluted are tea tree and lavender).  So mixing them with coconut oil (another anti-fungal) as the carrier oil would make them safe for topical use.  And chest and feet are great places to do poultices, oils, etc. because there are a lot of blood vessels there to quickly absorb the herb.  I admit I forgot I was planning on buying the oils after linemansgirl mentioned them, so maybe I'll order one or the other in my next Beeyoutiful order. 

Off to try and catch up on work I didn't get done last night...Have a great weekend everybody!

[Elenita]

Hi,
a friend of mine sent me the link to this web-site just several days ago, as I have been struggling with candida for several months.
I read different information, and I have to tell you, I'm still quite confused about all the different diets, that also seem to contradict each other. Nevertheless I really want to do something, so I thought this forum could give me some help and some motivation to keep on.
I started with my own interpretation of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet 3 days ago, but as we are living in Mexico I can't get a hold of the book easily. I looked at their web-site and what kinds of food are allowed and which ones aren't, but as I'm afraid of not doing it right without the information in the book I decided I would try this Anti-Candida Diet.
As I said I'm still pretty confused about a lot of things.
For example are you keeping track of how much proteins and fats you are eating? If yes, how do you do it?
Are almonds allowed or not?
Also, I think my boys (I have 6 of them between 4 and 15) have some yeast problems too, at least I did the saliva-test with 4 of them and 3 came out as positive (but my 6 year old couldn't spit well  . But I don't think they will be very thrilled about my idea to put them on a diet without yeast (no pizza ). So I wondered how some of you managed to motivate your kids.
If my English is kind of weird, I'm sorry, it's not my mother tongue.

[Mamatoto]

I'm starting to feel really tired and really hungry again.  I can't figure out if the hunger means I should be eating more or if it's just a sign that the candida are sending out "I need food to stay alive" signals.  Usually, I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, which usually means I eat six meals or snacks a day.  But that doesn't seem to be enough to keep me full these days.  Because I'm at the office all day (and because I can't just drop in to a nearby restaurant and order some safe anti-candida food), I'm having to plan more than I ever had, so it's kind of tough when what's worked in the past isn't working now.  I just had a huge serving of rice pasta with meat sauce - two servings worth of pasta and about 1/2 pound of meat in homemade spaghetti sauce.  And I'm still starved!!!  I really want to make another serving, but then I'll run out of food before the end of the week and grocery day The past few days I've noticed that my milk ejection reflex isn't coming every time DS nurses, so now I'm panicking that I'm not producing enough milk, which would mean I'm not eating enough.  But DS started eating food last week - he went from CO and CLO to a little of whatever I'm eating within a day's time.  So maybe that's affecting the milk?  But he's not really eating much - maybe he gets in 1-2 teaspoons 2-3X a day.  And he's still nursing about every 1 - 1 1/4 hour...??  Any thoughts from other mamas?  Anyways...that's the weekend in a nutshell.  This week's meals are:
Breakfast - homemade turkey sausage and fried millet cakes (tomorrow will be the first day with the millet cakes, and I've never cooked millet before, so hopefully it'll be good )
Lunch #1 - meatloaf and fried green tomatoes (yummmm- they are so sweet they almost taste like cooked rhubarb)
Lunch #2 - rice and beans with homemade salsa and avocado
Dinner - brown rice spaghetti with meat sauce
Snack #1 - grapefruit
Snack #2 - crispy dehydrated sprouted almonds
Snack #3 - sweet potato chips (I was soooo excited to be able to make these again )
Snack #4 - kale chips (I bought the kale, but then found out the people I'm living with don't have a salad spinner , so I need to buy one tomorrow morning before I can actually make this snack)

I'd love to hear what everyone else is eating this week, ESPECIALLY SNACKS!!!

Welcome, Elenita- As far as the different diets go, I'd just pick one and follow it and not worry about what anyone else is doing.  I read Lifeforce a couple years ago, but don't have it handy as a reference right now, so can't help you much there.  I flipped through The Yeast Connection at the natural food store the other day and it looked interesting, but I didn't pay much attention to the specifics so again can't help you much.  And then there's Bea's, which is online and may be easier for you if you don't have easy access to specific books.  I'm sure there are a ton of other ones out there, too.  I think if I wasn't nursing, I'd actually compare all the different ones and only eat the food allowed by all of them.  I'll post what's on my ok list tomorrow - my reference book is out in the car and I don't feel like going out to get it right now

Question about the spit test - I think both Rebecca and Elenita have mentioned it now...what is it?  How does it work?  What do I need to do it?  It sounds like it's not necessarily 100% accurate, but sounds interesting nonetheless.

I think I'll go have another spoonful of meat sauce, then brew some Mama's Milk Tea and broil half a grapefruit and see if that fills me up sufficiently.  Good night!

[linemansgirl]

I am still here!  Last week I had company, they left yesterday morning.  Yesterday my dh's grandma passed away, so more company is coming today, so I will be scarce again this week.  Today is day 16 for me.  I have been feeling great, but having a hard time finding anything appealing to eat.  Since I am not doing brown rice I decided to add in a small amount of cheese and cream, that has helped a lot.

Have a great week!

[rebeccahuff]

Sorry I haven't been keeping up! I am not doing as good as I would like to. I made some dehydrator macaroons and ate a few...well, i'm back on track but financially having a hard time not eating grains, cause I guess that is what I always fall back on when I run out of grocery money...also beans, I added those back in to everyone else's diet.

I am now taking the Ultimate Defense and the Yeast Assassin Lite with no ill effects, other than just being a little bit tired and a little bit irritable, but hey, that could be anything, right?

I am mostly eating raw veggies.  I still don't know if I have lost any weight, but next week I'll be able to weigh myself at my aunts house.

Those kale chips are awesome, I have made them before, without the spinner.  I just dried them off a bit with a paper towel.   We also made up a spice blend to put on them that was pretty tasty, with a dash of Stevia powder they taste like Mesquite BBQ chips ;o) yummy

[Elenita]

Question about the spit test - I think both Rebecca and Elenita have mentioned it now...what is it?  How does it work?  What do I need to do it?  It sounds like it's not necessarily 100% accurate, but sounds interesting nonetheless.

Here's the link for the spit test: http://www.stopyeast.com/saliva.html

It's actually my 7th day on some kind of diet . I'm basically eating veggies, meat, fish right now and the 24-hours yogurt. But because I'm not sure it's really fermenting 24 hours, I stopped that for now. I also ate almonds and cheese at the beginning.
The first day I had a really bad headache and felt nauseated, but now I'm doing pretty well regarding die-off-symptoms.
I 'm really amazed that I'm not graving more sugar and grains. I had such a bad sugar graving these last months-started to shake and feel dizzy as soon as my sugar level dropped, so I was practically eating constantly-and gaining weight . But  I'm really way better than I was afraid. Well, it still might come, but for now I'm just amazed 

[Becks]

Elenita! Welcome! I like your picture by the way. I'm glad you posted the saliva test link.  I think I'll try it since it looks so easy.  Where is the diet that you are following?  I haven't read this whole thread, so forgive me if it's obvious and I missed it.  If the diet you are following uses yogurt, I've got a good recipe and method for making it.  Let me know if you want me to show you how I make it.

[Mamatoto]

I cannot believe I have lived the first 33 years of my life without ever trying millet - it is DELICIOUS!!!  Maybe next week I'll try something with amaranth - has anyone ever cooked with this before?  I think I'm being stretched (in a good way) to learn how to be more creative in my cooking.  For example, I never knew how versatile flaxseed is:  I used to only put it on top of my hot cereal, but now I'm using it in almost everything I make.  Today I woke up with huge lymph nodes and a really sore throat and couldn't really talk much for the first half of the day.  I'm sure it's related in part at least to the fact that I didn't get to bed until about 2 last night and it seems like I've got a ton more to do tonight before I hit the sack, so hopefully tomorrow won't be worse Also, my MER was much better today than yesterday.  I think it may be related to stress

Sassy- Just realized your question was about hair loss due to candida, not due to the cleanse... As far back as I can think, I've always felt I had a problem with hair loss.  But that may just be due to the fact that I have fine, thin hair so it's really obvious.  And then the lack of hair loss I'm experiencing now may be due to the fact that I'm taking horsetail supplements, which are high in silica, which helps hair growth.  So who knows with me!

Elenita- Thanks so much for the spit test link.  I know I have candida, but think I'll try it tomorrow just for fun 

As promised, here is my list of acceptable foods for the 1st 40 days:
•   Meat:  beef, buffalo, elk, goat, lamb, veal, venison, heart, liver
•   Fish:  anything that has fins and scales (no shellfish, catfish, or eel)
•   Poultry:  chicken, Cornish game hen, duck, guinea fowl, turkey, heart, liver
•   Eggs:  duck eggs, chicken eggs
•   Fats and oils: avocado, coconut milk/cream, extra-virgin coconut oil, flaxseed oil (unheated only), hempseed oil (unheated only), extra-virgin olive oil (unheated only), expeller-pressed sesame oil, cow butter, goat butter, ghee
•   Vegetables:  French artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, leafy greens (arugula, broccoli rabe, collard, endive, escarole, frisse, kale, mustard greens, radicchio), lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onion, peas, peppers, pumpkin, sea vegetables (dulse, hijiki, kelp, kombu, nori), spinach, string beans, sprouts (broccoli, pea shoots, radish, sunflower), summer squash, tomatoes, winter squash
•   Nuts and seeds (raw only):  almonds, ground flaxseed, hempseed, pumpkinseeds, sunflower seeds, nut/seed butters and tahini made with any of the allowed nuts or seeds
•   Grains:  brown rice
•   Fruit:  lemons
•   Beverages:  water, herbal tea, organic coffee, raw beet and carrot juice (diluted to 25%)
•   Seasonings and sweeteners:  Apple cider vinegar, Celtic sea salt, Herbamare, herbs and spices, Omega-3 mayonnaise, Stevia, organic alcohol based flavoring extracts with no added sugar (for example, almond extract and vanilla extract)

Starting with Day 41, I was able to add the following: grapefruit, beans, amaranth, millet, oats, and xylitol

Rebecca - great job jumping right back into the cleanse after what sounds like a really yummy "cheat."  And it sounds like you're doing a good job of altering the diet to address your family's needs.  How are all your children doing with the cleanse?

Linemansgirl - Bravo for sticking with the cleanse with a house full of people!  Sorry to hear why you have company this week

I'm happy to hear that no one is doing too horribly! 

[linemansgirl]

I am sticking with it, but I am SO TEMPTED right now.  There are cinnamon rolls on the counter that are calling my name!   Everyone is bringing lots of yummy food for the family!  I know I can do this, I know I can do this, I know I can do this......................

[Elenita]

I'm feeling just terrible today. Terribly tired, just fixing lunch tired me out completely. My yeast infection is bothering me badly. My mind is so foggy, I can't even read your last postings properly (probably because it's not my first language).
I will read them though when I feel better, hopefully soon  .
My DH is gone on a trip too,  I'm glad my older sons help me with the younger ones, but I'm dreading bedtime today.
Can these all be die-off symptoms?
Well, I will try to get some more rest.

[healthyinOhio]

Can these all be die-off symptoms?

Doing an enema will clear your foggy die off symptoms quicker than normal. HTH!

[Mamatoto]

I felt horrible today - moderate runny nose, very large lymph nodes, extremely sore throat.  In fact, instead of going into the office, we stayed home and (tried to) rest and nap a lot.  I haven't felt this bad in quite a while.  I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been keeping up with my dry skin brushes, hot bentonite clay baths, or garlic poultices.  It seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing, so as soon as I started feeling normal, I pretty much stopped.  But obviously I need to start back up again.  I just finished a garlic poultice and I hope that helps me feel better tomorrow.  I also need to make sleep a priority - my body obviously needs that down time to repair and restore, so I am vowing to try and be in bed no later than 10:30 from here on out.  On a positive note, I made the kale chips today and they were FANTASTIC!  Who would have thought?  Has anyone ever made them in the dehydrator?  I like the idea of keeping the kale raw, but am not sure whether they'd get crispy enough.  Thoughts??

Linemansgirl - You have done so awesome up to this point!!  Keep strong The cinnamon rolls, etc. can wait

Elenita - Sounds like die-off to me!  If you can get through this first chunk of time where you feel really horrible, you can do anything.  Don't give in.  Just be thankful that you have some older ones to help you around the house, and focus on how much better you will feel once your body is properly balanced.  You might want to try a really hot bath to help you sweat some of the toxins out through your skin - try to stay in the tub for about 20 minutes after you start sweating.  And don't forget to drink lots and lots of water, so you can get rid of some of the toxins peeing.  And make sure you're having regular bowel movements, too.  If not, add tons of flaxseed to whatever you're cooking.  I'm too afraid to try enemas, but I agree that would help if you can do them.

Good night, all!

[Elenita]

Oh no,
I just wrote a nice long answer, and somehow it's all gone.
Well I try to remember what I said

First, I'm feeling much better today, still a little bit slow, especially my thinking (I probably won't remember all I wrote before ), but way better than yesterday. Thank you for your tips. I used to be afraid on enemas too, but then a midwife encouraged me before I had my first baby, that they really aren't so bad: " Just make sure the water is warm, and you're close to a bathroom." And I had one with one or two, or three?? of my births, and it really wasn't that bad. My problem here is that the equipment is hard to get here, but we'll see.
The hot bath sounds good, I just need to wait until my DH comes back, otherwise I don't think I can enjoy it (with kids fighting in the background,... )

Something really great happened yesterday though. I told you that I wanted to do the SCD-diet, but didn't have the book. Well yesterday a friend dropped by, and I found out, she has the book. We got it right away, so now I can truly try it. I'm really thankful and very excited

Becks, if you want to find out more about this diet, here's their web-site: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/index.htm

I got the idea from reading another thread about SCD and yeast infection.

I realized that the yogurt I'm making is not really fermented for 24 hours, because I used a pressure cooker. There are other ideas how to make it on the SCD-website, but they don't work for me .
I'm working on it though.

Mamatoto,
I'm sorry that you don't feel well. I sometimes feel frustrated too with all the things I should/want to do, and the days being so short....
I'm glad for you though, that you like the millet. It seems there's a lot of food out there, we've never tried before.
I still try to figure out, what "kale" is, need to look for it in my dictionary

HealthyinOhio
I feel silly, but sometimes I don't know what abbreviations stand for. I figured out what DH, DS. and DD stands for , but what is HTH?

Linemansgirl,
hang in there, I'm sure it's hard with so many temptations around you, but you CAN do it

[healthyinOhio]

but what is HTH?

Oh, sorry!    Sometimes it is hard to tell who knows it and who doesn't.  Hope This Helps.
Here ya go.  More homework for ya:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,1698.0.html

[Mamatoto]

I think this is Day 47 for me.  I feel better than yesterday, but still bad.  Went into the office today, but wished I could have just stayed home Today was one of those days where keeping track of my supplements was just too much - I think I only took about half of what I needed to And probably only drank 10 cups of water Sigh!  Thank goodness tomorrow is another day.  I've got lots of research to do tonight in preparation for tomorrow's appointments, but will still do my best to get in a garlic poultice and be in bed by 10:30

Elenita- I'm soooooo happy that today wasn't a repeat of yesterday And BTW, I think "kale" is "col rizada." You're definitely right about there being a lot of food out there I haven't tried.  As I was typing out my list of ok foods for Tuesday's post, I realized I probably have only tried about 1/2 of the vegetables!  So my goal is to try each of them by the time my cleanse is over I'm not a fan of cooked vegetables, but I do like a lot of raw vegetables and salads.  However, I simply can't get excited about salads and raw veggies when it's not warm outside!!!  Regardless, I'm going to bite the bullet and force myself to eat salad as one of my meals next week I found a great threat here on millet recipes, but unfortunately can't make most of them now because almost all have no-no ingredients.  But for now I'm perfectly fine just eating it plain for breakfast.  I think I'll buy some amaranth this weekend to try for next week, too.

How's everyone else doing this week?

[Mamatoto]

Confession #1: I did my grocery shopping today for next week's meals and just couldn't bring myself to buy salad ingredients while it's snowing outside.  So I decided not to beat myself up over it and just focus on eating enough to prevent the nagging hunger I faced all last week.  Here's my meal plan for the week (I'm planning on just eating the same things every day, like I have been since the start of my cleanse - thank goodness I don't have a family to feed or I'd be at a loss of how to vary my meals every day instead of every week):

Breakfast- broiled grapefruit; amaranth with coconut oil and ground flaxseed
Lunch #1- brown rice penne pasta sauteed with garlic, basil, and green, red, and yellow bell peppers
Lunch #2- baked sweet potato filled with butter and Herbamare, topped with turkey/chicken sausage mixed with onions and spices, and topped again with sauteed zucchini, tomatoes, and celery
Dinner- chili over millet
Snack #1- Almonds with cinnamon and nutmeg
Snack #2- Kale chips
Snack #3- nori topped with a carrot/onion/sunflower seed/sesame seed concoction and then dehydrated to make crackers
Snack #4- brown rice crackers and dry roasted sunflower seeds (I know they're supposed to be raw, but I'm hoping the roasting will make them feel like new food items)
Dessert- tomatillos and rhubarb sauteed in coconut oil (hoping rhubarb is ok to eat, as it's not on my "ok" list but not on my "not ok" list either - does anyone know anything about this one?)

Confession #2: I have had a bad attitude towards the cleanse this week.  My throat has been really sore and I have been whispering most of the week, and I was just REALLY ANNOYED that I couldn't put honey in my tea.  And Monday was the four-year anniversary of my dad's death, and I was REALLY FRUSTRATED that I couldn't do what I usually do in his memory because it involves sugar.  But I'm still plugging on, good attitude or bad, because I know this is important and it really needs to work now as opposed to later in life.  And I'm not about to give up now that I've given the past 7 weeks of my life to the cleanse.

Well, off to start prepping my meals for the week - oh, and to make my yummy Saturday treat.  Today I'm boiling brown rice with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and stevia, and then topping it with blackberries (special treat!) sauteed in coconut oil and carob (special treat!).

Rebecca- You're "mesquite bbq" kale chips sound fantastic!  Do you remember what spices you mixed up? 

Hope everyone is having a manageable weekend and is staying strong

[Elenita]

I'm still feeling kind of weak, but usually not the whole day , and hey that means those things are dying. Yeah! That's a little bit (only a little bit) like being pregnant and having a baby, but just think what we can put up with, because we know it's worth the result
I'm really blessed to have friends who help me. One brought fresh out of the oven Cinnamon roles for the kids for breakfast. Well, I had to think of you linemansgirl  , but I did it, the smell was terrible good though.

Mamatoto, I don't know how you do it, going to work every day. Wow! And I understand completely that you have attitude issues after being on the same strict diet for so long. But I'm glad you hang in there. You really are so far along, it would be a pity. Just think, the next time, you have to start all over again

Could you maybe take Echinacea to help with your cold?

I read your menu plan, and I wondered how you prepare broiled grapefruit, just peel it and cook it? Also with the almonds with cinnamon and nutmeg, do you just sprinkle the spices on top of the almonds? Do they stick this way?

Well I have to prepare lunch for my gang and me. Hope my hubby comes home soon!
And healthyinOhio, thanks for the info, there's still a lot to learn

[WI Cheesehead]

Well, this is going to be an interesting journey for us.  We're putting my 15 yo DD on a candida diet and supplements to see if it helps her tummy issues.  She's also getting sick way too often.  She's been to the GI and he finds nothing but some excessive stool in her colon.  Which I thought I read might be a symptom also.  I read a couple candida forums and have decided to put her on a diet, but not totally strict.  We're going to try to use stevia, still have a little cheese and I ordered buckwheat to try.  Unfortunately, she hates eggs, except for egg salad.  So she'll be eating that every morning!  Unless I can get her to try the millet porridge, but I doubt it.  My big concern is what to give her for lunch at school!  I also read in the candida foods thread that you can have the acidic fruits, so I'm stocking up each week on the berries and clementines (and green grapes).  I have a couple of drink recipes that I want to try to convert with Stevia.  If they turn out, I'll post them.  Two are raspberry drinks, one is a grape drink, a frozen minted lemonade and a homemade root beer (maybe!)  I'm so bummed bcz I can't make my homemade bread for awhile.  I'm looking for a good candida friendly bread recipe and copied one to try (it uses pureed cabbage!)  My DD doesn't have really severe symptoms, so I'm hoping we can do this without too much difficulty.

[Mamatoto]

Elenita- I love your pregnancy comparison!!  Obviously the good health we'll get as a result of this won't be quite as exciting as a new baby, but it WILL be worth the discomfort we're facing right now.  As far as the broiled grapefruit, I just cut the whole grapefruit in half and put the halves on the broiling pan until they start getting brown around the edges.  Then I spoon it out and eat it...mmmmm I like it warm when it's cold outside, and warming it up actually makes it more tender and easier to eat with a spoon.  And the almonds will actually be a bit of an experiment: I'm soaking the almonds overnight, then rolling them in cinnamon and nutmeg, then putting them in the dehydrator until they're crispy.  Because they'll be wet after soaking, I'm hoping the spices will stick to them and stay.  I haven't done them yet because I've got my nori crackers "cooking" away in the dehydrator right now.  Although I suppose I could just put them in the oven on 250 until they're dried out.  But I prefer to keep them technically raw - I feel like I'm getting more nutrition out of them.  (I keep my dehydrator set at 105 degrees.)  Today I just had plain raw almonds because my experiment ones weren't ready yet, and I was reminded of why it is so good for your digestive system to soak nuts before eating them!!  I had a little bit of a stomach ache - not bad, but still...  My digestive help plan seemed to work this week.  Here's what I changed:
Apple Cider Vinegar: I was taking 1 T before breakfast.  Now I'm taking 1 T before breakfast and before dinner (the meals I eat at home).
Digestive Enzymes: I wasn't taking any.  Now I'm taking 1 tablet with breakfast and dinner.
Fenugreek: I was taking 2 capsules with breakfast.  Now I'm taking 2 capsules with each of my 2 lunches.
Fennel: I wasn't taking any.  Now I'm chewing on some fennel seeds after each lunch and snack (the food I eat at the office).
I haven't had any stomach cramping or stomach aches (other than the almond incident today )

Welcome, WI Cheesehead!  Are you doing the diet with your daughter, too?  Is she still breastfeeding?  What grains are you allowing?  I just did brown rice for the first 40 days, but after that our pediatrician added millet, amaranth, and oats to my diet.  Does she like oatmeal?  That might be an option if she gets sick of eating egg salad   Definately keep me posted on the drinks - they sound yummy, although the raspberry and grape ones probably wouldn't fit with my version of the diet.  But the lemonade one sounds delish!!  Best of luck - I hope her detox isn't too unbeararable, as it's really hard to see little ones feeling icky.  But you're right - if this can decrease her "regular" sicknesses, then might as well just get all the ickiness out of the way once and for all!!  I'm definitely hoping for that as an added benefit for me, too.

By the way, I am now addicted to millet!!  I had some chili over millet for dinner, and decided I needed more millet, so just spooned some extra in a bowl with cinnamon and nutmeg and that was my dessert for the evening.  I'm loving it!!!

[WI Cheesehead]

Welcome, WI Cheesehead!  Are you doing the diet with your daughter, too?  Is she still breastfeeding?  What grains are you allowing?  I just did brown rice for the first 40 days, but after that our pediatrician added millet, amaranth, and oats to my diet.  Does she like oatmeal?  That might be an option if she gets sick of eating egg salad   Definately keep me posted on the drinks - they sound yummy, although the raspberry and grape ones probably wouldn't fit with my version of the diet.  But the lemonade one sounds delish!!  Best of luck - I hope her detox isn't too unbeararable, as it's really hard to see little ones feeling icky.  But you're right - if this can decrease her "regular" sicknesses, then might as well just get all the ickiness out of the way once and for all!!  I'm definitely hoping for that as an added benefit for me, too.

Hi Mama.  No, my 15 year old isn't breastfeeding anymore! LOL  She's a teenager with teenage dislikes and she's so skinny!  She's 5'8.5" and weights 117 lbs.  Definitely didn't take after her mama (5' 2" and let's say, over 117 lbs).  I have found a smoothie she will eat.  This is basically kefir with strawberries and/or raspberries and a little bit of stevia to sweeten up the kefir.  Unless she has the tummy upset.  Then she can't eat anything.  So she eats her lunch at school and is starving by the time she comes home.  Then she eats and isn't hungry for dinner.  It's a vicious cycle.  I'm going to try the buckwheat and the millet.  I tried to make millet/spelt tortillas and they didn't turn out so well.  I just gave her her first dose of the Candida Clear.  I'm going to have to read the whole thread when I get time to see what other people are making for lunch or dinner.  I am not doing the diet totally, as I can have whatever when she's gone and she doesn't seem to mind if we have something else (when I feel overwhelmed with "what am I going to make?") and she finds something to eat that's allowed.  I really do need good ideas because I've barely started it and feel so overwhelmed already!  What am I going to do without my grains???  I usually have 4 loaves of freshly baked bread (with freshly ground flour) made each week or so.  I am going to try a bread recipe that calls for buckwheat (no yeast) and uses pureed cabbage (got off of a candida website).  It's more of a flat bread type (only about 1 inch or so) but if it's good, that will help.

[linemansgirl]

Day 22 here!  I made it through until Saturday and then decided to give myself a bit of a break.  By then I was completely and totally, emotionally and physically exhausted.  To be honest, I am glad that I did.  The main reason that I did it was because I was wondering whether to continue or not.  I have been having absolutely no die off reactions since day 6, so I was wondering if I really had a yeast problem after all.  One hour after eating sugar my right foot was itching like crazy.  I have struggled with athlete's foot on that foot.  Now the itching is gone again!

[Mamatoto]

Well, I reread your initial post, WICheesehead, and what do you know?  It says 15 yo DD.  I guess in my sleep-deprived mommy stupor I read 15 mo DD!  If you're not sure whether candida is the issue (as opposed to just an imbalance in gut bacteria) and you don't see any marked improvement in the anti-candida diet (or find it next to impossible for her to stick to the plan), you might try the Maker's Diet...have you read it?  I would definitely suggest reading through the posts for meal ideas - you may want to start with Reply #241 on page 9 when Jemima resurrected this thread a month ago.  The longer I've been on the diet, the easier it is for me to come up with meal ideas according to the plan, but the harder it is for me to come up with new snacks.  I have found ground flaxseed to be a miracle ingredient for me, since I can use it as a substitute in regular recipes for flour, breadcrumbs, etc., etc., etc.  But I will say I do rely heavily on allowable grains (which for me was only rice for the 1st 40 days - I don't get nearly excited about the thought of rice now as I used to).  DS is asleep right now, and instead of doing business stuff, I think I'm going to browse through Rebecca's nut flour website for ideas.

Linemansgirl- So weird that your body had such a strong reaction to sugar when you haven't really had any die-off symptoms!  What supplements are you taking?  Any thought to increasing the supplements?  I wonder if your body is in an active state of not detoxing...by that I mean, maybe your regular candida symptoms (like the athlete's foot) are in check because you aren't feeding the candida, but your body isn't doing much to actually get rid of the candida that's just hanging around somehow managing to survive.

Well, today is Day 51.  I will say I honestly believed the candida would be in check by Day 40, and am really hoping that the pace starts picking up (except I don't want any more detoxing ), since it is really hard to eat this way long-term.  Last week was really icky, so hopefully that was some big chunks of candida clearing out.  I feel so bad for DS because he has either had a cold or detox symptoms since two days after Christmas - 1/3 of his life!!  I want this to be over with already...

[Elenita]

Welcome WI Cheesehead! I'm sure it's not easy to motivate a 15year old to do such a strict diet. I would like my 15 year old DS to do it, he doesn't have any severe problems, but the spit-test did turn out positive, but I will wait until I feel better so that I have the energy to motivate him. He's not so easy to motivate these days. I know that some families do it all together, but I couldn't imagine, feeling yucky and everyone else feels like that too. 

I'm hungry!!! But I read somewhere in this thread, that means the yeast wants to be fed, well I eat, but not what they like, ha!
Still pretty weak and so thirsty. Drank 6 liters yesterday! It's very hot here right now (I hardly could believe it, Mamatoto, when you wrote about snow! ), but that's still a lot. I think my middle name should be Camel

[WI Cheesehead]

Question: Are you supposed to take the probiotics after the Candida Clear or during it?  My DD is agreeable to doing it.  It's just hard with breakfast and lunch and snacks.  (!)  Breakfast is hard bcz she's usually not hungry.  I have to sit down and look at my recipes throughly (esp. the new ones I want to try.)

I have a homemade cream soup recipe (it's powdered and you add water to 1/3 cup when you need some).  Is there such a thing as powdered rice milk or almond milk?  I'll bet it's expensive, if I can find it.  I need to make some more, but the recipe calls for mostly powdered milk.

Someone was looking for more flax recipes.  Here's one I tried.  It's quick, filling and tastes pretty good!

One Minute Flax Muffin
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon stevia powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon oil

1Mix all ingredients in a coffee mug.
2Micorowave for one minute on high.
3If using frozen berries, microwave for 1:30 on high.
4Smooth on some butter and enjoy!
5It will be moist at first, but as the muffin cools it goes away.

[WI Cheesehead]

Well, after dealing with her this morning, I think we'll wait until school's over to start this.  We'll still try to stay on the diet (mostly), but if the die off is going to be this bad, I'll wait till I don't have to get her up.  She went to a field trip yesterday and started the pills also.  Today, she won't get up and doesn't feel well.  She hasn't missed school in a few weeks, so we're going to stop the pills and do it later.  I'll still read the thread though, and offer any recipes I find that work.

[Mamatoto]

WI Cheesehead- IMO, I would take the anti-fungals and the probiotics at the same time.  My pediatrician agrees with this approach and I'm a little surprised that some of the anti-candida plans seem not to.  Each is doing a separate job and both are important.  I think your plan to wait until your daughter is home from school is a good one, especially if she is a really picky eater and you have trouble packing lunches and snacks for her during the school day.  But I would try and keep her on the probiotics - those shouldn't create die-off like the anti-fungals, but they will start to rebalance the bacteria in her gut.  As far as breakfast goes, how about including some sausage?  I was buying some chicken sausages and frying them up for breakfast, but then I came across a great turkey breakfast sausage recipe in NT that is much cheaper.  I had a sausage patty as part of my breakfast each day last week, and I think the protein certainly helped to fill me up.  And I liked the recipe so much that I'm using it as a baked sweet potato topping this week (just not in patty form).  Here are the ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon each cumin, marjoram, pepper, nutmeg, oregano, cayenne pepper, and ginger
1/2 teaspoon each basil, thyme, and sage (although I'm not adding the sage since I'm nursing)
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix together and chill well.  Form into patties and saute in 2 tablespoons butter.

Today went fairly well - nothing really new to report except I'm getting more and more thirsty.  I think I'll try and shoot for 16 cups of water tomorrow.  Good grief, Elenita!  I just did a Google search to figure out how much 6 liters is, and if my computer is correct...you ARE a camel.  Wow!  That's so great - my inspiration to keep gulping down the water.  How are you feeling?  Still super hungry?  I think I ate 10 times today, and I'm still hungry.  I'm not sure what the best way to deal with it is:  Should I just eat my "regular" amounts of food and feel like I'm starving all day, but know that what I'm really doing is starving off the candida?  Or should I eat whenever I'm hungry (as long as it's on the diet), which is about once an hour?  My weight is down really far (this is not really a good thing since although I think I look fine with no clothes on, I look sickly with clothes because they hang on me like a scarecrow, and I can't just go buy a smaller size because as far as I know they don't make clothes any smaller than a 00), so I'm inclined to just eat and eat and eat.  But maybe that's not the best way to tackle this...??  Thoughts?

I'm obviously not doing too well on my plan to get to bed by 10:30 every night and I'm pretty sure I'm suffering for it - tired and weak during the days (although I'm sure I should attribute some of this to the candida die-off) and not fighting off the sniffles very well (again, hard to know how much is candida die-off and how much is lack of sleep and so a suppressed immune system) But on the positive side, the reason I'm staying up late is to work on business stuff because, 2 months after opening my business, we (DS and I ) FINALLY have some paying clients.  God always provides, but with me He often does it right at the last minute (when I'm literally down to my last dollar and wondering how we'll survive, much less keep a business running).  I guess I need to constantly be reminded that I can do NOTHING without Him.  Anyways... I'm praying that He will continue to send us the right paying clients and will also help me get my stress level down (I'm sure if I could just stop trying to rely on myself I'd be so much better off, but this is so much easier said than done).  Well, I'd better get going - goodnight all!