Getting Healthy

Sugar substitutes- what's best for what???

2012-07-08T17:50:00.001-07:00

Need to look into other alternate natural sweetners- I usually use stevia but it has a different taste, very distinct. I've also used brown rice syrup and a few other things. Have yet to try rapadura or sucanat.

Ice cream cake

2012-07-08T13:02:00.002-07:00

Today I want to try to figure out how to make ice cream cake!
I'm going to use the bean cake recipe I made the other day, but maybe try cocoa rather than the chocolate chips to reduce the sugar more.
I want to use stevia and beans rather than sugar and flour.
Also, I don't have an ice cream make. Soooo.... here's what I am going to try.

I watched a video they had featured on allrecipes.com for ice cream making without the maker.

So I am going to try this:
1/2 c coffee
2 c heavy cream
sweetened condensed milk recipe below
a little almond extract

beat until right consistency- it will be thick

To substitute for sweetened condensed milk I found a recipe at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com That I will modify a bit.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 or 2/3 cup stevia

Put these in a heavy pan and carefully bring to a simmer- don't scorch it!
Let it stay on the burner on really low heat for about a couple hours to reduce it. check it.

Now whisk in remaining ingredients

3 T butter
1 tsp vanilla

Summer veggies in soup and stir fry

2012-07-02T19:53:00.002-07:00

cabbage soup
- add diced tomatoes and beef broth
to cabbage, onion, and spices

zucchini time!

stirring up some squash, onion, and garlic
with a little olive oil
Awesome!

Garbonzo Beans for Dinner and Dessert

2012-07-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

bean pattie with side salad of olives,
tomato, cucumber, mozarella cheese

garbonzo bean patties
mix beans in food processor
with chopped onion,
crunched rice crackers,
thyme, a little salt

portabella mushroom, side salad,
cottage cheese, rice noodle with pesto,
chicken with sun dried tomatoes,
bean patties

Chicken with sun dried tomatoes

stir up chicken with garlic,

when chicken is almost done add sundried tomatoes, and fresh spinach

Pesto Noodles

make a pesto of parsley, walnuts, garlic, olive oil

mix with spiral rice noodles and butter

Easy Portabella Mushrooms

drizzle mushrooms with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

bake in 350 degree oven about 20- 30 min.

flourless chocolate cake
garbonzo beans about 16 oz, with 4 eggs,
1 1/2 c melted dark chocolate,
1 c stevia, 1 t baking powder

top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries- YUM!

chocolates

2012-03-13T19:29:00.001-07:00

easy chocolate candies

melt together the following on low heat
1/2 stick butter
dark chocolate- I've used bars or chips to equal about 1/2 to 1 c

stir in any combo of the following:
chopped nuts
chopped dried fruit
heath bar bits

blob spoonfulls of mixture onto foil or parchment paper to cool- can be cooled in fridge

One of our favs: giralldelli chips, dark choc chips, heath bar, pecans

Another good turnout: dark choc, pecans, butterscotch chips

peanut butter cookies

2012-03-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Stevia

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Egg

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cream peanut butter and stevia together. Beat in the baking powder. Add the egg. Mix until all is well combined.

3. Roll the dough into balls. Place on baking sheet. Press down on the ball with a fork in each direction to make it look nice and then put in oven.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. They should still be a little soft but they will harden in about 10 more minutes when they cool. Enjoy

Makes approximately a dozen cookies

pancakes, chicken casserole

2012-01-31T09:35:00.000-08:00

cooking down berries for sauce to go with pancakes

Trying gluten free Bisquick for the first time!

We liked the pancakes, but wish they didn't have sugar.

It's a little too much sugar for us- so it will be a once in a while treat.

limes sliced and ready to be juiced for lime smoothies :)

Chicken casserole with spinach, leeks, onion...

fake (no sugar) granola

2012-01-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Granola- sort of

2 cups rolled oats
chopped nuts
flax seed, etc.
anything else that sounds good in granola- coconut flour works well...

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup stevia (raw)

1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray pan.

In a large bowl, toss the oats, nuts, with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium pan whisk together the oil, stevia, and water, let it boil for about 5 minutes. Let it cool a bit.

Pour the stevia mix over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. add vanilla. Repeat until all of the oats are coated.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.
Bake about 20 minutes

Leek soup, rice, and turkey meatballs

2012-01-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

turkey meatballs, basami rice, leek soup, roasted garlic

Leek Soup variation

In a big pot- get some olive oil heated up and throw in the veggies you want to use. This time I used:

3 leeks sliced and washed
2-3 onions diced up
The leafy stalks of celery in the middle of the bunch all diced up
a bit of chopped up cilantro

Cook them down and salt them a bit
add some apple cider vinegar to wet it down a bit

Add about 4 cups of water, and beef base to taste
Stir in one can of tomato paste
Add worcestershire sauce (optional)

Turkey Meatballs

Mix together about:

2 lbs. of ground turkey
2 chopped onions
3 eggs
ground up rice crackers
add enough unsweetened almond milk or heavy whipping cream to get the right consistency
sea salt
ground pepper

after meatballs are formed and on tray add more salt and pepper to top
cut 2 large garlics in half and top with evoo. roast one on each tray

Things to have on hand for anytime of the day:

lemon wedges for water and for quick adds to recipes
e.g.. a cup of hot water with lemon and
a little stevia makes a nice afternoon treat

pesto and veggies- this pesto is almost gone!
To make pesto combine in food processor
some walnuts, parsley, lemon, garlic, salt,
and extra virgin olive oil
spread in a dish and add grated parmesan cheese on top

lamb meatballs cont.

2011-08-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

lamb meatballs

Mix together ground lamb, rice, parsley, oregano, thyme, zest of 2 lemons, 3 eggs

bake at 350 for @15 min depending on size of meatballs- I made these really small...

chocolate and peanutbutter rice puffs
this turned out more crumbly than I wanted it to

How to make the rice puff mixture:

1/2 stick butter- melt in pan, add dark chocolate, stir in rice puffs (make sure you buy the kind with no sugar), add peanuts if you want, spread on parchment paper

For the peanutbutter drizzle on top: 1/2 stick butter, natural peanut butter, take off heat and stir in whipping cream

cooking down a fruit smoothie from yesterday- added spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc
my idea is to make it thick and add it to the rice puff bars for a sort of peanutbutter jelly thing, I wonder if it would help stick it together.

ran out of marjoram!

2011-08-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

What todo, what todo! I can't find my marjoram!
http://www.foodsubs.com/HerbsEur.htmlhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/marjoram-substitute.html
or here's a chart from about.com
Herb Substitution Chart

You may find yourself in a situation where you are out of a specified herb in a recipe or perhaps you just don't care for that specific herb. This chart will help you choose substitutions or alternatives that should work with your recipe. Whenever substituting, you must realize that the flavor will not be as originally intended in the recipe. As such, it is wise to begin your substitution with half the specified recipe amount and then adjust to your own personal tastes. You should always feel free to adjust and add to any recipe to suit yourself and your family. Who knows? You just might create a new family favorite!

Spice Substitution Chart

Herb Substitutions
Basil	Oregano or thyme
Chervil	Tarragon or parsley
Chive	Green onion; onion; or leek
Cilantro	Parsley
Italian Seasoning	Blend of any of these: basil, oregano, rosemary, and ground red pepper
Marjoram	Basil; thyme; or savory
Mint	Basil; marjoram; or rosemary
Oregano	Thyme or basil
Parsley	Chervil or cilantro
Poultry Seasoning	Sage plus a blend of any of these: thyme, marjoram, savory, black pepper, and rosemary
Red Pepper	Dash bottled hot pepper sauce or black pepper
Rosemary	Thyme; tarragon; or savory
Sage	Poultry seasoning; savory; marjoram; or rosemary
Savory	Thyme; marjoram; or sage
Tarragon	Chervil; dash fennel seed; or dash aniseed
Thyme	Basil; marjoram; oregano; or savory

lamb meatballs

2011-08-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm trying this out today. Slight variations. I'm using rice rather than bread crumbs. I'll report how it goes later.

Lamb Meatballs

Rated:

Submitted By: Kathy W.

Photo By: Chris I.

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Servings: 24

"This is a great alternative to regular meatballs. I have served these many times at cocktail parties, and they have always been a hit! The sauce adds a nice touch, but I have also served them with Greek marinade and plain."

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

5 shallots, minced

2 pounds ground lamb

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

salt and freshly ground black pepper to

taste

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1/4 cup wine

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 dash ground cinnamon

toothpicks

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the shallots in the skillet until tender. Transfer to a large bowl.
2.	Mix lamb, bread crumbs, parsley, egg, and lemon zest into the bowl with the shallots. Season with marjoram, salt, and pepper. Let stand 1 hour in the refrigerator.
3.	Melt 1/2 cup butter and heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Form the lamb mixture into small meatballs, and cook in the skillet in batches until evenly brown. Do not drain skillet. Drain meatballs on paper towels, and place in a serving dish.
4.	Mix tomato sauce, wine, garlic, and cinnamon into the skillet. Cook and stir until well blended and heated through. Drizzle over the meatballs in the dish. Serve with toothpicks.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 8/25/2011

ACV salad dressing

2011-08-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

dressing recipe from- http://candidadietrecipeblog.com/

I adapted this recipe to our tastes as well. This is actually one of the better Italian-style dressing recipes I’ve used in general, so, of course, I was thrilled it’s allowed on the diet!

1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of onion powder
2 Tbsp. of whole grain mustard/dijon mustard or powdered mustard
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of dried thyme or rosemary
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp salt
pinch of stevia*

* When I include stevia in a recipe, I always mean the “Stevia Extract in the Raw,” which is conveniently proportioned to be cup for cup for bakers in larger bags. If you use the liquid form or a different brand, you may have to adjust your measurement.

A journey to health: Candida

2011-08-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

A journey to health: Candida: "Also called Systemic Candidiasis, Candida Albicans, and Monilla. {WHAT IS CANDIDA}? It will steal your breath, your energy, your life as..."

marinaded chicken 2 ways

2011-08-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

marinade chicken cuts in mix of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, rotisserie herbs (marjoram, oregano, garlic, onion, black pepper, thyme, cumin, cayenne)

1st night-
Chicken and Rice
cook marinaded chicken however seems good- grill, bake, pan, etc.- I baked it at 350 for 30 min. in its marinade and it was moist and delicious.
serve with mushroom rice (mushrooms are a later Phase, not Phase 1!)- basamati rice mixed with simmered mushrooms (in butter, apple cider vinegar, ground K salt, ground pepper), stir in a couple blobs of greek yogurt, add a little chicken broth- yum!

2nd night-
Cheesy Chicken sandwich
chop up marinaded chicken
heat up in pan with a little olive oil
add a blob of natural mayo, and a blob of greek yogurt
lastly, add shredded cheese

serve on low sugar, gluten free bread
w/ tomato and lettuce

good with grilled pineapple!

sounds like a fun way to make a muffin!

2011-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

found on healthcastle.com

Dessert: Blueberry orange muffins

Donna Kelly, a blogger for Utah Valley’s Daily Herald, suggests a simple recipe forcampfire-fresh muffins. Simply hollow out fresh oranges, fill one half with blueberry muffin batter, cover with the empty orange half, wrap in tin foil, and place directly in the fire (not on the grill) for about 10 minutes. For an even healthier treat, make your own muffin batter instead of using a mix.

Summer zucchini bake

2011-07-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner we had a casserole type dish. I layered zucchini, ground turkey, ricotta cheese, and noodles. It has light citrus flavors- great for summer.

My Mom's Red Cookbook

2011-07-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

My brother sent me a digital copy of my mom's red cookbook. I have the hardcopy of my mom's and my grandma's personal cookbooks- in their own handwriting, they are treasures to me. I also have a very sweet cookbook that my mom made for me when I got married. They are full of family memories, advice, and traditional foods that I grew up with. Some of the notes I find rather humorous- her twists on memories are a little different than mine sometimes. Mom's recipes definitely reflect the times, using boxed convenience foods to make things quicker and easier was very much "the thing" then. The older recipes from grandmas time are more involved and from scratch. Some of the recipes even scoop from the "lard jar" that grandma kept under the sink. Mom, grandma, and many of the people she refers to in her notes have long ago passed away- so these notes are very dear to me.
These recipes are definitely not on the candida diet however!
here's a sample page:

kale chips

2011-06-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Need something crunchy but healthy?

spread kale on a cookie sheet
sprinkle with olive oil
crank on sea salt and your choice of herbs and spices
I did pizza seasoning and garlic- great alternative to chips, so much better for you!

millet flour sweet loaf

2011-06-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

1 1/3 c millet flour
1 1/3 c all purpose baking flour (bob's red mill)
1 t xanthan gum
3 t baking powder
1t kosher salt
1 t flaxseed meal
1 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon

1 1/3 c stevia in the raw
2/3 c coconut oil
1/4 c butter

combine using pastry cutter until crumbly

mix in-
1 c sour cream
2 eggs
form into a sort of flattened ball
bake at 350 for 30-35 min. -do the toothpick test for doneness

Tastes great! It's a tad on the crumbly, dry side. Good for a substitute for shortcake.

open face sammies

2011-06-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

On a slice of gluten free, sugar free bread- or on a corn tortilla
dab a spoonful of *egg mixture
cooked prosciutto, or some bit of salty meat- watch out for sugar, or nitrates, etc. use organic all natural whenever possible (What is prosciutto you ask? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-prosciutto.htm )
slice of tomato
slice of provolone or smoked gouda

butter the bread or tortilla and brown under the broiler
dab on egg mixture and return under broiler until bubbly
add meat and tomato and broil again
last melt the cheese on top

*egg mixture- (can be used for deviled eggs)
hard cook eggs- set aside the whites
use about 6 cooked yolks for this recipe
add enough greek yogurt to make it creamy
1 small pkg of stevia
1-2 T apple cider vinegar
sprinkle in kosher salt, paprika, ground mustard, parsley to taste

lime slushy

2011-06-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

juice enough limes to equal 2 cups of juice
boil together with 2 cups of stevia powder and a couple of grinds around the sea salt shaker
boil about 5 min.
this mixture can be stored in fridge and used as needed for slushies, limeade, desserts, sauces, etc.

combine in blender:
@ 1/2 c limejuice mixture
2 bananas
and enough ice to fill 3/4 of blender
mix together- add water as needed to get the right consistency
when almost blended add 1 c whipping cream

deliciously refreshing!!!

Converting a recipe...

2011-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on "Gluten Free Club", an email I get. It looks great! I thought I would use it to show how easy it is to use any 'ole recipe for the candida diet. If it's already gluten free, it's a super cinch. Just look for any ingredients that you can't have and think of a good substitute. I'll show you by putting the replacement in red... This recipe is usable for later phases if you use the starches, replace the starches with some other flours for phase 1.

Strawberry Shortcake Scones

Sweet buttermilk scones are the perfect base for a delicious strawberry shortcake. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with decorative sugar (stevia, or simply leave off the sugar) for a beautiful glaze.
Ingredients:
SCONES
1 cup rice flour
1 cup buttermilk (whipping cream)
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tbsp bean flour
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp sugar (stevia)
1/2 tsp salt (kosher sea salt)

STRAWBERRIES
2 pints fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/4 cup sugar (no sugar- seriously! berries really do not need it!)

TOPPING
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (instead, add a little stevia and vanilla- even a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg is nice)
Directions:
STAWBERRIES
In a medium bowl, combine the sliced strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar (skip the sugar). Cover and refrigerate.

SCONES
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a scone pan or cookie sheet.

Thoroughly mix all the scone ingredients into a large bowl and blend well.

By a tablespoons at a time, drop this onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Form gently into scones shapes.

For glaze, whisk 1 egg with 2 tablespoons of cream or milk (no milk, just cream). Brush scones with the glaze mixture. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. A toothpick inserted into the center of a scone should come out clean. Cool on racks.

Meanwhile, beat the 1 cup of heavy cream until the cream begins to stiffen; beat in powdered sugar (no sugar, or use a little stevia) until the mixture holds peaks.

Split scones and spoon strawberries over the bottom. Put the top of the scone on the strawberries and top with whipped cream and a few strawberry slices.

Contributed by Angie Halten

phase 3 snack

2011-05-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

home made peanut butter! easy- just spin peanuts in food processor and stream in safflower oil until somewhat smooth
great on rice cakes and rice crackers, not to mention veggies!
Tonight we had it paired with strawberry slushies
Slush recipe- 2 handfuls frozen strawberries, lemon juice of one lemon, a splash of vanilla, lots of crushed ice, water to right consistency

2011-05-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

Eggplant sandwiches
eggplant, smoked gouda, red pepper, roasted garlic cloves
YUM!

rice pasta in the back pot
sauce- stir onions, garlic in some olive oil, add diced tomatoes,
add herbs- basil, oregano, bay leaves, sea salt, pepper, etc.

stir in butter and pesto

remove from stove and stir in whipping cream

This was a great dinner! Loved it!

Sprinkled a little cilantro on top and served up with extra pesto and garlic cloves.